Director’s Statement 

Dr. Gary Rosenberg is the Director of the Center for Memory and Aging (CMA) and the NM ADRC. He is also a Professor of Neurology at UNM School of Medicine, where he served as Chairman of Neurology from 1985 to 2016. He founded the CMA and has been directing since its inception. 

He trained in neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx with two of the early leaders in Alzheimer’s disease, Drs. Robert Katzman and Robert Terry. He is an expert in vascular dementia, particularly one form called Binswanger’s disease. Because of his research on white matter, UNM was one of the original sites in the NIH-funded multi-center (MarkVCID) project with the goal of identifying biomarkers for vascular dementia. Dr. Rosenberg and his team have focused on the impact of vascular dysfunction on Alzheimer’s disease based on identifying novel vascular/inflammatory biomarkers, artificial intelligence and precision medicine to improve the classification of different dementias. 

NM ADRC's main thrust is strategies to improve dementia diagnosis for underserved New Mexicans and engage in cutting-edge research. Blood-based biomarkers, in conjunction with mobile-brain imaging, offer a valuable tool for early dementia detection. Their utilization will facilitate the identification of individuals at risk across New Mexico, enabling timely access to disease-modifying treatments for those in the early stages of dementia.

Another focus of research at CMA is the development of ways to improve diagnosis with advanced neuroimaging to detect vascular disease of the white matter and fluid biomarkers to detect evidence of neurodegeneration in the brain. This holds particular significance in detecting multi-etiology dementias, like the convergence of Alzheimer's disease and vascular issues prevalent among the elderly. Precise diagnosis relies on ultrasensitive assay instruments, notably the Quanterix HD-X employing a single molecule assay (SIMOA) platform, to detect early stages of dementia. The collaboration with the MIND Research Network provides the latest in neuroimaging. 

One of our primary goals is to provide dementia care in the state's rural areas. We are working closely with the American Indian population. To accomplish this in the field, we use a hybrid approach: we deploy a mobile MRI scanner into the community to perform MRIs at the Pueblo for the most distant sites and invite people living closer to Albuquerque to visit CMA. 

While many factor(s) contribute to dementia, NM ADRC is focused on vascular dysfunction and inflammation of the brain. NM ADRC’s biomarker discovery programs aim to identify new biomarkers that are involved in the injury to the brain tissue. The long-term goal is to find therapeutic strategies to reduce these pathological processes. 

Another important goal of our center is to train the next generation of dementia caregivers and researchers at multiple levels, ranging from nurses, social workers, and community health representatives to medical students, residents, and post-doctoral research fellows. A crisis is already unfolding due to the shortage of personnel available to care for the increasing number of individuals with cognitive impairment in the state. There are few doctors being trained around the country in the specialties involved in dementia care, such as geriatrics and neurology, and the situation is much worse in the rural setting of our frontier state. One of our goals is to increase this number and expand the dementia workforce.