Alden L. Gross is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He seeks a mentored career development award to obtain critical knowledge skills in the biology of aging, particularly as it relates to frailty in older adults, and necessary research experience for an independent career as an epidemiologist in aging. The training application details a five year plan of formal and informal instruction in the physiological basis of frailty and aging consisting f mentored research by an established team of experts, coursework, seminars, guided study in frailty by mentors, collaborations in richly educational working groups, national and local meetings, and mentored research informed by the training. Short-term career goals include to complete coursework in the biology of aging and practice, disseminate high-quality mentored research through publications and presentations, engage in career development activities, and apply for independent R01 funding beginning in the fourth year of the award period. Long-term career goals are to be an independent psychiatric epidemiologist with content expertise in the biology of aging, particularly as it relates to frailty in older adults.
The specific aims of the research proposed are to develop and validate an objective method for measuring physiological frailty using combinations of physiological markers of dysregulation across multiple body systems in an integrative data analysis of three longitudinal datasets, to determine whether physiological frailty or cognitive impairment predicts subsequent change in the other, and to evaluate reciprocal relationship between changes in physiological frailty and cognitive decline with attention to implications for future public health interventions. An ancillary study is proposd to enrich existing biomarker data. Completion of the proposed aims will provide preliminary findings that will lay the groundwork for mounting interventions to establish frailty as a window o opportunity for intervention or screening of subsequent cognitive decline.

Public Health Relevance

Cognitive decline is the hallmark of dementia, interventions for which are lacking. Frailty is a potentially preventable correlate of cognitive decline. This application will develop and validate a high-quality measure of physiological frailty, informed by known biological mechanisms, optimized to more comprehensively characterize frailty before its clinical signs and symptoms occur, and use the measure to test the nature of the intersection of frailty and cognitive decline.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Scientist Development Award - Research & Training (K01)
Project #
5K01AG050699-05
Application #
9889017
Study Section
Neuroscience of Aging Review Committee (NIA)
Program Officer
King, Jonathan W
Project Start
2016-04-01
Project End
2021-03-31
Budget Start
2020-04-01
Budget End
2021-03-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Johns Hopkins University
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
001910777
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21205
McAdams-DeMarco, Mara A; Daubresse, Matthew; Bae, Sunjae et al. (2018) Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, and Mortality after Hemodialysis Initiation. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 13:1339-1347
Palta, Priya; Sharrett, A Richey; Deal, Jennifer A et al. (2018) Leisure-time physical activity sustained since midlife and preservation of cognitive function: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. Alzheimers Dement :
Thomas, Alvin G; Ruck, Jessica M; Shaffer, Ashton A et al. (2018) Kidney Transplant Outcomes in Recipients with Cognitive Impairment: A National Registry and Prospective Cohort Study. Transplantation :
Palta, Priya; Chen, Honglei; Deal, Jennifer A et al. (2018) Olfactory function and neurocognitive outcomes in old age: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study. Alzheimers Dement 14:1015-1021
Walker, Keenan A; Windham, B Gwen; Brown, Charles H et al. (2018) The Association of Mid- and Late-Life Systemic Inflammation with Brain Amyloid Deposition: The ARIC-PET Study. J Alzheimers Dis 66:1041-1052
Mayeda, Elizabeth Rose; Filshtein, Teresa J; Tripodis, Yorghos et al. (2018) Does selective survival before study enrolment attenuate estimated effects of education on rate of cognitive decline in older adults? A simulation approach for quantifying survival bias in life course epidemiology. Int J Epidemiol 47:1507-1517
Gross, Alden L; Tommet, Doug; D'Aquila, Madeline et al. (2018) Harmonization of delirium severity instruments: a comparison of the DRS-R-98, MDAS, and CAM-S using item response theory. BMC Med Res Methodol 18:92
Power, Melinda C; Mormino, Elizabeth; Soldan, Anja et al. (2018) Combined neuropathological pathways account for age-related risk of dementia. Ann Neurol 84:10-22
Skarupski, Kimberly A; Gross, Alden; Schrack, Jennifer A et al. (2018) The Health of America's Aging Prison Population. Epidemiol Rev 40:157-165
Gross, Alden L; Payne, Brennan R; Casanova, Ramon et al. (2018) The ACTIVE conceptual framework as a structural equation model. Exp Aging Res 44:1-17

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