# Circadian Diurnal Motor Synchrony and Delirium Amongst Older Cardiac Surgery ICU Patients

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER · 2022 · $126,000

## Abstract

The long term goal of this proposal is to determine the association of circadian rhythms with postoperative
delirium in older adults admitted to the ICU after elective cardiac surgery. More than 250,000 older Americans
undergo cardiac surgery every year which allows them to lead more functional and fulfilling lives, but if the
procedure is complicated by delirium then the risk of functional or cognitive decline, discharge to a long-term
care facility, and mortality increases substantially. Dr. Prin is a Critical Care Anesthesiologist dedicated to
improving clinical outcomes after postoperative ICU admission for older adults and this NIA GEMSSTAR
proposal is designed to provide her with the structured mentorship and training necessary to become a leader
in perioperative aging research and critical care trials. She has developed a collaborative mentorship team led
by Dr. Adit Ginde who is an Emergency Medicine Physician and national PI for the large multicenter PETAL
network clinical trial with over 3,000 participants, with co-mentorship provided by Dr. Tobias Eckle (a national
leader in the basic science of circadian rhythms) and Dr. John Devlin (an internationally recognized delirium
researcher). Dr. Alex Kaizer, a biostatistician with expertise in novel and adaptive clinical trial design, will
mentor Dr. Prin in trial methodology. This proposal leverages the collective expertise of an established
mentorship team and the unique environment at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center that
incorporates a tertiary referral center for cardiac surgery in the setting of a large public research university.
These ample resources will allow Dr. Prin to rigorously study the relationship of circadian rhythms with the
incidence of delirium after cardiac surgery. Her global hypothesis is that disruption of circadian rhythmicity in
the ICU environment drives the incidence of delirium. She will test this hypothesis by determining the
association of diurnal motor activity patterns with delirium in a prospective observational cohort study (Aim 1)
and preparing for a future clinical trial with an unblinded pilot trial of intense morning light for circadian motor
activity patterns (Aim 2). These Specific Aims are designed to evaluate the association of circadian rhythms
with delirium, which has not been established in critically ill human subjects. These studies require Dr. Prin to
develop expertise in circadian research, delirium assessment tools, and clinical trial methodology. She will
accomplish this with a focused Professional Development Plan including coursework on clinical trial design,
neurocognitive assessments, and aging research. Completion of the proposed project will provide the
necessary mentorship, training, and experience to allow Dr. Prin to become a leader in perioperative aging
research to improve outcomes after postoperative ICU admission.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10518974
- **Project number:** 1R03AG078956-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
- **Principal Investigator:** Meghan Prin
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $126,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-15 → 2023-02-20

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10518974

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10518974, Circadian Diurnal Motor Synchrony and Delirium Amongst Older Cardiac Surgery ICU Patients (1R03AG078956-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10518974. Licensed CC0.

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