AD Discovery Portal: A Searchable Catalog of ADRD Research Datasets
The Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) Data Initiative’s Discovery Portal is a a user-friendly, publicly accessible dataset catalog for Alzheimer’s and related dementias research, powered by GRIP. The AD Discovery Portal brings together imaging, omics, clinical, and multi-modal data across industry and academic datasets into one searchable platform. It serves researchers at any stage, from those scoping a new study to those seeking a specific cohort, at academic institutions, research centers, and industry organizations worldwide. The AD Discovery Portal is fully integrated with AD Workbench, the Initiative's secure research environment, so researchers can move from discovery to access to analysis without leaving the platform.
At a glance:
- 340+ datasets spanning imaging, omics, clinical, and multi-modal data
- 5.8M+ participant records represented across the catalog
- Publicly accessible catalog of data listings
- Data can be requested at no cost to qualified researchers
- Backed by an AD Workbench community of 10,000+ researchers across 129+ countries
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do the AD Discovery Portal datasets come from?
Datasets enter the AD Discovery Portal from academic institutions, industry sponsors, and research consortia that contribute data through the Initiative's broader product suite.
What types of Alzheimer's disease datasets are available?
The AD Discovery Portal includes imaging, omics, clinical, and multi-modal datasets contributed by academic institutions, industry partners, and research consortia worldwide, representing more than 5.8 million participant records.
- Most requested datasets:
- The Global Neurodegeneration Proteomics Consortium (GNPC) v1 Harmonized Dataset provides 250 million protein measurements from 35,000 biofluid samples across two dozen research institutions. Co-funded by Gates Ventures and Johnson & Johnson. This dataset was used for the GNPC Data Challenge.
- The EPAD LCS v.IMI Dataset consolidates cognitive, clinical, neuroimaging, and biomarker data from 2,096 participants across 31 study sites in 10 European countries, collected through the European Prevention of Alzheimer's Dementia (EPAD) Longitudinal Cohort Study between 2016 and 2020. Funded by the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), the dataset includes genome-wide genotyping from 1,983 participant samples assaying 713,127 SNPs, with linked sub-datasets available for imaging and biosample collections.
- The Bio-Hermes-001 Dataset, led by the Global Alzheimer's Platform (GAP) Foundation and its GAP-Net network of U.S. clinical research sites, pairs blood-based and digital biomarkers with PET- and CSF-confirmed amyloid status from more than 1,000 participants across three clinical cohorts and anchored the Bio-Hermes Biomarker Data Challenge.
Each contributor works with the Initiative under a standardized Data Contributor Agreement, and, depending on data type, harmonizes datasets through AD Curation Studio or shares them directly through the Federated and Distributed Data Sharing Appliance (FDSA) before they appear in the catalog.
What does it take to get started?
Getting started requires no special software or upfront cost. Researchers can browse the catalog without registering, then sign up for a AD Workbench account to access datasets or create workspaces. Step-by-step guidance is available through the AD Data Initiative's Tech Help resources for the AD Discovery Portal, including answers to common setup questions.
How is AD Discovery Portal different from AD Workbench?
The AD Discovery Portal is a publicly accessible dataset catalog where any researcher can browse available datasets, review study details, and register for AD Workbench to initiate an access request. AD Workbench is the Initiative’s secure research resource where approved datasets are accessed, analyzed, and combined. The two are fully integrated: dataset requests initiated in the AD Discovery Portal are provisioned directly to a researcher's AD Workbench workspace once approved.
What other tools does the Alzheimer's Disease Data Initiative offer?
AD Workbench is part of a broader suite of research infrastructure developed by the Alzheimer's Disease Data Initiative. The Federated and Distributed Data Sharing Appliance (FDSA) enables data analysis across institutional boundaries without requiring data movement. The AD Curation Studio supports harmonization and preparation of ADRD datasets for sharing and can be made available upon request. The AD Data Initiative Repository supports long-term data stewardship. Descriptions of each product are available on the AD Data Initiative product suite overview page.
How does the AD Discovery Portal handle data security and privacy?
AD Workbench secures data accessed through the AD Discovery Portal within Workspaces powered by Aridhia and GRIP, and supports compliance with GDPR and other data protection regulations.
Datasets shared through the Federated and Distributed Data Sharing Appliance (FDSA) remain within the contributor's own environment at all times, protected by encryption, authentication, and access controls; the Portal never centralizes or stores that data directly.