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Institute Highlights

  • One of 30 designated Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRC) funded by the National Institutes on Aging (NIA) and the only center in Orange County
  • One of 10 designated California Alzheimer’s Disease Centers (CADC) funded by the California Department of Public Health and the only center in Orange County
  • Established as an Organized Research Unit (ORU) in 1995 by founding director, Dr. Carl Cotman, Professor of Neurology and international leader in exercise and brain aging research
  • The first Alzheimer’s disease mouse model to develop both plaques and tangles invented by Dr. Frank LaFerla, Director of UCI ADRC, Dean of UCI School of Biological Sciences; model used by more than 150 researchers from over 20 countries worldwide
  • Predoctoral and postdoctoral training program to prepare the next generation of scientists and clinicians
  • First NIH-funded induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell core in the ADRC network
  • Down Syndrome Program led by Dr. Ira T. Lott, Professor Emeritus, UC Irvine School of Medicine
  • The 90+ Study led by Dr. Claudia Kawas, Professor of Neurology and Neurobiology & Behavior
  • Longitudinal Study
  • Member of National Clinical Trials Network and site for trials of promising therapies aiming to treat, prevent, and cure Alzheimer’s disease
  • The Consent-to-Contact (C2C) Registry, an online tool to match adults in Orange County with clinical research studies at UCI
  • Southern California Alzheimer’s Disease Research Conference attended by over 400 community members annually since 1989