Led by Henry Paulson, MD, PhD, and Bruno Giordani, PhD, the administrative core is responsible for creating and implementing structural improvements within our center while managing staffing, finances, and research-related resources. This core helps to administratively sustain the many research studies and programs we support.

The clinical core, led by Benjamin Hampstead, PhD, and Judith Heidebrink, MD, MS, oversees the many research studies we support and creates new opportunities for innovative and cutting-edge research. This core also conducts U-M Memory and Aging Project (UM-MAP) visits. We have many research coordinators who conduct UM-MAP visits, as well as clinicians, phlebotomists, and imaging coordinators who manage the many other components of our studies.

The data management and statistical core, led by Kelly Bakulski, PhD, helps maintain our center's academic and research productivity by integrating and disseminating data to our research investigators. The data core manages our data privacy, analyzes our data for specific research projects, and facilitates data sharing nationally with the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center.

The neuropathology core facilitates our brain donation program. Andrew Lieberman, MD, PhD, serves as lead with Scott Counts, PhD, as co-investigator at Michigan State University. They work in partnership with the University of Michigan Brain Bank, directed by Sami Barmada, MD, PhD, to provide autopsy services to participating families at death and store and disseminate brain tissue resources to investigators nationwide.

The outreach, recruitment, and engagement core leads education and outreach efforts across the state. This core, led by Scott Roberts, PhD, helps maintain successful relationships with community partners, including patients, families, research participants, and a variety of professional and lay community groups. They work to promote community participation in our research, as well as provide a variety of support, education, and wellness-based programs.

The neuroimaging core, led by Douglas Noll, PhD and Benjamin Hampstead, PhD, manages our MRI and PET scan efforts. The core works to characterize and share our imaging with investigators nationally and gather new vascular health measures to benefit the field.

The biomarker core, housed at Michigan State University’s Grand Rapids campus, is led by Nicholas Kanaan, PhD, and David Morgan, PhD. It focuses on providing measurements of established blood-based biomarkers and developing and implementing new biomarker measurements to identify Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Led by Roger Albin, MD, Peter Lichtenberg, PhD, ABPP, and Irving Vega, PhD, the research education component is dedicated to supporting the next generation of dementia researchers. This component provides resources that support career development in interdisciplinary dementia research and enhanced mentoring and education events to support junior investigators.