Key Dates

Related Announcements

• February 12, 2024 - Open Measurement Coordinating Network for Non-Pharmacological Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD) Primary Prevention Trials (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO RFA-AG-25-005

Issued by

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice is to inform potential applicants that the National Institute on Aging (NIA) will hold a pre-application teaming, collaboration, and technical assistance live webinar regarding applications for Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) RFA-AG-25-005 , “Open Measurement Coordinating Network for Non-Pharmacological Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD) Primary Prevention Trials (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)” on Friday, March 29th, 2024, at 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM ET. 

Webinar Information

This pre-application teaming, collaboration, and technical assistance live webinar will provide prospective applicants the opportunity to understand and ask questions on the scientific scope and technical details to aid in preparation of an application in response to RFA-AG-25-005. The webinar will also provide an opportunity to discuss approaches to teaming and collaboration, including an interactive, team building experience for individuals who are interested in contributing to this network, meeting collaborators, and discussing strategies for effective network building. This will include opportunities for those who would like to engage with the project, but who do not plan to lead submission of an application. The webinar will be open to all prospective applicants and parties interested in participating in the project.    

Participation in the webinar is not a prerequisite for applying to the NOFO, but webinar attendees will need to register using this link . Webinar connection information will be provided to registered participants. Please refer to the registration page for further details on the webinar, including the time and date and registration information. 

Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to submit questions prior to the webinar to [email protected] . Please indicate “RFA-AG-25-005 Webinar" in the subject line of the email. Questions posted during the live session can be submitted through the chat feature. 

There are two parts to this webinar: (1) technical assistance and (2) teaming/collaboration. Only the technical assistance part of the webinar will be recorded. 

Information About RFA-AG-25-005

RFA-AG-25-005 invites U24 Cooperative Agreement applications that propose to establish a national Open Measurement Coordinating Network for Non-Pharmacological Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD) Primary Prevention Trials. The Network will serve as a centralized hub for developing, validating, standardizing, and disseminating measures and measurement methods for AD/ADRD primary prevention trials. It will incorporate measures and measurement methods across neuropsychological, biomarker, and functional domains to meet the goal of primary prevention of AD/ADRD centered around brain health equity. Brain health equity is the fair distribution of brain health determinants, outcomes, and resources within and between segments of the population, regardless of social standing. Measures and measurement methods of interest will test outcomes and mechanisms of action (e.g., cognitive, behavioral, structural/social, computational, biological) that are customized for individuals with different needs and that are linked to real-world function. Resources developed through this initiative, including measurement instruments, methods, algorithms, code, documentation, and normative data, are intended to enable future measures and measurement-methods-development projects that support AD/ADRD primary prevention research needs. NIA is particularly interested in proposals that aim to advance equity for populations disproportionately impacted by AD/ADRD.

One of the main deliverables of this Network is a core set of measures for AD/ADRD primary prevention trials that incorporates new targets for intervention. This will involve: 1) reviewing the existing measures and measurement methods that could be used to test outcomes and mechanisms of action (e.g, cognitive, behavioral, social/structural, computational, biological) in AD/ADRD primary prevention trials; 2) identifying existing measures for the use, modification, repurposing, and/or development of new measures and measurement methods that can be used to measure outcomes and mechanisms of action (e.g, cognitive, behavioral, social/structural, computational, biological) in AD/ADRD primary prevention trials; 3) assessing the reliability, validity, usability, and acceptability of existing and/or developed measures and modifying, repurposing, and/or creating new measures when deemed necessary; and 4) supporting the adoption of developed instruments into ongoing research. The Network should support the plug-and-play capabilities of the NIH Toolbox or MobileToolbox with the extensibility to integrate new tools, norms, algorithms, and raw data as well as support new, innovative approaches to solving other measurement challenges (e.g., implementation across web, app, different operating systems, sites/locations) for NIA-supported non-pharmacological AD/ADRD primary prevention trials. The Network must also leverage existing NIA-supported measurement projects (e.g., NIH Toolbox, HRS-HCAP, Mobile Toolbox, NACC UDS, SOBC Measures Repository) to advance measurement goals. 

Network infrastructure should be open, transparent, extensible, customizable, and have a sustainability plan to support Network activities, including support for development and dissemination of the resources developed by the Network. The goal is to create infrastructure to support the coordination of measures and measurement methods development, validation, and standardization customized for individuals with different needs and linked to real-world function. The lack of comparable measures in clinical trials has made it difficult to detect and understand longitudinal changes in function, but recent advances in measurement methods and digital technology offer the possibility of improving future trials (Landscape of Early Neuropsychological Changes in AD/ADRD Project). Developing this Network infrastructure will address the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease Milestones 8.D, 11.B, and 11.F.​ 

The Network must collaborate with other NIA-funded studies, networks, and programs to ensure interoperability; promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA); and ensure the measures and measurement methods and resources are widely adopted by researchers and other stakeholders. This will include developing a platform and organizational and governance structure to support Network activities and disseminate Network resources and products to meet evolving community needs. 

The Network must enhance the sustainability and impact of research software tools by enabling the use of best practices and design principles in software development and by leveraging advances in computing in a modern data ecosystem. A successful Network will include collaborations between scientists and software engineers to optimize the design, implementation, and cloud-readiness of research software and to advance the principles and practices of open science. This initiative is aligned with the NIH Strategic Plan for Data Science, which describes actions aimed at building a better data infrastructure and a modernized data ecosystem as well as NIA Strategic Goal G: support the infrastructure and resources needed to promote high-quality research. 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) promotes the sharing of research software and source code, developed under research grants or cooperative agreements in any stage of development, in a free and open format. Releasing the software source code in an open manner means that users are permitted to use, modify, and/or redistribute the code. Data Management and Sharing Plans for this initiative must indicate whether specialized tools are needed to access or manipulate shared scientific data to support replication or reuse, and the name of any required tool or software. Read about best practices for sharing research software, including NIA Research Software and Source Code Sharing Guidance.    

For Dissemination activities throughout the course of this initiative, applicants are encouraged to engage with a wide range of NIA-supported AD/ADRD infrastructure projects, such as the centers in the NIA Research Centers Collaborative Network (RCCN), and with other NIA-funded programs and centers, such as the following: 

• Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMARs) 
• Edward R. Roybal Centers for Translational Research in the Behavioral and Social Sciences of Aging 
• Science of Behavior Change Resource Coordinating Center 
• Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) 
• Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTCs) 

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Luke Stoeckel, Ph.D. and Kristina McLinden, Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Email: [email protected]