Community outreach to include Black and Hispanic older adults in Alzheimer’s research
Official title: HABS-HD - Core E - Disparities & Outreach Core
Funded at University of North Texas Hlth Sci Ctr · NIH-11173829 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This program connects older Black, Mexican American, and White adults in the Dallas–Fort Worth area with Alzheimer’s testing and enrollment so researchers can better understand differences in brain aging and dementia risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of North Texas Hlth Sci Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Fort Worth, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2022 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $676,843 |
| NIH project number | 5U19AG078109-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11173829 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Older adults in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, especially African American or Mexican American individuals, who are willing to complete memory testing and provide samples or attend clinic visits are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who live outside the Dallas–Fort Worth area or who cannot or will not take part in cognitive testing, blood draws, or clinic visits are unlikely to benefit from or be eligible for this core outreach effort.
What this research studies
You would be invited to community events and outreach activities designed to make participation easy and respectful. If you join, staff may ask you to complete memory tests, interviews about health and lifestyle, provide blood samples, and have brain imaging when appropriate. The project focuses on African American, Mexican American, and non‑Hispanic White older adults to compare common biological markers linked to Alzheimer’s. The team uses this information to help design future, more personalized prevention and treatment plans.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to more accurate diagnoses and treatments that work better for Black and Hispanic patients by including them in research.
How similar studies have gone: Community-based outreach programs, including the ongoing HABS-HD network, have improved minority enrollment in dementia research, though combining broad biomarker testing across multiple racial/ethnic groups is still developing.
Where this research is happening
-
University of North Texas Hlth Sci Ctr
Fort Worth, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: O'bryant, Sid E — University of North Texas Hlth Sci Ctr
- Study coordinator: O'bryant, Sid E
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.