Welcome from the Director
Welcome and thank you for your interest in the Cleveland Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (CADRC). We bring together Cleveland-area institutions and communities to address both the local and national need for clinical and scientific solutions to overcome Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias affect about 1 in 9 people aged 65 and older in the U.S., totaling over 6.9 million nationally. The burden of AD and related dementias is expected to grow further with the expanding aging population in the coming years.
Cleveland-area institutions have partnered with the CADRC to address this public health challenge. The CADRC’s partner institutions currently include Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. CADRC is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and one of 33 sister ADRCs and additional exploratory centers in the U.S.
The CADRC was established 2019, and I will be taking over as director in 2025. I have been a behavioral neurologist at the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health since 2012 and a researcher in AD and related dementias for the last 15 years. My personal connection to the patients and families comes from the stories they have shared with me as their physician over the years and witnessing their resilience in the face of this illness. This inspires me to make a difference in finding a path forward for a cure every day. I have seen my patients and their families come together to reshape their lives in meaningful ways despite the loss of memories in their loved ones. To me, this speaks to the difference each one of us can make—through compassionate care, volunteering for research, and supporting novel breakthroughs in both research and caregiving. The CADRC aims to be the catalyst that turns these aspirations into reality.
The CADRC would not be effective on the ground without the skills and commitment of our staff, who manage the research and administration of this multi-institutional enterprise, the vision of our prior leadership—including the outgoing director Dr. James Leverenz, who has steered the center since its inception—and our core leaders at different partner institutions across Northeast Ohio.
Over the last six years, the CADRC has built a robust infrastructure that coordinates efforts across partner institutions, allowing us to meet the mandate of the NIH and those we serve. Our work together has generated tremendous goodwill in our community by creating new opportunities for research and education that benefit patients, families, and the broader public.
In the next phase of the CADRC, we will focus on two goals:
- Increasing the number of stakeholders at the CADRC table, including other area institutions, scientists, and clinicians new to the field of AD research
- Diversifying our outreach across the wider Cleveland-area communities. This will allow us to address the evolving needs of those impacted by AD while remaining nimble and innovative in order to meet research needs nationally.
A key area of research in this next phase of CADRC will be understanding and modifying the many factors that contribute to why people with these diseases decline differently over time. This vision will allow our staff, clinicians, and researchers to focus on the specific needs of individuals with different key drivers of AD, ultimately helping to provide more personalized care in the future. Additionally, our program works with both local and national partners to help prevent AD and related dementias and to find groundbreaking cures through the latest clinical trials.
Cleveland has a strong tradition of innovative and impactful health care, and the CADRC will be at the forefront, keeping this tradition alive for future generations. The excitement and engagement of the Cleveland-area institutions and communities have sustained us since the start of CADRC. Now, in turn, we aim to make a positive impact on them in the coming decades.
I encourage you to reach out to us with any inquiries about our mission, research, outreach, or collaborative opportunities. Follow us to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in AD-related activities in Cleveland and beyond. Please stay engaged with us to make a difference in curing AD and related dementias for the coming generations.