For Investigators

Our mission is to promote and support scientific research on Alzheimer’s disease and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).  We encourage investigators to request data and resources from the Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (BU ADRC) to support their research needs and endeavors.

Please read carefully to determine which type of request you would like to submit then click on the link to start the request process. Please be aware, that depending on the request, you may need to fill out more than one request form. All requests are formally reviewed by the BU ADRC Executive Committee.

If you start the online form but do not have time to complete it or you need to gather more information, please use the “save and continue” button at the bottom of each page until you get to the last page of the form.  There you will have an option to save the request until it is complete.  Once the request is complete please use the Submit button to send the request to our Executive Committee for review.

Note: In order to fulfill our center’s mission, information regarding our data and participants’ enrollment must be reported back to our center.

Clinical Data Request

Clinical data requests include demographic, diagnostic, and other risk factor data on HOPE participants. More limited data is available on Registry participants. Please submit a Clinical research data Request Form to access existing clinical research data.

MRI Data Request

MRI data is available on a subset of the HOPE study participants. These data were collected on a 3T Philips scanner using a 32-channel head coil at the Center for Biomedical Imaging at Boston University School of Medicine. This scanner is ADNI certified. The MRI scan protocol included a T1 MPRAGE sequence, FLAIR sequence, T2* sequence, HARDI sequence, and resting-state fMRI sequence. The T1 MPRAGE sequences have been processed using Freesurfer and quantitative data is available through the BU-ADRC data core. Raw images in dicom format are available for sharing with qualified researchers for all sequences. MRI scan acquisition with this protocol began in 2015. Follow-up scans are now being collected from selected participants. All scans were acquired using study-specific ids and no identifying information is included in the scan headers. This information would need to be obtained from the BU-ADRC data core. 

Fluid Biomarker Request

To access Fluid Biomarker Samples, please submit a Fluid Sample Request Form here

Brain Tissue Request

To obtain brain tissue samples for your research, please submit a Brain Tissue Request Form. Due to high demand, all requests for tissue will be limited to a maximum of 20 samples per request. Please note all requests for brain tissue usually take at least  6 months to fill after your request has been approved.  

Participant Recruitment for Research Request

To obtain permission to recruit BU ADRC registry participants for your research or to access existing registry clinical data, please submit a Participant Recruitment  Request Form.

The BU ADRC offers two levels of support for clinical research recruitment:

1. Our database generates a participant list recommended for studies based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following that, our Recruitment Coordinator will reach out on behalf of the study to all individuals who are eligible for participation. Calls and emails are logged and monitored, and status updates are given to PI’s and Study Coordinators as they deem necessary. If you are interested in how recruitment may look for your study please contact Dean Sheppard at sheppard@bu.edu
2. Participants come from many activities initiated by the BU ADRC, including community-based presentations, recruitment through formal affiliations with area continuing care retirement communities, memory fairs, community memory screenings, and retention events. If you would like to leverage this type of recruitment assistance for your study, please email Senior Data Manager, Diane Dixon at dixon@bu.edu.  

Request for Pilot Grant Applications

The Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (BU ADRC) Is Soliciting Proposals for Pilot and Feasibility Studies

New proposals or initiatives for biomedical, epidemiological behavioral, legal, ethical, health systems or other research in Alzheimer’s disease are encouraged. Two NIH-funded proposals for $25,000 in direct costs for one-year non-renewable studies will be awarded. The Development Grant funding mechanism is intended to support new investigators from other fields eager to bring their expertise to bear on Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD), as well as feasibility testing of novel research to develop preliminary data for larger grant applications. Development study support is not intended for large undertakings by established investigators, or to enhance ongoing research projects that are already funded.

Investigators must be assistant professor, instructor, post-doctoral fellow, student in a doctoral program, or a more senior investigators who are new to the ADRD field.

A PDF version of the proposal on an NIH PHS 398 form is due on March 31st, 2025 

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html). (Please combine all required PDFs into one PDF). There is a 5-page maximum for the specific aims, background, preliminary results, and experimental methods sections. No appendices are allowed. (If your study is based on human subjects, a Target Enrollment form must be included with your application). Signatures from department or administrative officials are NOT required. The completed proposal should be e-mailed to sheppard@bu.edu. At least two expert reviewers will review and score each grant based on scientific merit, and the Executive Committee will make funding decisions based on these scores and program priorities. The selected grants will be funded from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.

No adjustments to this funding period and no carry-over of funds are allowed. Proposals that utilize the BU ADRC’s resources or data (including the participant registry and/or the brain bank) and grants involving Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) are strongly encouraged. Partnerships with community-based organizations, including resources directed toward the recruitment and retention of diverse research participants, are strongly encouraged as well.

It is critical to our future funding that you cite our NIH grant number P30-AG072978 on any publications, abstracts, or manuscripts that resulted from this project.

For specific program guidelines or additional information regarding the BU ADRC Development Grant program, contact: E-mail: sheppard@bu.edu, Tel: (561) 312-8174.

Submitted proposals should include:

            1) Name of the grant program and the title of the proposal

           2) Specific aims and research proposal (maximum 5 pages total excluding references)

           3) Key personnel biosketch(es)

           4) Detailed budget and justification.

           5) Letter of support from primary advisor (for postdoctoral and student applicants)