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To lay the groundwork for an eventual NIA research center application, Angela Jefferson, PhD, professor of Neurology and Medicine and the director of VMAC, and her team were awarded a multiyear, $5 million exploratory grant from the NIA in 2020. In recognition of the crucial research and development efforts of the ADRC in its exploratory phase, the center’s Alzheimer’s disease research efforts will now receive an NIH Center of Excellence designation.

As an NIH Center of Excellence, VMAC joins other prestigious research institutions in the United States in researching the pathogenesis, manifestation, prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). The center’s work will emphasize investigating vascular burden at the cellular, systems, biological and population levels to better understand vascular contributions to ADRD.

"Being recognized as an NIH Center of Excellence is a tremendous honor and a testament to the hard work of our team of dedicated clinicians, scientists and staff at the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center," Jefferson said, who holds the Herbert O. and Vineta Christopher Directorship. "We are proud to be acknowledged as a world-class interdisciplinary center and are looking forward to seeing our research progress to extraordinary heights. This achievement will provide our center with valuable resources to better understand Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and make high-impact discoveries."

With the support of the NIH Center of Excellence award, existing efforts supported by the exploratory grant will now be expanded to include a number of key aims, including supporting national efforts to advance ADRD research, promoting community education and awareness of ADRD with a focus on partnerships and fostering professional development for the next generation of clinicians, scientists and leaders in ADRD.

“Receiving the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center award and being recognized as a congressionally designated Center of Excellence by the NIA is a tremendous honor for both VUMC and VMAC,” said Jennifer Pietenpol, PhD, Chief Scientific and Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President for Research at VUMC.

“This prestigious NIH grant strengthens our commitment to advancing Alzheimer’s research and provides vital support as we work to improve prevention strategies and outcomes for individuals at risk for, or living with, dementia,” added Pietenpol, who holds the Brock Family Directorship in Career Development.

The center will be the first of its kind in the state, serving the growing population of aging adults with Alzheimer’s disease in Tennessee and throughout the southeastern United States. Leaders from VMAC cite the high prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the region and vascular risk factors as key components of the center’s importance to the local, regional and national community.

“I’m thrilled to see VMAC receive this NIH grant to support Vanderbilt’s place on the front lines of Alzheimer’s research,” said Jane Freedman, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine, physician-in-chief of Vanderbilt University Hospital and the Gladys Parkinson Stahlman Professor of Cardiovascular Research. “VMAC embodies the truest sense of a center of excellence, and I’m confident that Vanderbilt will continue shaping the cutting edge of research initiatives in this space.”

Since being established in 2012, faculty and leaders from VMAC have guided efforts at VUMC to enhance knowledge to solve the complexities underlying the pathophysiology, early identification and treatment of ADRD. VMAC has existed as a freestanding institutional center at VUMC since 2020.

“This grant represents the next step in Vanderbilt’s continued impact on Alzheimer’s disease research,” said Dane Chetkovich, MD, PhD, Margaret and John Warner Professor of Neurological Education and chair of Neurology. “All in the Department of Neurology are excited to see VMAC receive this NIH funding as Dr. Jefferson and the center’s many dedicated researchers continue to put our resources toward studying Alzheimer’s disease.”

The VMAC ADRC is funded by NIH grant P30AG086403. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Provided by Vanderbilt University Medical Center.