# Project 4:  Precision Methods for Assessing Brain Health and Age-related Cognitive Impairment

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA · 2021 · $392,576

## Abstract

SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: Project 4
Precision Methods for Assessing Brain Health and Age-related Cognitive Impairment and AD
Combatting the growing public health and societal burdens associated with age-related cognitive impairment
(ARCI) and cognitive decline will not be easy. What is needed are reliable risk assessment, early detection,
and ultimately, intervention strategies for maintaining cognitive health at older ages. The development and
implementation of such strategies are complicated by the number, complexity, and heterogeneous nature of
the factors that contribute to ARCI. To understand this complexity, it will be necessary to collect and integrate
different sources of information. These data will come from large samples of longitudinally characterized
individuals through the use of assays designed to interrogate phenomena such as molecular, genetic,
physiological, biometric, clinical, psychometric, social, lifestyle, and environmental factors. In addition,
appropriate methods for integrating the data obtained from these assays and drawing comprehensive yet
compelling inferences are essential. The research to be pursued in the proposed Precision Aging Network
(PAN) will involve collecting comprehensive data on 1,620 older individuals face-to-face and over 50,000
individuals tracked longitudinally who are cognitively characterized based on a set of validated online tests.
PAN Project 4 “Precision methods for assessing brain health and age-related cognitive impairment” is
devoted to integrating these data, along with complementary data from the public domain, using a suite of
techniques designed to identify factors contributing to the maintenance or vulnerability of cognitive function in
the face of aging, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and AD-related dementias (ADRD). Project 4 will work with
Project 2 to explore predictive models of cognitive decline, as well as Project 3 to identify preventive and
therapeutic targets. Data are to be generated as part of the Molecular Profiling (MP) Core, Cognitive
Assessment and Neuroimaging (CAN) Core, and the Non-Invasive Technology (NIT) Core – all in the
service of the large-scale human cohort studies to be pursued in Projects 1 - 3 of the proposed research.
Project 4 will work closely with members of the Data Science (DS) Core to ensure that all data collected and
analyzed across all Projects and Cores funnel seamlessly into a pipeline that will allow for reliable model
building. Project 4 deliverables, which are meant to seed potential products to be used to combat ARCI and
age-related cognitive decline, include prediction models to classify individuals into subgroups more amenable
to possible interventional strategies; long-term prognostic models that suggest activities or daily living
strategies to maintain cognitive health; monitoring strategies for individuals exhibiting cognitive changes that
could be implemented on a mobile device; markers for intervention efficacy as well as potential drug targets
and...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10270198
- **Project number:** 1U19AG065169-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
- **Principal Investigator:** NICHOLAS Joseph SCHORK
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $392,576
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-30 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10270198

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10270198, Project 4:  Precision Methods for Assessing Brain Health and Age-related Cognitive Impairment (1U19AG065169-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10270198. Licensed CC0.

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