Understanding the Brain. Advancing Care. Transforming Lives.

The Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research (CANDR) at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine is dedicated to accelerating discoveries, training the next generation of scientists, and improving brain health outcomes for communities across Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, Appalachia, and beyond.

About CANDR

The Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases Research (CANDR) — a Center housed within the College of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati — bringing together clinicians, biomedical researchers, community health advocates, and educators under one unified mission:

To prevent, detect, and ultimately end Alzheimer's disease and related dementias — with a focus on the vascular contributions that too often go unaddressed.

CANDR builds on decades of nationally recognized stroke and cerebrovascular research at UC, now channeled toward a new frontier: understanding how small vessel disease, vascular injury, and environmental factors drive cognitive decline and dementia.

We are organized into nine specialized research cores — spanning clinical care, administrative, biomarker science, neuroimaging, neuropathology, nutrition & lifestyle, data management & statistical, outreach, and research education — all working in concert to produce breakthroughs that help real patients, today and tomorrow.

Our Vision

CANDR envisions a future in which:

Impact at a Glance

9

Integrated Research Cores

40+

Years of NIH-Funded Cerebrovascular Research

$150M+

Raised for UC Neuroscience since 1999

1,003+

Cincinnati Cohort Biomarker Program Participants

Research Focus Snapshot

CANDR's research is anchored in a critical, yet historically underexplored, area of brain health: the relationship between cerebrovascular disease and dementia.

Did you know?

CANDR is uniquely positioned to pursue this opportunity, leveraging UC's world-class expertise in stroke research, biomarker science, neuroimaging, and nutrition science.

Connection to Clinical Care

CANDR's research is directly connected to patient care through the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute (UCGNI) Memory Care and Brain Health Center — the region's trusted destination for memory evaluation, diagnosis, and subspecialty care.

The Memory Care and Brain Health Center serves as the clinical 'laboratory' for CANDR's research, enabling a powerful research-to-care pipeline: discoveries made in our labs inform treatments offered to patients, and patient experiences shape the research questions we pursue.

Latest News