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.
HADRC is built to move beyond simply “adjusting for sex” and instead to study sex as a biological variable across the full research pipeline. Our goal is to identify sex-specific patterns that can improve diagnosis, prognostication, and therapeutic decision-making for both women and men.
Key scientific themes we support:
-Biological staging and progression: How tau, neurodegeneration, and brain resilience differ across sexes over time
-Vascular contributions: How hypertension, diabetes, and other vascular risks interact with dementia biology especially after menopause
-Immune and inflammatory biology: Sex-linked differences in immune signaling that may shape disease trajectories
-Co-pathologies and heterogeneity: How mixed dementia biology (e.g., vascular injury, synuclein-related pathology, TDP-43) contributes to symptoms and outcomes
-Treatment response: Building the foundation for sex-stratified approaches to therapeutic effectiveness and adverse effects
By combining longitudinal clinical data with biomarkers, imaging, and (when available) neuropathology confirmation, the HADRC creates a rigorous platform for developing actionable, sex-informed precision medicine strategies.
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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