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INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana University School of Medicine announced today that the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has renewed support for the Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (IADRC). The milestone renewal secures another five years of expanded federal funding through 2031, ensuring that Indiana remains at the forefront of research on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Established in 1991, the IADRC is among the nation’s longest-running, NIA-designated Alzheimer’s disease research centers. This latest funding cycle will directly support the center's specialized focus on precision medicine.
“The Indiana ADRC continues to advance our understanding of disease mechanisms, enabling earlier detection and diagnosis and supporting the development of novel therapeutic strategies," said Andrew J. Saykin, PsyD, IADRC director and Raymond C. Beeler Professor of Radiology and Imaging Sciences. "The IADRC serves as a hub for the growing community engaged in collaborative, multidisciplinary research in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias at IU and beyond. Advances in neuroimaging, blood-based and digital biomarkers, systems biology, and artificial intelligence are transforming the landscape of dementia research, and the IADRC is at the forefront of integrating these technologies to advance precision approaches to maintaining cognitive health.”
The grant will support multiple initiatives at the IADRC, including:
- Precision therapeutics: Development and validation of biomarkers for early diagnosis and coupled with advanced analytic methods including artificial intelligence and network science to help design early personalized treatment strategies based on detailed assessment including imaging and biomarker profiling. With new treatment options available, and others in the development pipeline, the IADRC is increasing integration and collaboration with IU Health’s Brain Health Program offering clinical care.
- Deep collaborative networks: Expanding the center's robust partnerships with local, national and international research resources and consortia, including the National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD), Clarity in ADRD Research Through Imaging (CLARiTI), the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC), and the CLEAR-AD, MODEL-AD, TREAT-AD, and MAP-AD programs at IU.
- Inclusive research: Strengthening community outreach and engagement, guided by the center’s dedicated community advisory board, to ensure the broadest possible participation in clinical trials, ensuring future treatments work effectively for everyone.
- Next-Gen training: Mentoring and cultivating a broad pipeline of scientists, clinicians, and researchers across IU School of Medicine’s campuses and beyond.
Over its history, the IADRC has contributed to hundreds of high-impact scientific publications, helped to enable numerous clinical trials, and provided thousands of valuable biospecimens to researchers worldwide.
Statements from other leading faculty:
“Indiana ADRC is the bedrock of the incredible Alzheimer's disease research, clinical, and education ecosystem here at IU. IU was recently described as the epicenter for Alzheimer's and related dementias research, and the ADRC sits at core of this. The renewal of the ADRC through 2031 re-affirms our position as a leader in the dementia field and provides the translational platform for us to truly move research from the bench to the bedside,” said Donna Wilcock, PhD, associate director of the IADRC.
“The Indiana ADRC is a key component of IU’s strategic research focus on Alzheimer’s disease. The ADRC is a leader in the School of Medicine’s efforts to better understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and develop improved therapeutics to reduce the impact of this devastating disease on Hoosier families,” said Tatiana Foroud, PhD, executive associate dean for research affairs at IU School of Medicine.
Many senior faculty at IUSM contribute to leadership of the IADRC’s cores including:
Administrative Core: Saykin, Wilcock and Sarah Van Heiden, MPH, PhD
Clinical Core: Jared Brosch, MD and Dustin Hammers, PhD
Data Core: Su Gao, PhD, Kwangsik Nho, PhD and Yi Zhao, PhD
Biomarker, Biospecimen and Genetics Core: Wilcock and Kelly Nudelman, PhD
Neuroimaging Core: Yu-Chien Wu, PhD and Saykin
Neuropathology Core: Bernardino Ghetti, PhD; Kathy Newell, MD and Ruben Vidal, PhD
Outreach, Recruitment and Engagement Core: Sophia Wang, MD
Research Education Component Core: Debomoy Lahiri, PhD and Malu Tansey, PhD
About the Indiana University School of Medicine
The IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. According to the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research, the IU School of Medicine ranks No. 15 in 2025 National Institutes of Health funding among all public medical schools in the country.
Writer: James Howell, jrhowell@iu.edu
For more news, visit the IU School of Medicine Newsroom: medicine.iu.edu/news
About Indiana Alzheimer’s Research Center
The Indiana Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center is a multidisciplinary research program deeply committed to the goals of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) by 2035. The center supports innovative research on the causes, risk factors and biological underpinnings of AD/ADRD, with particular emphasis on early detection, precision medicine and biomarker discovery. Major activities include advanced neuroimaging, genetics and fluid biomarker research, as well as educational programs for researchers and outreach to broadly represented communities.