Chris McLouth, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics and member of the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Data Management and Statistical Core (DMS), was appointed as an Early Career Representative of the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center’s (NACC) DMS Core Steering Committee.
The National Institute on Aging (NIA)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) funds 37 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) across the United States, including UK's Sanders-Brown. The centers work to translate research advances into improved diagnosis and care and find ways to treat and possibly prevent Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Each has its own research focus and recruitment targets. However, all centers maintain longitudinal data of participants who are assessed annually. The annual data are maintained through the Uniform Data Set (UDS) and submitted to NACC, creating a national database.
NACC is advised by multiple steering committees to drive forward Alzheimer's disease research. These committees concentrate on specific scientific domains and operational priorities. They collectively provide the structural and scientific framework necessary for the ADRC program to fulfill its mission of advancing ADRD research.
Each committee plays a unique but interconnected role, ensuring that the program operates efficiently and continues to generate high-impact contributions to the field.
The DMS Core Steering Committee's role is to protect the integrity, accessibility, and usefulness of the large amount of data that the national ADRCs produce. It has developed data collection protocols and oversees quality control so the data stays reliable and standardized. It also supports advanced statistical analysis and data sharing. This steering committee accelerates the pace of discovery and enhances reproducibility of research findings.
McLouth will advocate for the interests and needs of other early career investigators in the ADRC program and organize events targeted to the needs and interests of early career DMS Core researchers. He will serve a two-year term on the committee.
McLouth is a member of the Biostatistics Consulting and Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration Lab (Biostat CIRCL) and the Kentucky Neuroscience Institute, where he provides biostatistical support for the Neuroscience Research Priority Area.
His current research is focused on collaborations with biomedical researchers, primarily in neuroscience, stroke care surveillance and improvement and serves as a co-investigator on many grants.