FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Contact:
Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu
Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu
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Maria Glymour, Andrew Stokes, and Deborah Carr will lead the Boston University-Quantitative Population Science and Healthy Cognitive Aging Research Program (BU-SHARP) to foster national research collaboration on preventing and ameliorating the consequences of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in disproportionately affected populations.
Mounting data suggest that modifying health and lifestyle factors may delay or prevent a substantial portion of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) diagnoses, as new ADRD cases are expected to double in the United States by 2060. However, research on the most effective strategies for ADRD prevention is often impeded by methodological challenges, insufficient data, and research teams that lack the interdisciplinary expertise to study specific groups and contexts.
This fall, three faculty members at Boston University’s School of Public Health (SPH) and College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) will launch a Center on the Demography and Economics of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias to help fill this knowledge gap.
Dr. Maria Glymour , chair and professor of epidemiology at SPH, Dr. Andrew Stokes , associate professor of global health at SPH, and Dr. Deborah Carr , A&S Distinguished Professor of Sociology at CAS, have received a $2.8 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to establish the center, called the Boston University-Quantitative Population Science and Healthy Cognitive Aging Research Program ( BU-SHARP ). It will become the 18th center of its kind nationwide, joining a network of NIA-supported academic hubs that facilitate ADRD and cognitive aging research and related initiatives by connecting scholars in a variety of fields, including demography, sociology, economics, epidemiology, data science, and more.
While there have been strides in ADRD detection and treatment, there is still no known treatment to cure or prevent these debilitating brain conditions, which impair memory, thought processes, and functioning, primarily among older adults. The burden of ADRD varies substantially across populations and over time, with some groups of people experiencing more than twice the number of new ADRD diagnoses than other groups. These population differences and time trends indicate that changing behaviors, social context, and environmental conditions throughout a person’s lifespan may reduce one's risk of developing ADRD. BU-SHARP will fund pilot studies, provide technical assistance and mentorship, and facilitate access to underutilized datasets and methodological resources to early-career researchers across and beyond BU, aiming to better understand how and why ADRD manifests among certain populations more than others, and how social, policy, and structural factors can be modified to reduce the incidence and burden of these progressive brain conditions.
“We now understand that Alzheimer’s disease likely takes decades to develop from the very first beginnings of the pathology until people receive diagnoses,” says Dr. Glymour, whose research focuses on how social factors across the life course affect cognitive functioning, and who will lead the center’s Administrative and Research Support Core. “This center will connect researchers across BU who have shared interests in ADRD and aging to understand how we can slow the onset and progression of ADRD over time, and mitigate some of the burden of these diseases—not only for the person who develops it, but also for their loved ones and for society at large.”
BU-SHARP will facilitate research among three broad themes: the onset, progression, and consequences of ADRD among people with disabilities, underserved rural populations, and other populations disproportionately affected; the social stressors and other dynamics contributing to these diseases throughout the lifespan; and how these influences can be modified to reduce a person’s risk of developing ADRD.
Some of the planned activities for the center include a meeting series that will provide an opportunity for researchers across the country to workshop and receive constructive feedback on ADRD research projects, office hours providing data and analytic support to ADRD researchers, a research translation program that will train a cohort of students to develop expertise in writing and reporting on ADRD through partnerships with SPH’s daily population health magazine Public Health Post , and CAS’ Social Science Summer Writing Internship Program , a pilot funding and mentorship program for innovative, small-scale research projects led by early-career investigators, and the development of numerous data and methodological resources to benefit the ADRD research community.
“Research on dementia has the potential to influence health and social policy across the United States,” says Dr. Stokes, a demographer and sociologist who studies how social and policy conditions shape dementia risk and mortality, and who will lead BU-SHARP’s Communication and Dissemination Core. “However, ADRD researchers often lack the training and support they need to strategically disseminate their work and reach the policymakers and practitioners who could act on them. BU-SHARP aims to fill this need with training and targeted support for research dissemination and translation efforts.”
The team says it is rare for a single research team to have expertise in advanced quantitative methods, experience with ADRD research and datasets, relevant contextual and community-based experience, and training on how to disseminate and translate research. BU-SHARP will bring together stakeholders across disciplines, including those who have not previously studied ADRD, to advance the knowledge base for ADRD and its public health impacts through new ideas and approaches, and contribute to the development of effective prevention strategies.
Dr. Carr, BU-SHARP’s Pilot Core Lead, notes that interdisciplinary collaboration is needed to conduct high-quality, contextually relevant research on ADRD.
“The impacts of ADRD are far-reaching, and developing solutions will require substantive and methodological expertise spanning the biomedical and behavioral sciences, as well as practitioners and policy experts who can translate results into action,” says Dr. Carr, a life-course sociologist who has written extensively about inequalities in aging, end-of-life issues, and older adults’ social relationships. “The Pilot Core will provide essential support for early-stage researchers across disciplines as they launch their own pathbreaking research on dementia, its etiology, and implications for older adults and their families. Creating a pipeline of methodologically sophisticated researchers with deep knowledge of ADRD—spanning multiple disciplines—will be key in advancing knowledge and developing evidence-based interventions to mitigate the impacts of ADRD.”
Several BU faculty will serve as coinvestigators of BU-SHARP, including Dr. Jennifer Weuve , professor of epidemiology at SPH, Dr. Tal Gross , professor of markets, public policy, and law at the Questrom School of Business, and Dr. Christopher Robertson , professor of law in the School of Law and professor of health law, policy & management at SPH.
Dr. Weuve will lend expertise in epidemiological methods, as the principal investigator of Methods in Longitudinal Research on Dementia (MELODEM ), an SPH initiative that provides a forum for analyzing and sharing effective study methods for identifying the causes of dementia and cognitive decline. She is also one of four SPH faculty members who recently received a five-year, $2.1 million grant from the NIA to lead BU Scholars for Quantitative Interdisciplinary Aging Research ( BU-SQIAR ), a T32 training program for doctoral and postdoctoral trainees to gain research skills and experience in ADRD, as well as the many factors over the course of a person’s entire life that contribute to healthy aging. During two years of rigorous coursework, seminars, mentorship, and research, PhD and postdoctoral trainees, selected from any SPH department, will be able to draw upon many of BU-SHARP’s resources as they apply quantitative methods and utilize advanced data sources. BU-SQIAR will also be led by Glymour, as well as Dr. Gina Peloso , associate professor of biostatistics, and Dr. Steven Pizer , professor of health law, policy & management, representing SPH’s rich community of researchers studying healthy aging across multiple academic departments.
“We can advance our understanding of aging—and frankly, anything in public health—by maximizing the number of tools at our disposal,” says Dr. Weuve. “Those tools might be data, methods in study design and analysis, or even strategically chosen collaborators. This training program is so exciting because it provides more ways for us to support PhD and postdoctoral trainees interested in aging research, whether they’re interested in physical and cognitive disabilities, healthcare financing, or any of the other challenges that individuals, families, and society face as people age. Both BU-SHARP and BU-SQIAR will enable trainees to gain exposure to a wide range of tools beyond the department of their own PhD program.”
Ahead of BU-SHARP’s launch in the fall, the team is inviting researchers of all disciplines at BU and beyond—and including those new to ADRD research—to engage with the center. The BU-SHARP website will launch soon with more information and a link for people to join the center’s mailing list.
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About Boston University School of Public Health
Founded in 1976, Boston University School of Public Health is one of the top ten ranked schools of public health in the world. It offers master's- and doctoral-level education in public health. The faculty in six departments conduct policy-changing public health research around the world, with the mission of improving the health of populations—especially the disadvantaged, underserved, and vulnerable—locally and globally.