For Black and African American people, Alzheimer’s disease is a crisis. Despite being disproportionally affected by the disease, people of color are historically underrepresented in research. Dr. Donald Alcendor, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology shares why it is so important for Black and African American people to participate in Alzheimer’s research.

Benefits of joining a study

Founded in 2012, The Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project (VMAP) is a longitudinal study tracking the impact of vascular health on brain health and Alzheimer's disease risk over time. Understanding how vascular health contributes to the multiple pathways of Alzheimer's disease offers researchers a chance to identify intervention targets much earlier in the disease process. 

VMAP is actively recruiting new participants who are 50 years of age or older with no cognitive decline. You do not need a family history of Alzheimer's disease to be eligible. Learn more about our flagship study.

In August 2020, the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center was awarded a 3-year, $3.8M grant from the National Institute on Aging to establish an NIA-funded exploratory Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

With this grant, we established the Tennessee Alzheimer's Project cohort to support expanded Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia research across the Vanderbilt campus.  We are recruiting individuals age 50 and older ranging from cognitively unimpaired to mild Alzheimer’s disease. Learn more about the Vanderbilt Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.

For individuals who have been diagnosed by a doctor with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease, the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center offers clinical trials. We encourage you to join our participant registry so our staff can alert you as new clinical trials open for patient enrollment.

What to Expect during a Research Visit