A mobile clinic will help enroll 300 new research participants in St. Louis for a decades-long Alzheimer’s study backed by a $32 million award.
The National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, awarded the $32 million over five years to WashU Medicine. The funding extends the Healthy Aging and Senile Dementia program through 2031, marking its 45th year.
Leonard Berg, MD, initiated the research project at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis during the 1970s. The longitudinal study has enrolled more than 1,877 participants since its inception.
Forty years ago, we couldn’t confirm Alzheimer’s until after death, when the brain was studied under the microscope,
John C. Morris, MD, principal investigator
Morris took over leadership of the program in 1998 following Berg’s retirement. Initial funding allowed researchers to establish the Alzheimer Disease Research Center at WashU Medicine in 1985 as one of the first 10 such centers in the United States.
The renewed project aims to enroll a wider range of participants to study prevention. Clinical research has historically drawn mostly white, highly educated volunteers in good health.
Morris raised the proportion of Black study participants at the Knight ADRC from 3% to 17% since 1998. The new grant expands a pilot study that enrolled about 40 participants in north St. Louis.
A long history of mistrust in medical institutions as well as practical issues such as absence of transportation have discouraged many community members from participating in research at our medical center, so we’re taking the research to the community,
John C. Morris, MD, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Researchers will deploy a mobile clinic to gather data, blood, and tissue samples. Investigators will also track real-world responses to new Alzheimer’s treatments.
Nicole Garrison, a Knight ADRC research participant, has shared her experiences with research.
None of it guarantees I’ll personally benefit,
Nicole Garrison, research participant
Garrison noted that representation matters for Black Americans, who are disproportionately affected by the disease. The study continues to track biomarkers, brain imaging, and genetics through 2031.
Earlier coverage: Stanford Medicine ARC Score Predicts Alzheimer's Years Early