# Metals and Metal Mixtures: Cognitive Aging, Remediation and Exposure Sources (MEMCARE)

> **NIH NIH P42** · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · 2021 · $1,595,150

## Abstract

SUMMARY/ ABSTRACT
Health concerns of aging—especially cognitive decline and memory loss in older age—have huge public health
implications as the United States and world populations are shifting in distribution toward older ages. While a
variety of toxicants contribute to cognitive aging, we are focused on heavy metals (Pb, As, Mn, Cd, Cr, and Se)
and metal mixtures because, despite years of regulation, clean-up, and remediation efforts, metal
contamination in many Superfund sites persists and continues to threaten public health. To our knowledge,
there is no current Superfund Research Center (SRC) that specifically addresses the health effects, risk, and
remediation of metal contaminants in relation to their effects on cognitive health in older age. To fill this critical
gap and to address the pressing public health problems posed by environmental metal contaminants on
cognitive aging, we propose a new SRC entitled Metals and Metal Mixtures: Cognitive Aging, Remediation and
Exposure Sources (MEMCARE). The overall goal of MEMCARE-SRC is to understand and mitigate effects of
exposure to metals and metal mixtures on late-life cognitive health. To achieve this goal, we have designed a
highly integrated, solution-based program of 4 Research Projects and 4 Cores. Project 1 uses an innovative
approach to assess early-life exposures and late-life cognitive function in a unique population of adults now in
their 60s and 70s who donated baby teeth as children. Project 2 investigates basic biological mechanisms
underlying effects of early-life exposures using both in vitro and in vivo approaches. Project 3 examines the
role of surface and groundwater treatment systems in spatial and temporal patterns of metals in water across
the US, including Superfund sites. Project 4 will develop novel nanostructured adsorbents to remove metals
from water, potentially providing improved remedies for our populations in Project 1 and the Community
Engagement Core (CEC). Our CEC will partner with an urban, industrially-contaminated community in Boston,
MA, and a rural community directly affected by two Superfund sites in Colorado. The Data Management and
Analysis Core (DMAC) will provide data management, biostatistical, and bioinformatics support and ensure
resource sharing and reproducible science for all Projects and Cores. The Administrative Core will provide
oversight and communicate our science to stakeholders. The Research Experience and Training Coordination
Core (RETCC) will embed with all aspects of our Center to provide doctoral and postdoctoral trainees with
relevant experiences in all aspects of work in the SRC.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10112910
- **Project number:** 5P42ES030990-02
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Quan Lu
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,595,150
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-02-21 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10112910

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10112910, Metals and Metal Mixtures: Cognitive Aging, Remediation and Exposure Sources (MEMCARE) (5P42ES030990-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10112910. Licensed CC0.

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