# Sleep-Wake Disturbance as a Predictor of Delirium and Subsequent Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias after Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2024 · $180,949

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Applicant: I am a consultation-liaison psychiatrist keenly interested in delirium and the role that sleep-wake
disturbance (SWD) plays in delirium vulnerability, its pathogenesis, and its relationship with subsequent
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD). My mission is to improve the care and clinical outcomes
of those with and at risk for delirium and to be a champion for excellence in care for older adults. This
application is designed for me to obtain expertise in longitudinal study conduct and design, assessment of
SWD, neuropsychological training relevant to delirium and the two neurocognitive disorders associated with it
(Alzheimer’s disease and vascular neurocognitive disorder), and a solid background in statistical methods to
become an independent physician-scientist.
Project: I am proposing a prospective cohort study of subjects undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement
with the goal of investigating objective SWD before surgery—both actigraphy and unattended type II home
sleep tests (HST)—for its association with postoperative delirium and subsequent ADRD. This study
represents a novel application of type II HST, which provides comprehensive assessment of sleep architecture,
to characterize preoperative SWD as a marker of delirium risk and evidence in support of a mechanistic link
between delirium and subsequent Alzheimer’s disease or vascular neurocognitive disorder.
Professional development: I will obtain practical experience in empirical methods by conducting a longitudinal
study with expertise in assessing SWD using unattended methods, neuropsychological testing, and relevant
statistics. My training plan incorporates hands-on experiences in sleep medicine, neuropsychology, and
statistics, complemented by coursework and directed readings that will provide the necessary theoretical
foundation.
Goals: My career goals are to establish an interdisciplinary research program at URMC with cardiac surgery
and sleep medicine, to explore how SWD is mechanistically involved in delirium risk, onset, and its dire
outcomes, and to advance the science of delirium pathophysiology and subsequent risk of ADRD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10836360
- **Project number:** 5K23AG072383-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Mark Alan Oldham
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $180,949
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-03-01 → 2027-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10836360

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10836360, Sleep-Wake Disturbance as a Predictor of Delirium and Subsequent Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias after Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement (5K23AG072383-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10836360. Licensed CC0.

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