The NYU Alzheimer’s Disease Center (ADC) is part of the Department of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine, located in midtown Manhattan, in New York City, New York. The ADC is one of thirty Alzheimer's disease research centers in the United States supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). As an NIA-supported research facility, the center's goals are to advance current knowledge and understanding of brain aging and Alzheimer's disease, to expand the numbers of scientists working in the field of aging and Alzheimer's research, to work toward better treatment options and care for those living with memory impairment, and most importantly, to apply its findings to the care of patients and their families, and share these findings with healthcare providers, researchers, and the general public.

The ADC's programs and services are directed toward providing its patients and their families with the highest quality diagnostic evaluations, the latest treatment options available, psychosocial support and education that reflect the most up-to-date information about Alzheimer's disease and memory impairment. The ADC's programs and services extend to other research facilities and to healthcare professionals through shared knowledge and collaboration, and to the general public through seminars, presentations at community centers, the ADC's newsletter and this web site.

The NYU ADC is made up of seven core facilities that provide important resources to aging and dementia research programs and scientists at NYU. Each of these cores has the dual goal of providing quality service to patients while also furthering the goals of Alzheimer’s research.

The Administrative Core

Clinical Core

Neuropathology Core

Education Core

Data Management and Biostatistics Core

Neuroimaging Core

Psychosocial Core

ADMINISTRATIVE CORE

The Administrative Core of the ADC provides overall administrative supervision and coordination of the Center to optimize the scientific progress of affiliated researchers, to ensure an environment conducive to the conduct of productive research on Alzheimer’s disease and to make certain that the basic objectives of the ADC are achieved. Annual solicitation and review of pilot studies to be funded by the ADC is also coordinated by the Administrative Core.

CLINICAL CORE

The Clinical Core provides participants with expert, accurate diagnostic and cognitive evaluations and maintains the information and clinical material from these evaluations for further study. Thus the Clinical Core provides well-diagnosed research participants for scientists conducting clinical studies. Participants are followed over time, including post mortem examination for those enrolled in the brain donation program. The Core matches participants with clinical research projects that are appropriate for them, including clinical trials of the latest new treatments.

NEUROPATHOLOGY CORE

The Neuropathology Core is best known to research participants and their families for its brain donation program. Through the brain donation program and other efforts, this core conducts thorough postmortem examinations (autopsies) and maintains a brain bank for continued study by Alzheimer’s researchers.

EDUCATION CORE

The Education Core provides training and education about AD, MCI and changes in memory associated with normal aging to the elderly and their family members, health care professionals, social service providers and research scientists.
Family counselors at the ADC disseminate information about memory loss and AD to caregivers and family members both formally, through lectures in the community and seminars at the NYU School of Medicine, and informally, through telephone and personal interactions. These activities help us to recruit new research subjects for the ADC and retain existing participants.
Members of the professional staff of the NYU ADC lecture and provide resource information and consultation to staff members of health and social service providers in the community. Counselors mentor new AD support group leaders and social work interns.

THE DATA MANAGEMENT AND STATISTICS CORE (DATA CORE)

NEUROIMAGING CORE

The MRI and PET scan studies for participants of the ADC undergoing a comprehensive memory evaluation are provided and interpreted under the mandate of the Neuroimaging core. This data together with other research efforts contribute to the understanding of the markers that signify the progression of the illness. This data is categorized and organized in a user friendly format that facilitates its use by the other cores and by collaborating researchers. This research is identifying markers of AD from its earliest onset to its later stages, and contributes to discovering the causes of this disease.

PSYCHOSOCIAL CORE

The Psychosocial Core conducts a comprehensive assessment of the primary caregivers of all subjects participating in the Clinical Core, and family members of those with MCI and AD, follows them longitudinally and provides them with counseling on request. At the conclusion of every diagnostic evaluation of the Clinical Core, counselors of the Psychosocial Core conduct conferences with the subject, primary caregiver (if appropriate) and other family members. The counseling staff is available to respond to requests for help and information, are a user-friendly resource and a link between center subjects and other center staff.  Their activities facilitate recruitment of new subjects and retention of current subjects.  The Psychosocial Core facilitates the development of new treatment and care strategies and the investigation of the impact of living with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders on the person with the illness and the caregiving family. The Psychosocial Core database, containing multifaceted longitudinal information obtained with a structured questionnaire battery during regular visits to the ADC is a rich research resource for the NYU Psychosocial Research Program, and for other collaborating investigators in the field.

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