# Dissecting connections between age, health and Alzheimer's disease

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · 2021 · $209,375

## Abstract

Abstract
 As our population ages, there is a steep rise in the number of individuals with age associated
illness including Alzheimer's disease resulting in a tremendous societal burden with explosive
increases in health care costs. Currently, in the USA, over five million people are affected by
Alzheimer's Disease and there is no cure. This proposal aims to fill the gap in our understanding of
the underlying mechanistic connections between the aging process and the onset and severity of
Alzheimer's Disease. The basis of this proposal stems from our successfully published healthy aging
model that we will now apply to Alzheimer's transgenic animals to directly test how the age and heath
of an animal affects Alzheimer's disease. We use C. elegans as our system since C. elegans have a
short (2-3 weeks at 20°C) and invariant lifespan. In addition, C. elegans have a well-conserved
insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway, several age-related changes similar to humans; conserved signaling
pathways; and have Alzheimer’s disease transgenic animals which bear recombinant human amyloid
Aβ. In Aim 1, we will address how changing aging and health kinetics defines the onset and/or
severity of a human Aβ transgenic animal. In Aim 2, we will dissect the effect of age on a human Aβ
transgenic animal. Overall, we will test the Geroscience hypothesis that a major risk factor for a
disease such as Alzheimer's is the aging process. Since our assays test a broad array of functions,
we are also poised to better understand the relationship between the aging process and Alzheimer’s
disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10263907
- **Project number:** 5R21AG067317-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** HEIDI A TISSENBAUM
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $209,375
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-15 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10263907

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10263907, Dissecting connections between age, health and Alzheimer's disease (5R21AG067317-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10263907. Licensed CC0.

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