Prof. Monica Fabiani Received New Grant in the Fall of 2017

We are delighted to announce that Prof. Monica Fabiani has received grant R01 AG059878 from the National Institute of Aging. The project title is "Optical Measures of Cerebral Arterial Function as Predictors of Brain and Cognitive Aging". Inactivity and low cardiorespiratory fitness are among the most important risk factors for cerebral arteriosclerosis (stiffening of the arteries), a condition that has long been associated with accelerated cognitive decline in older individuals, with increased risks for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. In the proposed research, the team investigates the use of novel measures of cerebral arterial elasticity (based on optical measures of the cerebral arterial pulse, pulse-DOT), to assess early stages of cerebral arteriosclerosis in normally aging individuals (50-70 years). Pulse-DOT provides maps of arterial stiffness in an individual brain, which may be associated with age-related regional structural brain changes and specific patterns of cognitive decline, and could be used for designing individually tailored interventions for the prevention of MCI and dementia. The total cost of the project is $3,459,850.00. Co-Investigators include Drs. N. Gothe and B. Sutton. Congratulations!