Genetics tools to study aging, behavior, and social factors in diverse groups
Official title: Studying the Genetics of Aging, Behavioral, and Social Phenotypes in Diverse Populations
Funded at University of Southern California · NIH-11476972 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A project to create user-friendly genetics tools that help researchers study aging, behavior, and social factors in diverse populations.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Southern California NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | May 15, 2023 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $180,567 |
| NIH project number | 3R01AG081518-04S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11476972 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People from diverse backgrounds who may be affected by aging-related cognitive changes or dementia could benefit from advances enabled by this research in the long term.
✕Less likely to help
In the short term, participants will not be recruited for this study; it focuses on developing tools using existing datasets.
What this research studies
If you or a loved one have aging-related cognitive concerns, this project aims to build better tools for studying how genes interact with aging and environment across diverse groups. The team plans to develop GRMMA, a method to use large, mixed-ancestry datasets for more accurate genetic studies, and SBayesU to improve polygenic risk scores while reducing bias. The resulting tools and tutorials will be shared publicly to help researchers work with diverse populations. This work could eventually lead to more inclusive understandings of Alzheimer’s-related risks and influence future research and care strategies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better, more inclusive genetic tools could lead to improved risk assessment and personalized approaches to aging and dementia in diverse communities.
How similar studies have gone: Similar approaches have shown promise in reducing ancestry bias and improving cross-population genetic analyses, though broad adoption of diverse tools is ongoing.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Turley, Patrick Ansel — University of Southern California
- Study coordinator: Turley, Patrick Ansel
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Aging Well with HIV: Alcohol, Risk Reduction, and Education Center (AWAR3E)
A center at Yale is exploring how aging with HIV interacts with alcohol use to create inflammation and frailty, with the goal of finding biomarkers and potential treatments.
-
Cognitive SuperAging: Exploring why some octogenarians stay sharp in memory
This NIH grant studies why a small group of people aged 80+ keep memory skills as good as much younger people, hoping to understand how to protect memory as we age.
-
Biological aging across the lifespan through a national high school-to-adult study
This grant uses a long-running national study of students and adults to collect saliva biomarkers of aging, alongside surveys, to understand how aging markers relate to health and life experiences.
-
Understanding how aging and Alzheimer’s affect how people make tough choices
This NIH grant studies how aging and Alzheimer’s risk change how people decide between immediate and delayed rewards and risky options, with the goal of helping older adults stay financially and healthwise safer.
-
Understanding how brain resilience and multiple brain pathologies influence aging and Alzheimer's disease
A long-term study follows older adults to learn how resilience to brain changes helps reduce dementia risk and what biological factors are linked to better cognitive aging.
-
National Neighborhood Data Archive helps researchers study aging health in U.S. neighborhoods
A nationwide data resource will help researchers understand how where people live affects health and aging, with a focus on respiratory illnesses in older adults.
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.