Collaboration with Cornell highlights importance of diversity in brain health studies 

A groundbreaking study from Cornell University on the brain’s “blue spot”, the locus coeruleus (LC), has produced critical new insights into cognitive aging, thanks in large part to a diverse participant sample enabled by SUNY Upstate Medical University. The LC is believed to be the first area impacted by neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. 

The study, titled “Age-related Differences in Locus Coeruleus Intensity Across a Demographically Diverse Sample,” was recently published in Neurobiology of Aging. The Cornell research team discovered that LC neuromelanin levels, which peak in late middle age and decline quickly after, correlate strongly with cognitive performance. Their findings point to the LC as a potential early indicator of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease risk. Because 40% of the study’s participants were non-white, they identified higher peak levels in Black participants and women, two groups historically underrepresented in medical research and more susceptible to Alzheimer’s. 

This level of diversity in a neuroscience study is rare, and it was made possible through SUNY Upstate’s Community Recruitment Research Accelerator,created to advise researchers on effective methods for recruiting and retaining diverse participants in specific studies. The initiative connected Cornell researchers with a community liaison embedded in the Syracuse area to facilitate recruitment, outreach, and trust-building with local populations. 

Dr. Sharon Brangman speaking at a public outreach event in Syracuse, highlighting Upstate's efforts to diversify clinical trials and medical research.

“They were having a hard time recruiting diverse patients, older adults,” said Sharon Brangman, MD, director of Upstate’s Equity Research Core. “Once we got our community research liaison involved, their numbers went up significantly, which helped with the success of their study.” 

According to Dr. Brangman, the recruitment success hinged on a crucial and often overlooked factor: trust. 

“In general, people are very pleased with our center’s help because they don't know how to access different populations of people,” she said. “We have a good rapport and track record with people in the community, and we've increased the amount of trust they have in research in general. Our services have been used not only by Cornell but by Stanford, Syracuse University, and other researchers in the area.” 

That community trust is essential for health equity, especially when it comes to diseases like Alzheimer’s, where outcomes and risks are not evenly distributed among demographics. Dr. Brangman notes that truly understanding and addressing those differences requires time and effort. 

“This is a national issue; not many people have been successful in finding solutions to diverse recruitment, and the solutions are not quick,” she added. “They require a long-term commitment, and many researchers don't have that time. They want the information immediately, but it takes time to develop relationships with different groups of people.” 

You can read more about Cornell’s study here.