The Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement (ORE) Core serves as the primary bridge between our research center and the community. Our goal is to ensure that scientific discoveries are built on the real-life experiences of everyone in our diverse population. We focus on building long-term relationships based on trust, providing clear education on brain health in both English and Spanish. By sharing our scientific findings in easy-to-understand ways, we make sure the community stays informed about the progress we are making together.

A major part of our work is ensuring that research includes people from all backgrounds, especially those who have been understudied in the past. This core supports participants throughout their entire journey with us, encouraging people to stay involved over many years so we can see how brain health changes over time. By maintaining these lasting connections, we ensure that our data represents everyone. This commitment to diversity and long-term partnership means that the research findings will be effective for every member of our community.

The Clinical Core is a team of experts from the University of Florida, the University of Miami, and Mount Sinai Medical Center who work together to understand how the brain ages. When you participate, our clinical teams perform yearly check-ups to look at your brain health and your overall physical health. These visits go beyond simple memory tests; we use special cognitive stress tests to find very early changes that might otherwise be missed. During these evaluations, we gather important information through memory and thinking tasks, medical reviews, and blood draws. To make sure our findings are as accurate as possible, a group of clinician scientists meets regularly to review the data and reach a shared agreement on the results of every case. This careful team effort creates a strong foundation of knowledge that helps researchers in Florida and across the country find new ways to treat and prevent brain diseases.

The Biomarker and Imaging Core serves as the scientific window into the brain, utilizing and developing state-of-the-art technology to visualize and measure disease pathology. We use specialized brain scans, like MRI and PET scans, to take detailed pictures of the brain’s structure and look for physical changes linked to memory loss. At the same time, our team studies blood samples to find signs that might show a person has a higher risk for brain disease. By combining these brain images with blood tests, we can better predict how memory and cognitive changes might happen over time. This information is a vital part of detecting and monitoring disease and serve as important markers to test whether new treatments work.

The Data Management and Analysis Core acts as the central intelligence hub for our Center, ensuring all research information is secure, organized, and scientifically useful. Because we manage vast amounts of complex data, we utilize advanced statistical methods, artificial intelligence and machine learning to uncover patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. As an NIH-designated center, we share this secure and daintified data with a national network, allowing experts across the country to collaborate. This Core transforms raw numbers into a scientific map that accelerates breakthroughs.

The Neuropathology Core focuses on finding clear scientific answers by studying brain tissue. This team manages the brain donation process with the highest level of professional respect and care, ensuring that every gift is preserved for important research. By using specialized digital tools, our scientists can identify the specific proteins that cause different types of brain diseases. The team also works closely with our imaging experts to compare brain scans taken during a person’s life with what the tissue shows later on. This “gold-standard” research is a vital step in making sure our scientific models are accurate and helps us find the right targets for future treatments.

For more information and resources about brain donation click here.

The Research Education Component (REC) is dedicated to securing the future of brain science by training a robust, cross-disciplinary workforce of new investigators. Through the 1Florida AlzSTARS program, we provide early-career scientists with the advanced skills, mentoring, and infrastructure needed to lead independent research projects. Our scholars gain hands-on experience by rotating through all ADRC Cores, learning to analyze complex imaging, biomarkers, and clinical data. This program has a distinguished track record, with scholars going on to join university faculties and secure major federal grants. By mentoring these future leaders today, we are ensuring that the global scientific community is prepared to meet the challenges of Alzheimer’s for decades to come.