Sarah Biber, PhD, is an interdisciplinary researcher whose work spans data science, bioinformatics, human-centered systems engineering, and implementation science. For the past four years, she has served as multi-Principal Investigator (mPI) and Executive Director of the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC), where, together with Dr. Walter Kukull, she has overseen its $60M research portfolio and guided NACC’s transformation into a modern, multimodal cloud-based platform integrating standardized longitudinal clinical, imaging, biomarker, and real-world data, along with genomic and neuropathological data. In this role, she has expanded access to NACC for the global research community and strengthened its role as the national hub for data, communications, and collaboration across the National Institute on Aging’s 36 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs).

As part of this effort, Dr. Biber has developed and deployed innovative tools for data search, visualization, access, and analysis, enabling researchers to more effectively leverage complex datasets and accelerate discovery.

She also serves as mPI of The Consortium for Clarity in ADRD Research Through Imaging (CLARiTI), a $150M NIA initiative. CLARiTI is expanding ADRC participant recruitments to improve the generalizability of findings and bringing together imaging, blood-based biomarkers, and digital neuropathology data from across the ADRC Program to disentangle mixed dementia and accelerate biomarker and therapeutic development.

Her research is driven by a commitment to advancing early detection and precision medicine, enabling streamlined access to data and tools, reducing burden on research stakeholders, and promoting data standardization and interoperability. To achieve these aims, Dr. Biber develops stakeholder-informed cyberinfrastructure to support the integration and reuse of multimodal data; designs implementation models that reflect real-world workflows; applies team science approaches to address complex, system-level challenges; and uses mixed-methods and usability studies to support real-world deployment, adoption, and sustained impact.

Her long-term goal is to translate innovations in data science and informatics into sustainable infrastructure and workflows that support representative, scalable, and actionable research—particularly in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD), where the data ecosystem is siloed and rapidly evolving.