2004 — 2005 |
Small, Brent John |
R03Activity Code Description: To provide research support specifically limited in time and amount for studies in categorical program areas. Small grants provide flexibility for initiating studies which are generally for preliminary short-term projects and are non-renewable. |
Lifestyle Activities and Changes in Cognitive Abilities @ University of South Florida
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the role of everyday activities in maintaining the cognitive functioning of older adults. However, the literature on lifestyle activities and their effect on cognitive functioning is mixed with some studies reporting significant relationships, whereas others have not. Further, a critical issue is the direction of the effect, as some researchers has suggested that participation in lifestyle activities may not moderate cognitive decline, but individuals who are experiencing declines in cognitive abilities may relinquish lifestyle activities. In the current application, we will examine the reciprocal relationships between longitudinal changes in participation in lifestyle activities and changes in cognitive performance. Specifically, using multi-wave longitudinal data from the Victoria Longitudinal Study, we will examine longitudinal changes in processing speed, working memory, and episodic memory in relation to changes in ;)anticipation rates of cognitively and non-cognitively focused lifestyle activities. The specific aims are: (1) To describe longitudinal changes in cognitive performance and participation in lifestyle activities over a 15-year, multi-wave, follow-up period; and (2) To examine the reciprocal relationship between changes in cognitive abilities and changes in participation in lifestyle activities. These aims will be examined using the Latent Difference Score statistical approach. With this methodology, we are able to evaluate specific hypotheses about the nature of changes over time. In addition, with regard to the reciprocal relationships, we are able to test specific hypotheses about change, including whether changes in lifestyle activities and cognition are independent of one another; whether changes in one variable precedes or leads Changes in the other; and whether the influences of each variable are reciprocal, although they do not necessarily have to be equal in magnitude. The results of the current project should provide direct evidence as to whether engaging in complex lifestyle environments moderate longitudinal declines in cognitive abilities among older adults.
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0.958 |
2006 — 2007 |
Small, Brent John |
R03Activity Code Description: To provide research support specifically limited in time and amount for studies in categorical program areas. Small grants provide flexibility for initiating studies which are generally for preliminary short-term projects and are non-renewable. |
Apolipoprotein E Genotype and Cognitive Performance in Breast Cancer Survivors @ University of South Florida
[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In recent years there has been considerable interest in the e4 allele of Apolipoprotein E (APOE), a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, as a risk factor for cognitive impairment in healthy aging. Recently, there has been growing recognition that women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer may experience cognitive problems as a consequence of adjuvant chemotherapy. In addition, research suggests that the presence of the e4 allele of APOE may also convey a disadvantage to the cognitive performance of breast cancer survivors. In the current proposal we examine cross-sectional differences and longitudinal changes in the cognitive functioning of a sample of breast cancer survivors and healthy controls as a function of APOE- e4 genotype. Specifically, we will assess APOE genotype of a group of breast cancer survivors who have been examined for over 3 years since the inception of treatment, as well as a matched sample of healthy controls who have been examined at a single measurement point. The specific aims are: 1) To compare cross-sectional differences in the cognitive performance of breast cancer survivors and healthy controls as a function of APOE-e4 genotype; 2) To examine longitudinal changes in cognitive performance among breast cancer survivors as a function of APOE-e4 genotype; and 3) To examine the role of cancer treatment-related and cardiovascular disease factors in the presence and severity of APOE-e4-related changes in cognitive performance among breast cancer survivors. Cognitive performance is indexed with multiple tests of episodic memory, attention, complex cognition, motor speed, and language. We predict that relative to healthy controls, the cognitive performance of breast cancer survivors will be poorer and breast cancer survivors who are APOE-e4 positive will perform most poorly. In terms of longitudinal changes, we predict that breast cancer survivors who are APOE-e4 positive will exhibit greater declines longitudinally, relative to non-e4 carriers. The results of the current proposal are relevant to attempts to describe factors that may predispose cancer survivors to negative cognitive outcomes after treatment. Identifying factors that may increase a person's risk of cognitive impairment following treatment for cancer is a great concern to public health. In the current proposal, we examine the potential of APOE-e4 genotype, known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, to predispose breast cancer survivors for poor cognitive outcomes. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]
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0.958 |
2006 — 2010 |
Small, Brent John |
P01Activity Code Description: For the support of a broadly based, multidisciplinary, often long-term research program which has a specific major objective or a basic theme. A program project generally involves the organized efforts of relatively large groups, members of which are conducting research projects designed to elucidate the various aspects or components of this objective. Each research project is usually under the leadership of an established investigator. The grant can provide support for certain basic resources used by these groups in the program, including clinical components, the sharing of which facilitates the total research effort. A program project is directed toward a range of problems having a central research focus, in contrast to the usually narrower thrust of the traditional research project. Each project supported through this mechanism should contribute or be directly related to the common theme of the total research effort. These scientifically meritorious projects should demonstrate an essential element of unity and interdependence, i.e., a system of research activities and projects directed toward a well-defined research program goal. |
Statistical Core @ University of South Florida
Core C, the Statistics Core, provides data archiving and methodological expertise for the current project.[unreadable] There are three specific aims to the core: 1) Provide a data archiving and maintenance function; 2) Provide[unreadable] statistical consultation and data analysis, as well as methodological consultation; and 3) Provide educational[unreadable] opportunities for project investigators. Each of these aims is critical to the successful execution of the[unreadable] current project. The data archiving function allows investigators to safely store data and promotes[unreadable] collaborative relationships when common outcomes or predictor variables are examined. The statistical[unreadable] consulting and methodological design aim represents the major function of this core and allows investigators[unreadable] to design and execute better experiments, as well as it allows investigators to have access to the most[unreadable] current statistical treatments for their data. Finally, the educational aim allows investigators to stay abreast[unreadable] of current developments in statistical methodology in order for them to consider their application in their own[unreadable] research.
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0.958 |
2014 |
Chen, Kewei Zeng, Bo (co-PI) [⬀] Huang, Shuai [⬀] Small, Brent |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Collaborative Research: Data-Driven Smart Monitoring of Alzheimer's Disease Via Data Fusion, Personalized Prognostics, and Selective Sensing @ University of South Florida
The objective of this project is to develop a data-driven smart monitoring methodology of Alzheimer?s disease (AD). AD follows an accelerated degradation trajectory as compared to normal aging. Accurate monitoring and prognosis of the disease trajectory is critical for the success of many preventative interventions. Currently, no first-line screening system for monitoring the fast-growing preclinical population is available. While emerging personalized health screening systems provide the infrastructure to routinely screen massive numbers of individuals, it is an essential challenge to transform the role of these systems from passive information collection into smart monitoring to proactively characterize the underlying complex time-varying disease trajectory shaped by an individual?s risk factors. This project aims at developing such a ?smart monitoring? approach that will equip nowadays cyber infrastructure with powerful data-driven decision-making capabilities for better management of the preclinical individuals, leading to more efficient targeted screening and affordable care, better treatment planning and management, and improved quality of life for both patients and caregivers. Successful implementation will provide a substantial boost for the detection of the 4.5 million preclinical individuals anticipated in the next 20 years. Its generic nature will also impact monitoring of other progressive medical conditions, given the rapid adoption of personalized screening systems in other areas. The interdisciplinary nature of this research across data-driven monitoring, prognostics, optimization, and health care will prepare students a diversified education background. Broader impacts will be also generated through new curriculum modules, online software toolkits for implementation, and involving underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students in research experience programs.
The success of the project will significantly advance the state of the art in data-driven monitoring, prognostics, and selective sensing, and contribute to the science base of the emerging personalized screening systems. Specifically, to model and quantify the disease trajectory, a health index (HI) model will be constructed by synthesizing the degradation information from multiple biomarkers via the development of non-parametric and semi-parametric data fusion schemes. Then, to predict the personalized disease trajectory, personalized prognostics methodologies will be developed that can offline predict and online update the personalized HI model via the development of multi-level degradation models and Bayesian updating approaches. Capitalizing on the personalized prognostics methodologies, selective sensing methodologies will be developed to adaptively identify the screening tests that are most informative for the statistical estimation of the HI via a seamlessly integration of a novel Bayesian network model with robust optimization techniques. A team of five PIs with diverse but complementary research backgrounds will be working closely with two leading AD research institutes in the U.S. to develop, test, and validate the methodologies.
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1 |
2015 — 2016 |
Scott, Stacey Beth [⬀] Small, Brent John |
R03Activity Code Description: To provide research support specifically limited in time and amount for studies in categorical program areas. Small grants provide flexibility for initiating studies which are generally for preliminary short-term projects and are non-renewable. |
Daily Cognitive Functioning Among Cancer Survivors @ University of South Florida
? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Considerable interest exists in long-term treatment effects in cancer survivors that can have a significant impact on quality-of-life (QOL) outcomes. Cognitive impairment is one of the most common QOL complaints among breast cancer survivors; as many as 70% report memory loss and difficulty concentrating, however, objective tests of cognitive function typically show only 15% - 25% of survivors are impaired based on normative criteria. This discrepancy between the high prevalence of subjective complaints and more modest deficits observed in objective tests may be because standard neuropsychological assessments in controlled laboratory or clinic conditions do not map on to the daily activities in which survivors report problems. Second, cognitive impairments may be subtle and although noticeable to a survivor reflecting on her pre-treatment performance, these within-person changes may not be detectible as differences between survivors. Finally, cognitive impairment among breast cancer survivors may be related to other common QOL outcomes (e.g., stress, depression, fatigue) which may differ between people and fluctuate for a given survivor across time. That is, a survivor may have good days and bad days in terms of her daily cognitive functioning, and these fluctuations may be predicted by whether she is feeling fatigued, depressed, or stressed on that day. To address these issues, data will be collected from breast cancer survivors who were treated with chemotherapy. Cognitive functioning will be assessed in these individuals using self-report questionnaires and neuropsychological instruments as well as with daily diary reports of memory failures, and cognitive tasks administered as `brain games' on smartphones across a 14-day period. Innovations in mobile data collection allow for real-time capture of objective cognitive performance and subjective cognitive complaints. This R03 addresses these specific aims: (1) determine if cognitive performance assessed in laboratory settings is an accurate representation of the kinds of daily cognitive challenges that cancer survivors experience, and (2) determine if survivors' daily performance can be predicted by how fatigued, depressed, or stressed they feel that day. The approach is innovative, in the applicant's opinion, because it leverages novel approach of assessing cognitive performance in the field in order to answer important questions in survivorship research: which survivors experience cognitive deficits and when are these deficits most likely to occur. This study is significant, as the resolution of these issues will direct the development of interventions to reduce the frequency and impact of cognitive deficits among breast cancer survivors.
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0.958 |