Grant Award Summary

The University of Michigan received a $1.7 million Project Grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866) awarded on April 1, 2026, with a completion date of January 31, 2031. This research initiative addresses the national priority of understanding modifiable causes of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) by leveraging biospecimens from the Health and Retirement Study, one of the largest longitudinal U.S. population-based cohorts. The primary deliverables include generating a publicly available prospective environmental chemical resource with exposure measures—including pesticides and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—collected years before ADRD onset or cognitive impairment in a cohort of participants aged 50 and older.

The research involves two primary aims: first, performing state-of-the-art non-targeted analysis to measure chemical levels in serum and test for associations with cognitive function, cognitive decline, ADRD biomarker levels, and ADRD incidence; and second, integrating mixtures of chemical and social exposures into a comprehensive "exposome" framework to examine complex environmental contributors to ADRD across diverse geographic locations and socioeconomic status groups. The project will utilize existing biannual cognitive measures and ADRD fluid biomarker data from HRS participants to establish prospective temporal relationships between environmental exposures and disease outcomes, generating evidence-based data to inform ADRD prevention strategies.