Spotting the earliest warning signs of Alzheimer's disease could help delay or even prevent the disease. Duke Han, professor of psychology and family medicine at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, is co-leading a new, nationwide effort to make that possibility a reality.
Han is a co-primary investigator on the new Open Measures Network Initiative for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia Research and Prevention (OMNI ADRD), a $39 million project funded by the National Institute on Aging. Co-led by Penn State, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and USC, the initiative will unite researchers nationwide to build open-source tools for identifying brain changes years before dementia symptoms emerge.
For Han, who also holds a joint appointment at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, the effort represents a natural extension of his long-standing work developing better ways to assess cognitive health. Current Alzheimer's risk tests can vary widely between health systems and often rely on expensive imaging or lab work locked behind proprietary licenses. OMNI ADRD aims to change that by creating standardized, accessible assessments useful in clinics as well as homes and community settings.
"Our goal is to help bring brain health measurement into everyday life," Han said. "By developing open-access tools that can be used on smartphones or in community programs, we'll be able to spot changes earlier and give people a better chance of avoiding or delaying dementia."
The network will compile and refine a wide range of scientifically vetted cognitive and behavioral assessments, highlighting them on a digital platform for greater awareness. Researchers will also standardize existing Alzheimer's datasets and launch pilot studies to close gaps in how brain health is measured. The initiative seeks to advance prevention by focusing on people in midlife, when brain changes linked to dementia may first begin.
Han noted the urgency of the project, considering global dementia costs are projected to hit $2 trillion annually by 2030. "If we can identify risks before symptoms set in, we can take meaningful steps to reduce the enormous personal and public health toll of these diseases."
