EPAD Academy

Like many other public-private partnerships, EPAD gathers an amazing range of research expertise and experience. Most academic partners usually involve young researchers as they build their teams for their assigned tasks. However, the relationship of these early career researchers with the project itself is often very asymmetrical – they usually contribute in very significant ways to the project’s success (and some even become true project champions), but are typically isolated in ‘niches’ pertaining to their respective specific tasks and research areas, therefore benefitting relatively little from being exposed to such a unique world-class environment. The concept of the EPAD Academy originated from a realisation that EPAD was an ideal framework for young researchers (‘EPAD Fellows’) to grow professionally, expand their views, enhance multidisciplinary perspectives and multiply the impact on their future careers – effectively helping to build the next generation of thought leaders in Alzheimer’s research. This however rarely happens organically; it would require a focused effort to understand and fulfil the needs of young researchers, leveraging the resources that the project creates during its development for maximum effect.

The EPAD Academy activities are therefore expected not only to ensure proper exposure of young researchers to the scientific richness of the project and different environments outside their own labs, but also to provide them with training, help them to publish, design new research projects, use project data, build their networks, think outside the box, etc. Expanding the horizons of our EPAD Fellows will surely contribute to faster and better research on Alzheimer’s Dementia in the next decade.