Houston Alzheimer's Disease Research Collaborative (HADRC)
Advancing AD and ADRD discoveries with real-world evidence and collaborative science
The HADRC facilitates collaboration among more than 100 scientists and the broader research community to advance discoveries aimed at the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s disease related dementias (ADRD). Special emphasis is placed on understanding the biological and social factors that contribute to differences in how AD and ADRD affect women and men. The Houston community plays a vital role in shaping this work by offering input, feedback, and ongoing support for HADRC research.
HADRC Investigators
Researchers leading collaborative advances in AD/ADRD science.
The Houston Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (HADRC) brings together researchers from leading Houston institutions to advance biologically informed, precision approaches to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). Our unifying focus is understanding how biological sex influences risk, progression, and treatment response since women and men can experience different disease trajectories, symptom profiles, and responses to therapy.
We support a diverse clinical cohort and characterize it with advanced blood and CSF biomarkers, MRI and PET imaging, and, in the case of demise, autopsy data. These resources allow investigators to study not only amyloid and tau, but also critical contributors to real-world dementia, such as vascular disease, neuroinflammation, and co-pathologies such as LBD and LATE.
HADRC is designed to accelerate discovery and translation by harmonizing data and biospecimens and sharing them broadly through national Alzheimer’s research platforms.
Research Highlight
Administrative Core
Provides centralized leadership, coordination, and oversight to ensure the Houston ADRC operates efficiently, ethically, and collaboratively across all cores and institutions.
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Serves as the clinical foundation of the Houston ADRC by recruiting, evaluating, and following diverse participants over time.
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Integrates data across all cores and provides advanced analytics, statistical support, and secure infrastructure to enable rigorous, reproducible, and shareable ADRC research.
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Provides post-mortem diagnosis and high-quality brain tissue resources to support clinicopathologic correlation, biomarker validation, and mechanistic discovery.
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Builds trusted, community-anchored pathways that expand equitable access to Alzheimer’s research and sustain long-term engagement across diverse populations.
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Collects, analyzes, and shares established and emerging biological markers to characterize disease mechanisms, co-pathologies, and sex-specific differences in Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
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Delivers advanced MRI and PET imaging to define, stage, and track Alzheimer’s disease while uncovering sex-specific brain signatures and disease progression patterns.
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Trains and mentors the next generation of Alzheimer’s and ADRD investigators through interdisciplinary education embedded across all ADRC cores.
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