Sleep and neighborhood effects on Black-White differences in thinking and memory
Psychosocial and Neighborhood Mechanisms and Consequences of Black-White Sleep Disparities on Cognition
This project looks at whether differences in sleep and neighborhood stress help explain why Black and White middle-aged adults sometimes have different thinking and memory outcomes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Clemson University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Clemson, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11146764 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you joined, researchers would follow middle-aged Black and White participants from the HANDLS study for four years and collect yearly measures of sleep duration and quality, mobile cognitive tests, blood markers of inflammation (like CRP and IL-6), life stressors, and resilience factors such as spirituality and coping. You would do daily mobile cognitive tests linked to sleep measures so investigators can study how night-to-night sleep relates to next-day thinking. The team will examine whether neighborhood and psychosocial stressors change the sleep–cognition link and whether inflammation helps explain differences. The goal is to find mechanisms that might explain higher Alzheimer’s risk in some groups and point toward ways to reduce disparities.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are middle-aged Black and White adults who are part of (or eligible for) the HANDLS cohort and are willing to provide sleep data, complete mobile cognitive tests, and give blood samples yearly.
Not a fit: People who are not Black or White, are outside the middle-age range, or cannot complete mobile testing or blood draws are less likely to benefit directly from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could point to sleep and neighborhood targets for early interventions to lower Alzheimer’s risk and reduce Black-White disparities.
How similar studies have performed: Prior research links poor sleep and inflammation to cognitive decline, but combining daily mobile cognitive testing, sleep measures, and neighborhood/psychosocial factors across Black and White adults is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Clemson, United States
- Clemson University — Clemson, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gamaldo, Alyssa Ann — Clemson University
- Study coordinator: Gamaldo, Alyssa Ann
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 below.