# HRS Yrs 29-34: Covid Antibody Revision

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2022 · $990,154

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 This revision to Years 29-34 of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) cooperative agreement seeks to
collect and analyze saliva samples from up to 17,639 HRS participants for the presence of antibodies to
SARS-CoV-2. The effect of the virus on cognitive function and the development of Alzheimer’s Disease and
Alzheimer’s Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) is a major concern for the future public health of the older
population. While severe cases of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization will be well-documented for future study,
many less severe cases go completely undiagnosed, making it difficult to accurately study outcomes of all
types of exposure. To be useful, antibody testing must be done before vaccines are available, which means
the risk of infection from the collection of samples in person is a serious concern. We therefore propose to use
a self-administered saliva test, with innovative shipping technology to maintain samples at 4 degrees Celsius
during return shipping to the analytic lab. The University of Minnesota’s Advanced Research Diagnostics Lab,
a CLIA-certified facility and one of 4 national reference laboratories selected by the National Cancer Institute
for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing, will conduct the assays. Participants will receive a report of positive or
negative antibody status, while more detailed continuous measures of antibody titers will be available for
research from the positive cases. Data will be made available to the research community for use with the
wealth of HRS data on genetics, immune function, and social interactions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10576451
- **Project number:** 3U01AG009740-33S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** DAVID R. WEIR
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $990,154
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 1990-09-25 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10576451

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10576451, HRS Yrs 29-34: Covid Antibody Revision (3U01AG009740-33S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10576451. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*