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Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

Resource Sharing Policies and Procedures

One of the functions of the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center is to make center resources available to investigators engaged in aging research. The center recognizes the importance of sharing its data and specimen resources with other investigators while also recognizing the preciousness of this material. 

Resources include well-characterized individuals for use in research studies, biological specimens (DNA, RNA, plasma, serum, CSF, PBMC) acquired from these individuals, brain tissue and other post-mortem specimens from center subjects who have undergone an autopsy and have been well-characterized neuropathologically, radiologic images and data extracted from processing of these images, and data acquired from center subjects, including demographic, psychosocial, psychiatric, neurological, neuropsychological, neuroradiological, biochemical, genetic and neuropathological data. The following policies and procedures apply to the sharing of resources.

Links to Resources Applications

Investigators wishing to access Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center resources must download the Resource Request Form. After this form is completed, investigators may submit a formal request to the Administrative Core.

required materials Investigators must submit the following materials to the center administrator when requesting access to research specimens.


A written request must specify in adequate detail the specific resource(s) required. This request must include a study protocol indicating the specific aims, scientific rationale, methods and procedure, and analysis of results. Investigators unknown to the center should also include a current curriculum vitae.

A signed Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Resource Utilization Agreement Form is required. In signing this form, investigators agree to restrict their use of the resources to the aims and procedures indicated in their protocol.

For studies involving human subjects that require Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, a copy of this approval should be included. Resources will not be allocated until the center receives a copy of the approval.

Prior to the distribution of biospecimens to investigators outside of Indiana University, a signed Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Resource Utilization Agreement Form is required. The center will also complete a material transfer agreement with that investigator.

Processing Requests

Copies of the request are distributed for review to members of the center’s Executive Committee. The request is discussed at a meeting of the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Executive Committee, and the binding allocation decision is determined by a majority vote of the full Executive Committee.

The Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center attempts to optimize the utilization of research resources and the following considerations are evaluated when processing resource requests:

  • Adequacy of scientific quality and feasibility of the proposed study

  • Qualifications and experience of the investigator(s)

  • Limited availability of specific biological specimens

  • Possible duplication, overlap or conflict with previous, current or planned studies by other investigators

  • Adherence to strict subject confidentiality, human subjects’ guidelines and specimen use in accordance with NIH and Indiana University School of Medicine guidelines and policies

  • Willingness of the investigator(s) to:

    • limit use of the resource(s) provided to the specific aims of the submitted study protocol;

    • not provide the resource(s) to any other investigators without additional approval by the center;

    • submit to the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center for review and comment any resulting manuscripts or conference abstracts, prior to submission, and

    • acknowledge the Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center as the source of the resource in all resulting publications.