The National Institute on Aging (NIA), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks to stimulate the use of data resources with appropriate sample diversity, including data relevant to under-resourced, underserved communities disproportionately burdened by AD/ADRD. For example, for Asian, Black, or Hispanic older adults, the protein amyloid – which has long been considered a biomarker for AD – might have a smaller role in determining cognitive impairment than other factors such as co-occurring chronic medical conditions (hypertension, diabetes) and sociodemographic and systemic factors, each of which has been found to contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in dementia diagnoses (below; Wilkins et al., 2022). This highlights the importance of also identifying novel (non-amyloid, non-tau) biomarkers and non-biological (e.g., social determinants of health) predictors in adults from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups (Dark and Walker, 2022). The goal is to inform novel approaches to early detection that might ultimately lead to more accurate tests, tools, and methodologies for clinical and research purposes.
Government Agency: National Institutes of Health
Award: Phase 1: $200,000; Phase 2: $250,000; Phase 3: $200,000
Open Date: Phase 1: September 2023; Phase 2: September 2024; Phase 3: September 2025
Close date: Phase 1: January 2024; Phase 2: TBD; Phase 3: TBD
For more information, visit: https://www.drivendata.org/competitions/group/nih-nia-alzheimers-adrd-competition/