Training the Next Generation of Social and Behavioral Physician-Scientists in ADRD: The Indiana ADRD Medical Scientist Training Program

There is a critical need to grow and strengthen the pipeline of physician scientists who have expertise in sociomedical and behavioral research and are dedicated to addressing the nation's challenges posed by Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). The Indiana ADRD Medical Scientist Training Program

(IADRD MSTP) was conceived to meet this need. This application leverages the strengths of our robust infrastructure of ADRD research, world class graduate training programs in medical neurosciences and sociology, and our existing MD-PhD program at Indiana University School of Medicine to train the next

generation of physician scientists who will become leaders in ADRD research. The Aims of the IADRD MSTP are: 1) To recruit and train a competitive pool of diverse students who espouse a strong interest and commitment to social and behavioral research and patient care focused on Alzheimer's disease and related

dementias; 2) To engage MD-PhD students early in mentored sociomedical and behavioral research that integrates Indiana University's systems-based medical training curriculum with our cutting edge ADRD research that reinforces commitment and minimizes attrition of physician-scientists ADRD; and 3) To graduate

students with dual MD-PhD degrees with strong methodological training in social and behavioral science and experts in ADRD who will be competitive for residency and be successful independent investigators at the best academic medical centers nationwide. To achieve these aims, we will develop an MD-PhD training program

with rigorous didactic training in social, behavioral, and clinical research methods, with flexibility to allow students to focus their effort on one methodological area of interest; early initiation of ADRD research experiences with multidisciplinary teams of mentors and advisors; and the provision of educational experiences

that enhance students' abilities to become independent researchers. The IADRD MSPT will leverage the existing ADRD sociomedical, behavioral and clinical research infrastructure at Indiana University that has a current portfolio of over $408 million in funded research and our internationally recognized and ranked doctoral

programs in Medical Neurosciences and Sociology to identify, train, mentor, and successfully graduate two MD-PhD students per year. The program will be administratively successful with both its own independent group of faculty advisors and its organizational integration with the existing successful MD-PhD program within

the IUSM that has an eleven-year track record of success and is supported by the NIH, Dean's office, Indiana CTSI, and a dedicated $10M endowment to the program.