# Methods in Longitudinal Dementia (MELODEM) Initiative

> **NIH NIH R13** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS · 2020 · $50,000

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
The search for effective strategies to prevent or treat Alzheimer's disease and related causes of dementia
(ADRD) is a global public health priority. This search has been exceptionally difficult, reflecting the complex,
multi-factorial processes culminating in ADRD, the diagnostic ambiguity, and the intrinsic challenges of
research on diseases of the brain. Methods in Longitudinal Research on Dementia (MELODEM) is an
international initiative to strengthen, harmonize, and promulgate analytic and design approaches for ADRD
research. Launched in 2012, MELODEM convenes an international interdisciplinary group of researchers,
including epidemiologists, neuropsychologists, neurologists, and biostatisticians, across career stages, to
identify and address common methodologic challenges in quantitative research on ADRD. These methodologic
challenges—such as selection/attrition, reverse causation, and measurement of cognition and dementia—have
the potential to bias estimates of the extent to which risk factors protect against ADRD or slow the progression
of ADRD. Some biases can be so extreme as to reverse the direction of estimated effects (e.g., protective
instead of harmful association). For the past 5 years, MELODEM has convened an annual in-person meeting
of 30-40 researchers and monthly web-based conference calls of methodologically themed working groups.
The proposed meeting grant will support annual in-person MELODEM meetings to foster development and
dissemination of valid and rigorous analytical approaches for quantitative research on the prevention and
treatment of ADRD, with the goals of (a) developing new methods when needed, (b) reaching consensus on
“best practices” for analytic methods, and (c) providing a platform to share and teach methods to junior and
senior researchers. To continue working towards rigorous analytical approaches and “best practices,” the
MELODEM annual progress meeting will include both “Data Workshops” and “Discussion Sessions” on topics
relevant to current methodological challenges in ADRD research. The sessions will be led and moderated by
leaders in the field and researchers ranging from graduate students to senior scientists will participate. The
grant will also provide travel support for US researchers to participate in the annual meeting and ancillary
activities. Finally, to sustain the collaborations and ideas discussed during the meeting, the grant will support
post-meeting activities culminating in published reports from the collaborative research stemming from the
conference and connections with a broader group of researchers not able to attend the meetings in person.
These activities include web-based conference calls and small working group meetings. Support for the
proposed MELODEM meetings will strengthen quantitative research methods related to ADRD, foster a
collaborative, interdisciplinary community addressing the most important technical challenges, and promote
rapid adoption of best-...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9967974
- **Project number:** 5R13AG064971-02
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CAMPUS
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Weuve
- **Activity code:** R13 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $50,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9967974

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9967974, Methods in Longitudinal Dementia (MELODEM) Initiative (5R13AG064971-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9967974. Licensed CC0.

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