Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) awarded a Project Grant of $690,934 to the University of California, Davis, with an award date of March 1, 2026, and completion date of November 30, 2030, under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866). This research project addresses subjective cognitive decline (SCD) as an early indicator of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) across diverse racial and ethnic populations. The research will examine how SCD—self-perceived cognitive decline occurring in the context of normal cognitive test performance—relates to the development of mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and AD/ADRD biomarkers, with particular emphasis on identifying which SCD characteristics (including SCD-associated worry and worsening complaints over time) most reliably signal preclinical disease risk.

This project directly addresses a critical knowledge gap in existing SCD research, which has been predominantly focused on white older adults despite documented disparities in dementia risk among Black and Latino older adults. The deliverables include research findings on how SCD is expressed and progresses differently across cultural, racial, and ethnic groups, and identification of validated predictive features that can enable scalable, sensitive approaches to identifying individuals at increased AD/ADRD risk. These research outputs will inform prevention strategies and disease-modifying treatment initiatives for diverse aging populations at disproportionate risk for cognitive decline and dementia.