School Awarded Millions in Dementia, Data Science Research

Over the past year, several National Institute of Health agencies have given the School of Nursing significant funding for research in dementia and data science.

Dementia Research Awards

The school received a $3.9 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to study the contribution of the oral microbiome to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Assistant Professor Irene Yang, PhD, RN, and Associate Professor Whitney Wharton, PhD, received the award.

Professor Mi-Kyung Song, PhD, RN, FAAN, is teaming with University of Pittsburg colleague Annette DeVito Dabbs, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, FAAN, to study the informal caregiving networks of older adults with dementia. They lead a multidisciplinary team that aims to help develop an interactive digital tool to capture the full scope of caregiving beyond primary caregivers’ experiences. The National Institute on Aging supports the study with a $1.4 million R56 grant.

The National Institute on Aging has awarded the School of Nursing a $3.5 million grant to study an online tool’s capacity to increase caregiver mastery in navigating health care, legal, financial, social service, and family systems. Professors Carolyn Clevenger 02MSN, DNP, GNP-BC, FAANP, FGSA, FAAN, and Ken Hepburn, PhD, received the five-year R01 grant. The program they will be testing employs state-of-the-art, interactive learning methods to help caregivers interact with various systems and structures, which may reduce stress for caregivers and increase health benefits for their loved ones.

Data Science Awards

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute awarded a $2.7 million grant to a team studying data strategies to detect and predict atrial fibrillation in poststroke patients. Xiao Hu, PhD, associate director of the Center for Data Science and Asa Griggs Candler Professor at the School of Nursing, will lead the four-year R01 grant, along with Fadi Nahab, MD, associate professor in the Emory School of Medicine and stroke quality director at Emory Healthcare.

The National Institute of Nursing Research awarded the school a $1.7 million grant for research training in women’s health and intersectionality using data science and health information technology. Professor Vicki Hertzberg, PhD, FASA, P.Stat., co-directs the program with Robert W. Woodruff Professor and Chair in Nursing Deborah Bruner, RN, PhD, FAAN, who also serves as senior vice president for research at Emory. Associate Professor Rasheeta Chandler, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, is the program’s deputy director. The five-year T32 research project grant will train pre-doctoral and postdoctoral nurse scientists to employ data science and health information technology to study the intersectionality of multiple social determinants of health in women.

Cover photo: Renée Byfield and Kaprice Welsh are two pre-doctoral students taking part in the research training program in women’s health and intersectionality using data science.