The UCLA Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI) has been selected to store and compile data for a $60 million public-private initiative launched Oct. 13 in Washington, D.C., by the National Institute on Aging to examine ways of measuring the progression of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

The five-year Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative will test whether serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), other biological markers, and clinical and neuropsychological assessment can be combined to measure the progression of the brain disorders.

The multi-site study could help researchers and clinicians develop new treatments and monitor their effectiveness as well as lessen the time and cost of clinical trials. The project is the most comprehensive effort to date to find neuroimaging and other biomarkers that identify cognitive changes associated with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

In April 2005, investigators at approximately 50 sites across the United States and Canada, including UCLA, will begin recruiting about 800 adults to participate in the research. Data will be stored and compiled using LONI's supercomputer and production facilities. The LONI Scientific Visualization Group has a cutting-edge production studio capable of outputting the highest quality animations. The wet labs are equipped with state of the art processing equipment for computational neuroanatomy and a suite of optical cameras for functional imaging.

The director of LONI is Dr. Arthur Toga, professor of neurology and associate director of the Division of Brain Mapping at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

The UCLA site investigator for the initiative is Dr. George Bartzokis, professor of neurology at the Geffen School of Medicine, director of the UCLA Memory Disorders and Alzheimer's Disease Clinic and clinical core director of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.