IMPACT-AD

Institute on Methods and Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in ADRD

A comprehensive training program in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

San Diego, CA
Professionals Track: August 2025 (dates coming soon).
Fellowship Track: August 2025 (dates coming soon).

Welcome to IMPACT-AD

Thank you for your interest in the IMPACT-AD Course.

Read the 2021 IMPACT-AD article

If you want to learn more about the IMPACT-AD course, please check out our recently published paper in the Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease. In this paper we discuss the data collected from the 2020 inaugural course. This is a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about the IMPACT-AD program.

Read a welcome letter from the IMPACT-AD Co-Directors

Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) are public health crises and critical areas of scientific effort. The National Institutes of Health, Alzheimer’s Association, and other federal, state, and non-profit funders of research are investing heavily in the science of AD/ADRD in an effort to curb the impact of these debilitating, burdensome, and costly disorders. Tremendous advances made in understanding the pathobiology of disease will ultimately have one final pathway to impacting clinical care and public health – randomized controlled clinical trials.

IMPACT-AD was founded to train the next generation of AD/ADRD clinical trialists, to ensure that investments in discovery yield outcomes for patients and families. Our goal is to provide education and tools to establish a national cohort of qualified investigators to guide the field toward improved therapies. Equally importantly, we are focused on diversifying the AD/ADRD trial workforce. This diversity is manifold: it includes the demographic characteristics of investigators (age, race, ethnicity, etc.), but also their specialties (physicians, psychologists, statisticians, etc.), backgrounds (rural, urban, etc.), and career stage or current position (current AD Clinical Trial Consortium (ACTC) site, non-ACTC academic site, non-academic site). IMPACT-AD will be successful if it produces an outstanding, well-trained, diverse, and knowledgeable cohort of collaborative investigators who will carry the mantle of the National Plan to Address AD.

IMPACT-AD will leverage the outstanding collection of investigators, including members of the ACTC and beyond. National and international leaders in AD/ADRD trials will gather annually to provide a unique, interactive, cutting-edge educational experience in AD/ADRD trials. We offer two tracks for those interested in advancing their careers in ADRD trials.

Sincerely,

Rema Raman, PhD

IMPACT-AD Co-Director

Joshua Grill, PhD

IMPACT-AD Co-Director

Watch a message from Richard J. Hodes, MD, Director of the National Institute on Aging

A message from Maria Carrillo, PhD, CSO of the Alzheimer’s Association

Course Tracks

Professionals Track:
August 2025 (dates coming soon)

Individuals selected to this track have at least 2 years of experience in ADRD research and/or clinical trials (in a broad variety of roles including, but not limited to clinicians, study coordinators, psychometricians, and other study professionals) and will be trained to further their knowledge and advance their careers in ADRD trials.

Fellowship Track:
August 2025 (dates coming soon)

Individuals selected to this track will be trained to serve as Principal Investigators in ADRD trials and offered mentored training in protocol development.

Course Details

Goals of the Course

To provide early-stage investigators and those new to AD trials with a unique, comprehensive, and active learning experience in ADRD trials.

This will be accomplished by leveraging the full infrastructure and expertise of the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) to enable a diverse range of clinicians, scientists and researchers to receive modern and robust training on ADRD clinical trials.

IMPACT-AD is an Alzheimer’s Disease and related disorders (ADRD) course that aims to educate and promote diversity among research professionals and future principal investigators in the field of ADRD research.

Lectures will be given by national leaders in ADRD trials, and attendees will have the opportunity to work closely with the field’s top investigators in small group workshops.
IMPACT-AD emphasizes diversity of trainees, interactive learning, a cooperative culture among alumni and long-term metrics of success.
The course will be free to those who attend and will count as CME credit.

More Info