Risk and Resilience to Alzheimer’s Disease in African Americans

Location: Bergen Room, Paul Robeson Center on MLK Drive at Rutgers University-Newark, in Newark, NJ. History: This is the 2nd iteration of this conference, the first of which was held in June of 2023.  

Research Progress: 2025-2026  

9:40am. Mark Gluck (Neuroscience, Rutgers-Newark).  

Pathways to Healthy Aging in African Americans: A Longitudinal Cohort Study, 2016-2026 and Beyond 

10:00am. Bernadette Fausto (Faculty Research Associate, Rutgers-Newark).  

Productivity Overview from 2025-2026 (Year 08 of NIH-Funded Study). 

Recent Findings from Studies of Our Newark Pathways Cohort 

10:15am. Miray Budak (JSJ Postdoctoral Fellow, Rutgers-Newark). 

Genetic Influences on Vascular Stiffness and Plasma Markers of Neurodegeneration among Older African Americans.  

10:20am. Soodeh Moallemian (Postdoctoral Fellow, Rutgers-Newark). 

Plasma Inflammatory Biomarkers and Diffusion MRI Metrics as Predictors of Neuroinflammation in Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease. 

10:25am. Payton White (Neuroscience PhD Student, Rutgers-Newark). 

Sleep as a Mediator of Pathology and Cognitive Decline in Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease. 

New Data Collection Sites Planned in Rural Southern Regions 

10:30am. Elizabeth Disbrow & Evelyn Pryor (Louisiana State University, Shreveport, LA). 

Aging Research and Community Engagement at Louisiana State University-Health Sciences Center, Shreveport 

10:40am. Shellie-Anne Levy (University of Florida, Gainesville, FL). 

Aging Research and Community Engagement at the University of Florida-Gainesville 

10:50am-11:15am. Coffee, Schmooze, and Stretch Break 

New Directions in Newark from Pilot Studies with Additional Protocols (Rutgers Collaborations) 

11:20am. Ryan Dougherty (Rutgers-NB, Kinesiology). 

Energetic Cost of Walking as a Novel Physiological Indicator of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders.  

11:25am. Jean-Francois Daneult (Rutgers-Health, Rehabilitation). 

Gait and Motor Disturbances in Early Alzheimer’s Disease 

11:30am. Tengteng Wang (Rutgers-Health, Medicine). 

Gut Microbiome, Brain Health, and Alzheimer’s Risk 

11:35am. Michelle Chen (Rutgers-Health, Neurology). 

Clinical Trial of Cognitive-Behavioral-Therapy-Insomnia for Alzheimer’s Risk Reduction 

11:40am. Jack Tsao (Rutgers-Health, Neurology). 

A New Dementia and Memory Care Clinic at Rutgers in Newark.

11:45am. David Scarisbrick (Rutgers-Health, Neurosurgery). 

Cortical Thickness as a Marker of Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.

New Directions from Secondary Data Analyses (External Faculty):   

11:50am. Kelly Nudelman (Indiana University, Genetics). 

Genomic Analyses of Risk and Resilience to Alzheimer’s Disease in African Americans. 

11:55am. Kevin Heffernan (Columbia University, Movement Science). 

Blood Vessel Aging and Brain Health in Older African Americans

Validating Health Implications of our Past Findings in an Ongoing Clinical Trial:   

12:00pm. Bernadette Fausto (Faculty Research Associate, Rutgers-Newark). 

Determinants of Individual Differences in the Efficacy of Aerobic Exercise to Improve Brain Health and Reduce Alzheimer’s Disease Risk in Older African Americans. 

12:10pm-12:40pm: General Discussion/Future Directions