Monday, May 6, 2024
5/6/2024
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Hispanics/Latinos (HL) and African Americans (AA) represent a rapidly growing proportion of the United States population (18.7% HL, 12.4% AA - US 2020 Census) who remain critically underrepresented in research of Alzheimer disease (AD) and AD-related dementia (ADRD), despite a 1.5-2-fold higher prevalence of dementia (vs non-Hispanic-white Americans). Underrepresentation in AD/ADRD research exacerbates health disparities and challenges the development and implementation of efficacious and safe risk-reduction strategies for AD/ADRD in HL/AA. Genetics do not fully explain disparate AD/ADRD risk, highlighting a fundamental knowledge gap concerning how genomic factors interact with comorbidities and lifespan exposures to Structural/Social Determinants of Health (SDoH; the “exposome”) to inform AD/ADRD risk. There is a critical need to identify clinical, SDoH, and biological factors that contribute to disparate risk in HL/AA; establish the relationship between exposures underlying AD/ADRD outcomes; use this information to mitigate disparities in AD/ADRD burden through education and risk factor modification; and broadly disseminate this information to inform the development of effective biomarkers and therapies. The Mayo Advancing Research Equity in ADRD Study in Jacksonville (MAREAS-JAX; Spanish for tides) will address this need. Aim 1 will advance recruitment of HL/AA cohorts (UH2) by developing/deploying outreach, recruitment, and engagement best practices for HL/AA in Jacksonville, Florida, through a bilingual (English-Spanish) research team, supported by community ambassador teams (CAT) and an external advisory committee (EAC) including experts in SDoH and AD/ADRD research. Aim 2 will identify relevant measures of AD/ADRD burden (UH2¿UH3). SDoH, cognitive, clinical, and blood-based biomarker measures associated with cerebrovascular, amyloid, and tau burden, will be collected through comprehensive/culturally appropriate annual assessments and integrated with multi-omics data, structural (MR) and molecular (amyloid and tau) PET neuroimaging obtained at study entry, and every 2 years thereafter to identify modifiable dementia risk factors, blood-based biomarkers, and molecular signatures of AD/ADRD burden. Data collection will be standardized with input from EAC members to optimize scalability and promote sample/data sharing. Aim 3 will provide meaningful individualized feedback (UH3) to participants through a Brain Health Report detailing actionable risk factors and recommendations to mitigate intraindividual AD/ADRD burden. Aim 4 will use multi-omics measures to identify molecular targets and signatures that interact with the exposome and associate with AD/ADRD burden in HL/AA (UH3) using a systems biology approach with validated analytic pipelines and prioritizing broad data sharing following NIH’s findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability guidelines. In this way, MAREAS-Jax will chart the currents that drive disproportionate participation in AD/ADRD research and disparate AD/ADRD burden and will inform the design and implementation of strategies to shift these tides in Northeast Florida and beyond.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
