AWARE Dallas Grant Supports Alzheimer’s Research

By: Daniel Steele | January 30, 2025

Dr. Kristen Kennedy
Dr. Kristen Kennedy

A $30,000 grant from AWARE Dallas helped advance research at The University of Texas at Dallas that recently received a $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  

The NIH grant will assist Drs. Kristen Kennedy and Karen Rodrigue, professors in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and their team in the Neuroimaging of Aging and Cognition Lab to continue the follow-up of their longitudinal study, the Dallas Area Longitudinal Lifespan Aging Study (D.A.L.L.A.S.). Their study investigates age and biomarker-related differences in brain structure, function, and neurometabolites. 

AWARE and Kennedy first became acquainted in 2014, after Kennedy presented a funding request to the organization. She was awarded the inaugural AWARE grant in 2014 to add collection of genetics data to the study.  

In 2024, Kennedy was again awarded AWARE funds to help fund a new postdoctoral fellow on the team and to expand the study to include ultra-high field 7 Tesla MRI scanning. This funding was pivotal in securing the recent NIH award. 

Stacey Angel, a spokesperson for AWARE Dallas, says they are excited they were able to provide seed funding that enabled Kennedy to receive the larger-scale grant from NIH. 

“AWARE recognizes the value of young and upcoming researchers, like Dr. Kennedy,” Angel said. “They are rich in new ideas and approaches to dealing with the hurdles this disease presents. Too often they are not given the opportunity to showcase their value.” 

Dr. Karen Rodrigue (left) and Dr. Kristen Kennedy (right)
Dr. Karen Rodrigue (left) and Dr. Kristen Kennedy

The upcoming funding will help allow the collection of data, adding additional blood-based biomarkers of brain cellular health and MRI markers of brain function health, or neurometabolites.  

“Being able to stay up to date with the state-of-the-science level techniques in our research not only enables exciting scientific discoveries, but keeps us competitive for receiving NIH funding, which is quite difficult to procure,” Kennedy said. “The generous support of AWARE over the years of our study has made this possible.” 

AWARE believes the backing of the NIH also validates their approach to areas of the Alzheimer’s journey that have been long overlooked, like the roles played by caregivers. According to Kennedy, identifying treatments for the disease, or even earlier interventions, not only helps individuals carrying the diagnosis, but also those providing care for these individuals. 

“The caregiver bears the unique burden of physical, mental, material and love support,” Angel said. “Their strength deserves every tool that research could possibly provide them. With the support of our generous donors and the gift of our volunteers’ time, AWARE will strive to continue to support UT Dallas research studies and those of other nonprofit organizations that work to improve quality of life for all involved in the Alzheimer’s journey.” 

Thanks to the money provided from the NIH grant, the D.A.L.L.A.S. study will be funded for an additional five years enabling the fourth and fifth cycles of data collection and adding 180 participants to the longitudinal study.  

This new phase of the project has three aims: looking at microlevel chemical factors in larger-scale brain changes over time, measuring the brain’s cortex and its white matter myelin content at sub-millimeter levels, and identifying patterns that correspond with healthy or dysfunctional aging.  

“We believe that participants who maintain their previous levels of brain health, whether it is blood-oxygen signals, thickness of the cortex, or white matter connections, will differ in their neurometabolite signatures from those who don’t,” Kennedy said. “Whether that mechanism comes in the form of better neurotransmitter regulation, high brain antioxidant levels, lower inflammation or other factors that we can now measure – that’s what we’re out to learn.” 

Kennedy’s study is expected to continue until 2029.