# Regional tau deposition and digital assessment of cognition in preclinical AD and MCI

> **NIH NIH K99** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $127,926

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The applicant seeks this K99/R00 award to achieve research independence focused on integrating imaging
and digital biomarkers to examine early cognitive and psychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and related
dementias. To achieve this goal, the applicant will receive training in three areas critical to her independence:
(1) longitudinal study design and analysis in Alzheimer’s disease, (2) amyloid and tau PET imaging, and (3)
spoken language features of cognition. She will also receive guidance from her expert mentorship team who
has an established record of mentoring junior scholars to full independence, and obtain comprehensive training
through a detailed training plan. Her research will examine the relation between regional tau deposition and
domain-specific cognitive decline given that pathological and clinical evidence of Alzheimer’s disease
converges to suggest that both episodic and semantic memory are vulnerable years before the onset of
dementia. During the K99 phase, she will examine how regional tau deposition relates to episodic and
semantic memory decline in two large cohorts consisting of Aβ- clinically normal (CN), Aβ+ CN, and Aβ+ mild
cognitive impairment (MCI) individuals. Episodic and semantic memory will be measured by traditional
neuropsychological test scores as well as innovative spoken language features of cognition extracted from
recordings of in-person neuropsychological assessments. This research aim, in combination with the training
and mentorship she will receive, will prepare her for independence by the R00 phase. During the R00 phase,
she will examine the relation between regional tau deposition and domain-specific cognitive decline assessed
frequently through smartphones, an increasingly ubiquitous platform. Specifically, she will administer verbally
based mobile cognitive tests and assessments of mood every 3 months for 1 year to Aβ- CN, Aβ+ CN, and
Aβ+ MCI individuals with tau PET data. Episodic and semantic memory will be measured by neuropsychology
scores and spoken language features extracted from structured responses captured in the real world. Thus,
the K99 and R00 phases of this proposal test the overarching hypothesis that where tau deposition occurs in
the brain relates to domain-specific cognitive decline. This knowledge will improve the accuracy of Alzheimer’s
disease diagnosis as well as enhance the screening and monitoring of those at risk for dementia. Completion
of the R00 phase will generate data to support a future R01 application integrating multimodal imaging and
spoken language features extracted from passively collected unstructured voice recordings that maximize
ecological validity and minimize participant burden. This approach can also be applied to Alzheimer’s disease
and related dementias more broadly. The K99/R00 award will thus provide the applicant with a platform to
launch an independent career using multimodal imaging and real-world assessments to understand cognit...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10370535
- **Project number:** 1K99AG071837-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Christina B Young
- **Activity code:** K99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $127,926
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10370535

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10370535, Regional tau deposition and digital assessment of cognition in preclinical AD and MCI (1K99AG071837-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10370535. Licensed CC0.

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