Introduction to the UNITED Consortium

The Uncovering Neurodegenerative Insights Through Ethnic Diversity (UNITED) consortium, led by Dr. Hieab Adams, is a global collaborative effort on high-dimensional neuroimaging markers in relation to neurodegenerative diseases. Analogous to GWAS, where studies worldwide have joined forces to unravel the genetic architecture of neurodegenerative diseases, the UNITED consortium aims to determine their “morphological” architecture. Specifically, we want to investigate millions of structural neuroimaging markers in relation to neurodegeneration, with the aim of improving understanding of these diseases and impacting clinical care. To date, the UNITED consortium consists of over 65 000 neuroimaging samples.

So far, the majority of studies are performed in persons from Western Europe and North America, but studying ethnically diverse populations has been shown to provide deeper insights by taking advantage of natural differences across groups. Therefore, we are explicitly looking to strengthen collaborations with researchers from currently underrepresented regions, including South America, Africa, and Asia.

For more information see also www.theunitedconsortium.com