Pilot Project Grant Program Overview

Dr. Anna Zamora-Kapoor’s pilot project will improve our knowledge about sex differences in the associations between obesity, vascular brain injury, and cognitive performance in American Indians. She will leverage data from the Cerebrovascular Disease and its Consequences in American Indians (CDCAI), to explore the potential role of two different measures of obesity, body mass index and waist circumference, in vascular brain injury and cognitive performance outcomes, as well as their variability by sex. This is the first study to examine sex differences in the complex associations between obesity and cognitive performance in American Indian elders.

Dr. Luciana Mascarenhas Fonseca’s pilot project aims to characterize the cross-sectional relationship between intraindividual cognitive variability and cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) correlates of neurodegeneration in American Indians. She will use data collected in the Cerebrovascular Disease and its Consequences in American Indians (CDCAI) Study. The study is particularly novel as it is the first to investigate intraindividual cognitive variability and neuroimaging in American Indians and may help to identify cognitive noninvasive markers of neurodegeneration in this population.

Dr. Patrik Johansson’s pilot project seeks to better understand cognitive function of and barriers and facilitators for American Indians participating in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) research in the eastern United States. His study is poised not only to fill striking gaps in our knowledge about cognitive impairment among older Native Americans but will also inform approaches to enrolling and retaining American Indians in ADRD-related research.

Dr. Heehyul Moon’s pilot project seeks (1) to better understand the disparities in dementia prevalence and modifiable risk factors as well as their effects on trends in cognitive impairment among American Indian older adults, and (2) to increase our understanding of trends in prevalence and their associations with changes in functional disabilities (activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs)) compared to other racial/ethnic groups (Non-Hispanic Whites; Non-Hispanic Blacks; Hispanics). Data for the proposed study will come from a nationally representative study, the National Health, and Aging Trend Study (NHATS), for the years 2011-2018. This is the first study to investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and trajectories of cognitive impairment among American Indian older adults using nationally representative databases.

Dr. Ashley Railey’s pilot project helps define the economic impacts of culturally tailoring preventative health programs to reduce ADRD risk factors. She will use data collected from a cultural dance program in Hawaii. Her study is the first to examine program costs alongside health outcomes to demonstrate the potential sustainability of lifestyle changing programs for Native Hawaiians.

Dr. Andrea Hermosura’s pilot project aims to better understand the health disparities in ADRD among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, and to examine the relationship between ADRD and hospital adverse events in this population compared to Whites in Hawai’i. This is the first study of its kind and will lay the foundation to later identify the mechanisms and risk factors for disparities in service quality for persons with ADRD and consider how institutional and social contexts influence disparities in service quality.Dr. Alexandra Jackson’s pilot project aims to describe the health and quality of life of caregivers of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). She will survey and interview caregivers of NHPI adults with ADRD across the United States about cultural dimensions of caregiving, caregiving responsibilities, costs related to caregiving, caregiver mental and physical health, quality of life, and health behaviors. This study will inform future research that aims to culturally tailor interventions to promote the health and quality of life of caregivers of NHPI adults with ADRD.

Dr. Celestina Barbosa-Leiker’s pilot project explores how factors such as depression and quality of life impact ADRD in American Indian adults. She will use data collected in the Cerebrovascular Disease and its Consequences in American Indians Study, and it will be the first study to conduct this level of analyses with American Indian elders, increasing the potential for interventions in tribal communities.Dr. Alexandra Jackson’s pilot project aims to describe the health and quality of life of caregivers of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). She will survey and interview caregivers of NHPI adults with ADRD across the United States about cultural dimensions of caregiving, caregiving responsibilities, costs related to caregiving, caregiver mental and physical health, quality of life, and health behaviors. This study will inform future research that aims to culturally tailor interventions to promote the health and quality of life of caregivers of NHPI adults with ADRD.

Dr. Cara Carty’s pilot project seeks to better understand the epidemiology of dementia in American Indians and Alaska Natives across the American Southwest by geographic and tribal factors. Her study will be the largest electronic health record analysis of ADRD in this population to date.