Decentralizing dementia research to the US-Mexico border: the Rio Grande Valley AD-RCMAR as a model for translational equity.

Abstract

Translational equity means ensuring that diagnostics, treatments, care models, and prevention strategies are developed and implemented so they work for populations with the greatest burden and least access to care. In Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), where most evidence derives from highly educated, non-Hispanic White participants at large academic centers, translational equity is critical to prevent misclassification, limited access, and widening disparities and to ensure that underrepresented communities shape how new knowledge moves into practice. Hispanic and other populations in the United States are disproportionately affected by ADRD yet remain underrepresented in research, with gaps especially pronounced in high-poverty border regions such as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas. We describe the design and early outcomes of the Rio Grande Valley Alzheimer's Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RGV AD-RCMAR), a National Institute on Aging-funded P30 center located at a new, R2, Hispanic-Serving Institution. Drawing on program documents, center evaluation data, and alignment with national RCMAR statistics, we examine how the RGV AD-RCMAR's three cores, the Leadership and Administrative Core, Analysis Core, and Community Liaison and Recruitment Core (CLRC), and the Research Education Component (REC) were structured to decentralize where dementia research questions are generated, who leads that work, and how benefits flow back to the community. During the 2018 to 2023 cycle, the RGV center supported 14 early-career investigators, representing ∼5% of all scientists in the national RCMAR/AD-RCMAR portfolio and ∼12% of all AD-RCMAR scientists. The REC maintained 50% female representation, retained 70% of scholars at the institution after pilot funding, and saw scholars secure National Institutes of Health (NIH) K- and R-level awards. The CLRC has built a registry of over 600 residents interested in participation and documented hundreds of engagement activities and community changes, positioning the RGV AD-RCMAR as a border-based model for translational equity in AD/ADRD.