# Black Male Brain Reserve, Resilience & Alzheimer’s Disease: Life Course Perspectives

> **NIH NIH R13** · GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $49,750

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
The United States has invested significant resources through innovative research to address the profound effects
of Alzheimer’s Disease, and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) on families and society,
but Black males historically have not experienced the full benefits of scientific advances from that research. For
example, non-Hispanic Black men have diminished health and increased morbidity due to preventable diseases
(e.g., cardiac, diabetes, high blood pressure) and shorter life expectancies than their White male counterparts
Additionally, elderly Black men are more likely to fall and sustain a TBI than whites, which increases the
subsequent vulnerability of the brain and risk of dementia. Although the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in
Black Americans is two to three times higher than Whites, a complete understanding of the cause of this health
disparity remains elusive. The lack of a highly trained, multidisciplinary scientific workforce that addresses the
full range of biological, biomedical, behavioral, and health sciences approaches to AD/ADRD health disparities
research hinders innovation among this population. This problem is compounded by the persistent under-
representation of Black American males in biomedical. During this three-year conference series, leading
multidisciplinary scholars will come together with emerging investigators from across the U.S. to address
specific cultural, social and behavioral factors that contribute to some individuals in this population being more
cognitively resilient and experience a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than others. Scholars will
enhance the NIA Health Disparities Research Framework (HDRF) with the inclusion of empirically based
factors that are responsive to the Black male experience, as well as focus on efforts to improve recruitment and
retention strategies for participation from this population in aging research. An essential feature of the
conference series will be to engage community stakeholders (e.g., NFL Alumni Association, Men’s Health
Network, Pinellas County Health Department) in multiple aspects of the conference design, planning and
implementation including the selection of scientists, providing feedback on conference presentations, and
dissemination. Planning, implementation, participation and evaluation of the conference will incorporate
individuals from historically underrepresented groups The aims of the conference series are: (1) to address
knowledge gaps and identify future priorities in cognitive reserve, resilience, and AD/ADRD health disparities
life course research among Black males; (2) to cultivate a culturally competent workforce trained and
committed to addressing Black male’s brain health, cognitive aging, and AD/ADRD research, (3) build a
multisite research volunteer registry of Black males. These initiatives help support important work that align
with the goals of the Division of Behavioral Health and...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10328980
- **Project number:** 5R13AG071313-02
- **Recipient organization:** GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria C Carrillo
- **Activity code:** R13 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $49,750
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-01-15 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10328980

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10328980, Black Male Brain Reserve, Resilience & Alzheimer’s Disease: Life Course Perspectives (5R13AG071313-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10328980. Licensed CC0.

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