There are many active research projects accessing and applying shared ADNI data. Use the search above to find specific research focuses on the active ADNI investigations. This information is requested annually as a requirement for data access.
| Principal Investigator | |
| Principal Investigator's Name: | Lam-Ha Dang |
| Institution: | Columbia University Irving Medical Center |
| Department: | Neurology |
| Country: | |
| Proposed Analysis: | Neurofilament light chain (NfL), a cytoskeletal protein, is highly expressed on axons and is considered to be a marker of neuro-axonal damage. We and others have shown that NfL levels in plasma may be useful diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of clinical dementia status in adults with Down Syndrome (DS) [Petersen et al. & ABC-DS (2021) doi: 10.3233/JAD-201167] Adults with DS are at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), which can be attributed partially to the triplication and overexpression of APP on Chromosome 21. Given this high risk of AD, NfL may serve as a specific marker of AD-related neurodegeneration within this high-risk population. We further hypothesize that levels of NfL in plasma are influenced by genetic risk variants, which may eventually impact the risk for AD. Our genome-wide scan of two different cohorts of adults with DS have identified a set of promising loci. To confirm and to extend our finding from adults with DS to the general population, we request access to ADNI data to determine whether our findings in DS are supported by and are generalizable in an independent, non-DS cohort. Planned analyses include: assessing the association of candidate variants/genes with plasma NFL levels; assessing the association of genotype of the most promising variants with other AD-related phenotypes, such as: plasma/CSF levels of AD biomarkers (e.g., Ab-42, Ab-40, tau), clinical outcomes (e.g., dementia status, age-at-onset of AD), and neuropsychological measures (e.g., memory scores). |
| Additional Investigators | |
| Investigator's Name: | Joseph H. Lee |
| Proposed Analysis: | Neurofilament light chain (NfL), a cytoskeletal protein, is highly expressed on axons and is considered to be a marker of neuro-axonal damage. We and others have shown that NfL levels in plasma may be useful diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of clinical dementia status in adults with Down Syndrome (DS) [Petersen et al. & ABC-DS (2021) doi: 10.3233/JAD-201167] Adults with DS are at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), which can be attributed partially to the triplication and overexpression of APP on Chromosome 21. Given this high risk of AD, NfL may serve as a specific marker of AD-related neurodegeneration within this high-risk population. We further hypothesize that levels of NfL in plasma are influenced by genetic risk variants, which may eventually impact the risk for AD. Our genome-wide scan of two different cohorts of adults with DS have identified a set of promising loci. To confirm and to extend our finding from adults with DS to the general population, we request access to ADNI data to determine whether our findings in DS are supported by and are generalizable in an independent, non-DS cohort. Planned analyses include: assessing the association of candidate variants/genes with plasma NFL levels; assessing the association of genotype of the most promising variants with other AD-related phenotypes, such as: plasma/CSF levels of AD biomarkers (e.g., Ab-42, Ab-40, tau), clinical outcomes (e.g., dementia status, age-at-onset of AD), and neuropsychological measures (e.g., memory scores). |
| Investigator's Name: | Rong Cheng |
| Proposed Analysis: | Our group aims to understand the underlying biological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by studying special cohorts of adults who are at very high risk of developing AD (e.g., those with Down Syndrome, carriers of mutations on the PSEN1 gene) or families of centenarians, who exhibit healthy aging and low prevalence of AD. Broadly, our group is taking a multi-omic approach to identify genetic, proteomic, lipidomic, and metabolomic profiles associated with AD and successful cognitive aging within these unique populations. To confirm and extend our findings within these special cohorts to the general population, we request access to ADNI data to determine whether our findings are supported by and are generalizable in an independent cohort. Specifically, we intend to use ADNI as a replication data set in the following projects: [i] Neurofilament light chain (NfL), a cytoskeletal protein, is highly expressed on axons and is a marker of neuro-axonal damage. We and others have shown that NfL levels in plasma may be useful diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of clinical dementia status in adults with Down Syndrome (DS) [Petersen et al. & ABC-DS (2021) doi: 10.3233/JAD-201167] Adults with DS are at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), which can be attributed partially to the triplication and overexpression of APP on Chromosome 21. Given this high risk of AD, NfL may serve as a specific marker of AD-related neurodegeneration within this high-risk population. We further hypothesize that levels of NfL in plasma are influenced by genetic risk variants, which may eventually impact the risk for AD. Our genome-wide scan of two different cohorts of adults with DS has identified a set of promising loci. Planned analyses include assessing the association of candidate variants/genes with plasma NFL levels, assessing the association of genotype of the most promising variants with other AD-related phenotypes, such as plasma/CSF levels of AD biomarkers (e.g., Ab-42, Ab-40, tau), clinical outcomes (e.g., dementia status, age-at-onset of AD), and neuropsychological measures (e.g., memory scores). [ii] The Long Life Family Study (LLFS) is a global collaborative research project funded by NIH, and focused on exploring the genetic and familial factors associated with exceptional survival, longevity, and healthy aging. Our project aims to investigate the potential influence of lipid levels on the risk of developing AD in a cohort of individuals experiencing healthy aging. If the evidence supports this hypothesis, we will utilize the available lipidomic, transcriptomic, and genomic data within the LLFS to investigate the following: (a) Identification of specific lipids that may be associated with a higher risk of AD (b) Interrogate the molecular foundations of these lipids by relating their expression with other omics, such as genomic and transcriptomic data. Once we have identified relevant genetic variants, we will further explore the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes using ADNI. |
