ABSTRACT: RESEARCH EDUCATION COMPONENT Preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) will require increasing the number of gifted hands and minds from diverse backgrounds who are passionate about ADRD research, and this is the mission of the Research Education Component (REC) of the UAB ADRC. Because of the breadth and expertise of its large, diverse, and cohesive scientific community, UAB is uniquely positioned to address Deep South disparities in dementia by training a diverse group of future leaders engaged in ADRD research. The REC will leverage significant infrastructure already in place at UAB, including collaborations with the Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR), to achieve goals related to our focus on Deep South disparities in dementia. The purpose of the UAB ADRC REC is to build research capacity on Deep South disparities in dementia. We will expand the ADRD workforce by mentoring a diverse group of scholars with the necessary intellectual and technical competences to bring together basic science and clinical collaborations that will improve the lives of dementia patients. Launching Excellent Alzheimer’s Disease Research Scholars (LEADRS) is our REC Scholars program and has two parallel pathways. The REC Trainee track includes graduate students and early postdocs and the REC Investigator track includes late-stage postdocs and junior faculty. Support provided to each is different and specific to the needs of the two groups. We will develop a broad-based curriculum to support engagement with the UAB ADRC and REC scholars and provide mentorship and research navigation to UAB investigators new to ADRD. The impact of the REC on the UAB ADRC will be measured yearly, by the quality and impact of the research conducted by affiliated trainees and the overall potential impact their research has on society. The major thematic goals of the UAB REC are to increase diversity, collaborate to support trainees and scholars, and offer an array of programming that promotes engagement with the UAB ADRC and enhances ADRD research across the UAB community.