How neighborhood, stress, and culture link to Alzheimer’s in African American and Mexican American communities
Official title: HABS-HD - Project 3
Funded at University of North Texas Hlth Sci Ctr · NIH-11173859 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how neighborhood disadvantage, stress, acculturation, and experiences like racism relate to Alzheimer’s brain changes in African American and Mexican American older adults.
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) | $657,922 |
| NIH project number | 5U19AG078109-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11173859 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Older adults who identify as African American or Mexican American and are willing to provide health information, biosamples or scans, and complete surveys about their neighborhood and life experiences.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not African American or Mexican American or who cannot travel to the Fort Worth research sites or do not wish to provide medical data or samples are unlikely to benefit from participation.
What this research studies
You would be asked to join a research program that combines health checks, blood samples or scans for Alzheimer biomarkers, and detailed questionnaires about your neighborhood, stress, and cultural experiences. Researchers will compare these social and environmental measures with biological markers for amyloid, tau, and neurodegeneration and with vascular/metabolic factors. The goal is to see whether social exposures help explain differences in Alzheimer biomarkers and disease progression between African American and Mexican American participants. Participation typically involves clinic visits in the Fort Worth area, medical testing, and completing surveys.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could clarify social and neighborhood drivers of Alzheimer risk and guide better-targeted prevention and care for affected communities.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has linked social, vascular, and inflammatory factors to Alzheimer risk, but combining detailed exposome and sociocultural data with modern biomarker measures in these specific populations is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of North Texas Hlth Sci Ctr
Fort Worth, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Johnson, Leigh a — University of North Texas Hlth Sci Ctr
- Study coordinator: Johnson, Leigh a
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.