Last week, Van Park, PhD, a Principal Investigator, was interviewed on KGBN to discuss ACAD. The radio station serves Korean communities in Southern California.

Dr. Park introduced the goals of ACAD and discussed how Korean Americans are often left out of research studies. ACAD is looking to change that by recruiting Asian Americans and Canadians over the age of 60 for the study. Participants do not need to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s to participant.

When asked about the importance of the study, she answered, “There is no cure for AD, we need to better learn what is going on with our own communities. How can we help people who are suffering from AD. The only way we can do that is to conduct a large research, study, gather data, and ask people what their lives, diets, and lifestyles are like.”

Dr. Park also discussed the importance of collecting genetic data, in the form of the saliva or blood, in addition to lifestyle data. The combination of the two allows researchers to gather a bigger picture of the causes of Alzheimer’s disease. ACAD is constantly recruiting, and we all can play a part in creating research that explores our communities.

We are grateful for the opportunity to share our study with more people. The interview is available in English and Korean here