Working Groups and Committees

This group includes all ADSP members. Please see the ADSP Membership Policy for information about becoming a member.

The ADSP Functional Genomics Consortium (FunGen-AD) aims to apply cutting-edge genomics technologies and high-throughput genetic screening to understand the functional impacts underlying the genetic basis of susceptibility and resilience of Alzheimer’s disease, and to identify genetics-guided targets for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). The FunGen-AD All Hands meeting provides a forum for discussion of FunGen-AD projects and other administrative items.

The FunGen Trainee Network supports trainee career development by fostering a collaborative community across computational and experimental research in functional genomics. The Network provides a structured forum for trainees to present and discuss their research, gain exposure to diverse scientific approaches, and develop skills in scientific communication. Through regular meetings and ongoing interaction via Slack, the Network promotes peer mentoring, knowledge exchange, and professional growth, strengthening trainees’ career readiness and connections within the broader research community.

The Analysis Working Group (AWG) serves as a central forum for all ADSP members to exchange, disperse, and discuss information regarding the activities of the ADSP. Typical agenda topics include:

• Announcements and updates for all ADSP members. These may include program activities, updates on data releases, submitted analysis plans, collaboration opportunities, outreach opportunities, etc.
• Scientific presentations on both in-progress and completed work. This includes updates on in-progress analysis plans and other ADSP collaborative projects, with time for in-depth discussion.

In March 2026, the AWG and Analysis Coordinating Group (ACG) merged into this one combined Working Group. 

The ADSP AI/ML Consortium is applying cognitive systems approaches to the analysis of AD genetic and related data. Analysis of the data generated and harmonized by the ADSP will help to identify new genes and genetic pathways that will reveal risk and protective factors for AD and guide the field toward novel therapeutic approaches to the disease. The AI/ML Working Group meets to share research updates on AI/ML Consortium projects and discuss collaborations within the AI/ML Consortium and between AI/ML investigators and other ADSP components.

The primary goal of the Data Interoperability Working Group (WG) is to shorten the time for researchers to make discoveries through analysis of ADSP data. To achieve this goal, the WG supports ADSP efforts to produce high-quality, well-documented data that is interoperable across the ADSP data landscape and with external AD/ADRD resources and repositories. The Data Interoperability WG serves as an intermediary between data sources and users. It receives updates about ADSP data generation and curation efforts, and it provides feedback and support to the entities managing ADSP data production, QC, and release. The WG identifies issues, makes recommendations, and supports prioritization of efforts to shorten the time between biospecimen submission and data analysis-driven discovery. The Data Interoperability WG develops and/or endorses data standards for consideration by the ADSP Steering Committee and NIA Program leadership.

The ADSP Follow-Up Study Sequencing (FUS-Seq) Working Group meets to discuss activities of the FUS 2.0 Diversity Initiative: Recruitment and Retention of Diversity Cohorts, including challenges and progress in collecting samples for genotyping, sequencing, and harmonization.

The FunGen xQTL Project provides comprehensive molecular quantitative trait loci (xQTL) analyses across multiple molecular phenotypes, along with integrative analysis for neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s disease. xQTL Project meetings include progress updates and presentations of recent findings arising from Project activities.

The GCAD-QC Working Group meeting is used to discuss genomic data production, pipeline development, pipeline testing and updates, QC, and release progress. Reports and updates are provided by GCAD and NIAGADS. The meetings provide a forum for ADSP members to provide input and ask questions.

The ADSP Phenotype Harmonization Consortium (ADSP-PHC) was established to harmonize the rich endophenotype data across cohort studies to enable modern genomic analyses of ADRD. The mission of the ADSP-PHC is to work in coordination with other ADSP working groups and initiatives to streamline access to endophenotype data, provide high quality phenotype harmonization across domains, and provide comprehensive documentation of both data availability and harmonization procedures, with the goal of generating harmonized data that will become a “legacy” dataset perpetually curated and shared through NIAGADS. The PHC WG meets to discuss ADSP-PHC activities and share research updates.

The Protective Variants (PV) Working Group aims to identify variants, genes, and gene sets that modify the effect of known AD risk factors such as APOE-ε4, age, and sex. Protective genetic factors are a high priority as potential AD therapeutic targets. PV WG activities focus on APOE-ε4 extremes analyses and deviations from risk predicted by AD models generated from APOE, age, and sex. Analyses use multi-ethnic ADSP and AD genetics community sequencing and genotyping array datasets, as appropriate.

The Structural Variants (SV) Working Group studies small indels (insertions and deletions; <50 bp); larger deletions, duplications, and insertions; and balanced forms, such as inversions and translocations. Members discuss progress from multiple laboratories using multiple approaches. The goal is to generate call sets by multiple methods with known specificity and sensitivity characteristics.

The AI/ML Executive Committee comprises the AI/ML Consortium MPIs and NIA program officers. They meet to discuss administrative topics for the Consortium.

The FunGen-AD Consortium MPIs meet to discuss administrative topics for the Consortium.

The Gene Verification Committee (GVC) reviews published human genetic evidence to determine whether specific loci or genes are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or dementia and contribute to disease risk. The GVC uses two complementary variant- and aggregate-based evaluation frameworks, designating associations as having sufficient, suggestive, limited, or insufficient evidence, to evaluate the quality of genetic support and to prioritize loci and genes for investment in functional genomic studies and downstream therapeutic target selection.

The ADSP Program Planning Committee (PPC) works together to create the goals, agendas, formats, and speaker rosters for the ADSP Annual Program Meetings. The PPC also gives guidance needed to enable the Coordinating Center (CC) to carry out the logistics and planning for the meeting. The NIA program staff will ensure that the PPC proposals align with programmatic and Institute objectives.

The Steering Committee (SC) is the main governing body of the Consortium. It is composed of stewards representing scientific perspectives from across ADSP constituencies and is focused on ensuring the success of the ADSP. The SC votes on major initiatives and updates or changes to Consortium policies, procedures, Working Groups (WGs) and Committees, and/or the scientific agenda. The SC also helps to maintain  institutional knowledge and track progress of the ADSP program, receiving updates from WGs and Committees by special request when routine channels (e.g. the Across ADSP newsletter or website updates) are insufficient. The SC is also responsible for ensuring that Consortium policies, procedures, and decisions are enacted, for ensuring alignment of ADSP activities with NIA priorities, responding to EPC reports, and addressing Congressional reporting requests from the NIA.

The ADSP Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) works together to strategically evaluate, define, and (as needed) reshape the ADSP’s organization and governance to address existing challenges and support the ADSP’s scientific and analytic goals. The SPC’s objective is to strengthen an ADSP-wide culture of collaboration, innovation, and transparency, as well as to improve efficiency, enhance communication, and simplify logistical hurdles.

The Analysis Coordinating Group (ACG) was overseen by the EC-4C and includes ADSP PIs and other investigators from the ADSP. A primary function of the ACG was to exchange information on all activities of the ADSP and disperse that information to ADSP members.

The EC-4C was the governing body of the ADSP and was responsible for both ADSP administrative duties and enhancing collaborative efforts to meet the goals of the ADSP. The EC-4C had its last meeting on September 1, 2026, following which ADSP governance transferred to the Steering Committee.