# Clonal hematopoiesis in the Womens Health Initiative Memory Study

> **NIH NIH R01** · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER · 2020 · $446,371

## Abstract

Project Summary:
Risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease related dementias include common, age-
associated conditions like inflammation, metabolic disorders, atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular disease. A
new potential pathway to Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease related dementia—clonal
hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP)—is also associated with these conditions. CHIP is
characterized by the somatic mutation and expansion of hematopoietic stem cell clones into circulating
subpopulations of genetically distinct peripheral blood leukocytes. In the project supplement described herein,
we propose to leverage data from the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) that collectively
include over 25 years of cognitive surveillance, with brain MRI data available on a subsample of the WHIMS
cohort. The proposed supplement will expand the CHIP sample to include women from WHIMS and WHIMS-
ECHO, the ongoing extension of the WHIMS cohort follow-up, allowing for comprehensive examination of
cognitive decline and outcomes (adjudicated mild cognitive impairment or probable dementia). Together, the
resulting longitudinal phenotypic and somatic genomic data will provide a comprehensive platform for
evaluating associations between CHIP onset and progression, cognitive decline, and incident mild cognitive
impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease related dementias in a large, racially/ethnically
diverse group of aging women.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10122796
- **Project number:** 3R01HL148565-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER RESEARCH CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** ALEXANDER P REINER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $446,371
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-07-15 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10122796

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10122796, Clonal hematopoiesis in the Womens Health Initiative Memory Study (3R01HL148565-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10122796. Licensed CC0.

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