Core G - Imaging Biomarkers

Icahn School Of Medicine At Mount Sinai, New York NY

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

SUMMARY - Imaging Biomarkers Core Neuroimaging of amyloidosis (A), tauopathy (T), and neurodegeneration (N; collectively A/T/N) provide in vivo evidence of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), affording earlier diagnosis of AD, qualitative and quantitative measures for evaluation of intervention efficacy, and additional measurements of brain function that may influence response to therapies targeting Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology. The Imaging Biomarkers Core (a.k.a. Imaging Core) will advance and enhance innovative, inclusive efforts to translate discoveries from bench to bedside, and to identify factors impacting the rich diversity of ADRD outcomes. The Imaging Core will support imaging research with the goals of improving early diagnosis in diverse populations, discovering neuroimaging measures associated with polygenic risk, identifying factors predictive of response to treatment, and accelerating clinical trial research. The aims of the Core are to: 1) Create an environment conducive to using neuroimaging data for multidisciplinary, inclusive research. This includes direct support for obtaining at least 24 A/T/N imaging sets per year using the SCAN protocol. The Core will prioritize diversity of the sample to increase generalizability and examine health disparities in ADRD research. The Core will coordinate with related consortia and investigator-initiated projects to support acquisition of the SCAN protocol beyond those directly acquired by the Core. The Core will provide recommendations for acquisition with specific MRI sequences and PET tracers; analytic pipelines; and expertise to support project design. 2) Provide broad, rapid sharing through interactions with other Cores, across the institution, and with outside institutions. The Core will support rapid upload of data to SCAN. The Core will facilitate informatics for banking and sharing processed neuroimaging data, help to route imaging-characterized participants to best-matched studies and trials, and support a culture of open science to encourage collaborative efforts across institutional boundaries. 3) Leverage imaging data to foster collaborations and catalyze projects focused on imaging biomarkers related to polygenic factors, response to treatment, and tools for discovery. The Core will emphasize polygenic risk in its activities and provide imaging data on genetically characterized participants for polygenic analysis in relation to repose to treatment and discovery science. 4) Enhance inclusive educational opportunities through neuroimaging training designed for richly diverse groups. The Core will provide neuroimaging training to REC trainees and to investigators new to ADRD research, consult with investigators to develop projects involving imaging, and will link clinical ADRD researchers to technical expertise in imaging. These Core activities will support acquisition, analysis, informatics, and data sharing to support the centrality of neuroimaging research for the efforts of the ADRC to accelerate understanding of polygenic risk, response to treatment, and discovery science through imaging measures underlying diverse expression of clinical symptoms.