# Internet-based insomnia intervention to prevent cognitive decline in older adults with mild cognitive impairment

> **NIH NIH K76** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2024 · $243,000

## Abstract

Dr. Meghan Mattos is a nurse scientist with training in gerontological nursing, dementia care and management,
sleep disorders, and digital health combined with clinical expertise in the care of patients with neurological
disorders. Her current research, research funding, and history of dissemination demonstrate her ability to
execute innovative, impactful research in older adults with cognitive impairment, specifically to improve quality
of life and disease trajectory. Dr. Mattos’s short-term career goals are to become an independent nurse
researcher focused on the use of digital health in older adults and grow as a leader through additional formal
leadership training. Her broad, long-term career goal is to implement effective, accessible interventions via the
Internet for older adults to maintain cognitive health and well-being. The training and mentorship afforded by
the NIA Beeson Career Development Award in Aging will allow her to gain expertise and receive mentorship in
the conduct of rigorous Alzheimer’s disease trials using digital therapeutics and Internet-based recruitment
methods. This project will be conducted under the outstanding and complimentary mentorship of an
international leader in digital health and Internet-based recruitment (Dr. Lee Ritterband), leader in the
assessment of health outcomes in aging and chronic disease (Dr. Steven Albert), and nurse innovator and
leader in cognitive impairment (Dr. Jennifer Lingler). The University of Virginia is committed to Dr. Mattos’s
development as a nurse scientist working in team science and provides the necessary facilities and resources
to conduct the proposed research project. Building upon Dr. Mattos and her team’s preliminary work, the
proposed randomized controlled trial will evaluate the impact of an Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral
therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) intervention on sleep and the extent to which it contributes to cognitive health in
individuals with mild cognitive impairment. Participants with insomnia who meet the study criteria for mild
cognitive impairment will be recruited to determine the effects of the CBT-I intervention compared to a patient
education control condition on sleep and cognition. Internet-based recruitment methods will be used, and
outcomes include sleep variables (reduced overall insomnia severity and wake after sleep onset), daytime
variables (reduced levels of fatigue, improved quality of life, and improved mood), and cognitive status
(memory, attention/psychomotor speed, and executive functioning domains). This proposal will inform a future
randomized controlled trial powered to detect the intervention effect on the slope of cognitive decline as well as
provide Dr. Mattos training in 1) the conduct of rigorous and reproducible trials and 2) leading recruitment
efforts using Internet-based settings and conducting digital health trials in older adults. The Beeson Career
Development Award in Aging
will allow Dr. Mattos to
engage in formal op...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10878957
- **Project number:** 5K76AG074942-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Meghan K Mattos
- **Activity code:** K76 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $243,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-08-01 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10878957

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10878957, Internet-based insomnia intervention to prevent cognitive decline in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (5K76AG074942-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10878957. Licensed CC0.

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