Welcome Message

From Julie Zissimopoulos

Welcome back and we hope your fall semester is off to a good start. Congratulations to our pilot award recipients Drs. Eric Klopack, Kun Li, and Andrea Piano Mortari, who will be undertaking innovative studies on accelerated aging and dementia risk, primary care delivery and socioeconomic outcomes of persons living with dementia, and burden of dementia in Europe. Over the year, we will be following their research findings and sharing them with you on our website. In this issue, we alert you to a few new upcoming opportunities and research resources. We also highlight a call for papers for a special issue of Alzheimer’s and Dementia on dementia care and caregiving. Please consider submitting your studies to this issue.

For more information, please visit our website or reach out to me at zissimop@usc.edu or our Program Administrator, Johanna Thunell, at jthunell@usc.edu.

Call for papers in Alzheimer's & Dementia Special Issue: Advancing Dementia Care and Caregiving Science in ADRD

Alzheimer’s & Dementia is delighted to announce a Call for Papers for a Special Issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia dedicated to advancing the science of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) care and caregiving and reflecting the multifaceted and pressing challenges within this domain.

The Special Issue is a follow-up to the 2023 National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons Living with Dementia and Their Care Partners/Caregivers, which convened for three virtual sessions on March 20-22, 2023 to review scientific progress, highlight innovative and promising approaches, and identify unmet research needs. The Special Issue aims to encapsulate the diverse spectrum of topics discussed during the summit, reflecting the multifaceted and pressing challenges within this domain. 

Please send an email to Haley Garland (hgarland@usc.edu) with your submission inquiries if you plan to submit to the Special Issue and include the topic area or theme.

The deadline for paper submissions is October 1, 2024, and the publication is expected in Spring 2025. For more information, please visit the A&D website.

We are pleased to announce our three 2024/25 CeASES ADRD Pilots. Learn more about the scholars and their projects here.

PI: Eric Klopack, PhD

Project title: Understanding the roles of accelerated aging, sex, and gender in ADRD risk

PI: Kun Li, PhD

Project title: Primary care delivery organization and socioeconomic disparities in patient outcomes among Medicare beneficiaries living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

PI: Andrea Piano Mortari, PhD

Project title: Forecasting the Impact of Dementia and Alzheimer's in Europe Using Dynamic Microsimulation

USC researchers receive funding from NIH to estimate comprehensive costs of dementia in the United States

Researchers from USC, led by Dr. Julie Zissimopoulos and Dr. Dana Goldman, are developing a comprehensive dementia cost model, supported by a five-year, $8.2 million grant from the National Institute on Aging. This dynamic microsimulation model will produce annual national estimates of dementia costs, offering critical insights for family planning and healthcare policy. By incorporating data from Medicare and national aging surveys, the model will track costs across different stages of the disease and adapt to treatment innovations. The project unites experts from the University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, and the Alzheimer’s Association, with input from patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers to ensure its relevance and accuracy.

A key objective of this initiative is to establish a valuable research infrastructure that will benefit the broader research community by providing a tool for generating accurate cost estimates. To enhance accessibility and encourage widespread use, the project will offer pilot studies and training sessions next year. These efforts will empower researchers nationwide to effectively utilize the model in their own studies, ultimately advancing the field and contributing to a deeper understanding of dementia costs.

CeASES ADRD affiliates present at ASHEcon and AAIC

Selected publications from CeASES ADRD affiliates on factors impacting risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Johanna Thunell and co-authors found that increased use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) from 2007 to 2017 did not significantly reduce dementia or stroke risk in patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation. Read more here.

Mark Hayward, Hyungmin Cha, and co-authors found that adults with less than a high school education face a higher risk of earlier onset of Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (before age 65) compared to those with a college degree (around age 85), indicating a 20-year difference. Read more here.

Eunyoung Choi, CeASES ADRD affiliate and past Science of AD/ADRD for Social Scientists participant, and co-authors find that neighborhood deprivation and disorder may increase middle to older adults' risks of dementia. Read more here.

Jennifer Ailshire and Eileen Crimmins co-authored a study that finds a significant relationship between cardiometabolic risk (CMR) and cognitive functioning among older Americans, but no relationship between CMR and cognitive function in China. Read more here.

Join our Network of over 290 social scientists from 85 institutions

Contact: Julie Zissimopoulos, PhD, Director, zissimop@usc.edu

Johanna Thunell, PhD, Program Administrator, jthunell@usc.edu

Julie Zissimopoulos, PhD, PI, USC

Dana Goldman, PhD, PI, USC

Mark Hayward, PhD, PI, UT Austin

Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD PI, Stanford

Eileen Crimmins, PhD, Core Director, USC

Jennifer Ailshire, PhD, Core Director, USC

Pinchas Cohen, MD, Advisory, USC

Jennifer Manly, PhD, Advisory, Columbia

Hector Gonzalez, PhD, Advisory, UCSD