Co-Chair: Mary Birchard, Executive Director, Alzheimer's Association

Co-Chair: Anne Murray, MD, Geriatrician, Hennepin County Medical Center

Team Members: Brad Boeve, MD; Joseph Gaugler, PhD; Leah Hanson, PhD; Laura Hemmy, PhD; Bill Keigan; Faten Khoury; Siobhan McMahon, GNP; Ronald Petersen, PhD, MD; Patricio Reyes, MD; Susan Schumacher, CNS; Carol Shapiro; April Stadtler; John Thomas, MD; Kathy Zahs, PhD

Staff: John Selstad

The Research expert team will identify research activities currently taking place in MN and consider the role of government in facilitating the financing and support of research — especially in areas essential to creating a dementia competent state. A significant amount of team effort will be put into examining the ways evidence-based research can be put into practice in Minnesota. The team will also consider the role of a surveillance system to provide accurate estimates of the number of persons with Alzheimer’s and the changing population with dementia.

Steps to promote dementia research that will support the primary goal of the ADWG: to enable MN to become a dementia-competent state:

• Create a research directory that will identify dementia- related research activities currently taking place in MN
• Make the research directory easily accessible to investigators, dementia patients and caregivers, and the media, to ensure all are informed of new research findings and opportunities to participate in clinical trials and other research studies in MN
• Identify ways to promote communication of new research findings between investigators to encourage collaboration and growth of dementia research in MN
• Address the role of MN government in facilitating the financing and support of dementia research—especially in areas essential to creating a dementia competent state (e.g., lobbying for a tax or fee check-off to create a new state-funded granting mechanism)
• Identify methods of integrating evidence-based dementia research findings into practice in MN and methods to sustain the integration of these findings into practice
• Assess the need for and role of a dementia surveillance system to provide accurate estimates of the number of persons with AD and related dementia in MN (e.g., the CDC's Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System)

To view meeting materials and resources, go to the Navigator box on the right side of your screen, and select "Pages" or "Files" under the Research Expert Team folder.