# Conference on Advanced Psychometric Methods in Cognitive Aging Research

> **NIH NIH R13** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $50,000

## Abstract

The rising prevalence with advancing age and the adverse impact of debilitating diseases like Alzheimer’s
disease and related dementias (ADRD) has led to a need for clinical and research methods for measurement
of effects of these diseases. Cognitive tests, biomarkers, informant reports, imaging data, and a wealth of other
measures play major roles in detecting, diagnosing and monitoring disease status and progression. Greater
demographic diversity creates special challenges for accurate measurement of cognition. Most cognitive tests
that are in clinical and research use were developed using psychometric methods from the first half of the 20th
century. There have been substantial advances in measurement theory and methodology, notably item
response theory (IRT) and associated latent variable modeling methods, that could have an important impact
on the measurement of cognition. There have been parallel advances in statistical methodology for modeling
longitudinal cognitive trajectories and identifying characteristics that impact these important outcomes. This
conference series is designed to promote the application of modern psychometric and statistical methods in
research on cognitive aging and ADRD. Specific goals are: 1) to expose developing and established
researchers in cognitive aging and ADRD research to modern psychometric and statistical modeling
techniques, 2) to expose experts in psychometric theory and statistics to the practical and theoretical concerns
of cognitive aging and Alzheimer’s disease research, and 3) encourage collaborations of researchers,
psychometricians, and statisticians during these conferences. We have conducted 14 successful annual
conferences since initial funding of this grant in 2008, which has generated 84 collaborative publications to
date. This experience has helped to shape our plans for the next generation of conferences. The format of the
conferences includes didactic presentations by experts in cognitive aging and applied psychometric theory,
demonstrations of methods, and most importantly, hands-on experience using real data. This content and
format is not only appropriate for encouraging education and collaboration of seasoned researchers but has
also been an extremely effective learning environment for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior
faculty. Conference themes for the proposed five-year renewal period are: 1) Cross-national comparisons of
cognitive aging outcomes and correlates, 2) synthetic data sets, 3) Advances in algorithms for diagnosing
cognitive impairment and dementia, 4) Advanced Methods for Understanding Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in
Cognitive Aging and Dementia, and 5) Global pandemic and Cognitive Aging. All conferences address
methods and substantive science issues that are relevant for research to understand, diagnose, monitor, and
treat ADRD and related causes of cognitive decline. There will be a heavy emphasis on workgroups organized
around scientific analyses o...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10828086
- **Project number:** 1R13AG085953-01
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Alden L. Gross
- **Activity code:** R13 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $50,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-12-01 → 2028-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10828086

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10828086, Conference on Advanced Psychometric Methods in Cognitive Aging Research (1R13AG085953-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10828086. Licensed CC0.

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