eBRAIN Studies

Research

Faculty Research

dna strand next to a human brain

LEGENNDS: Linking Epidemiology and GEnetics of Neurodevelopmental and Neurodegenerative Disorders Study

2023-2028
R01NS131433, NIH
Andrea Rosso
B. Lee (PI)

abstract neighborhood representation

Neighborhood Environment and Risk of Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults across Southwestern Pennsylvania

2022-2023
Pitt UCSUR, Steven Manners
Faculty Development Award
Andrea Rosso

Unhealthy White Matter Connectivity, Cognition, and Racialization in Older Adults

2022-2026
5R01AG075025-02, NIA
Beth Shaaban

Neural and Energetic Drivers of Performance and Perceived Fatigability in Older Adults

2022-2026
5R01AG075025-02, NIA
Caterina Rosano (PI)

RC-ISC

2023-2025
5P30AG024827-19 6303, NIA
Caterina Rosano (PI)

Myosteatosis, Cognition and Blood Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease in Persons of African Ancestry

2022–2025
1RF1AG077474-01, NIA
Iva Miljkovic (MPI)
Caterina Rosano (Co-PI)

Longitudinal Examination of Neighborhood Disadvantage, Cognitive Aging, and Alzheimer's Disease Risk in Disinvested, African American Neighborhoods

2022–2027
R01AG072652, NIA
Andrea Rosso (MPI)

Neurobiological Drivers of Mobility Resilience: the Dopaminergic System

2018–2023
U01AG061393, NIA
Caterina Rosano (MPI)
Andrea Rosso (Co-Investigator)

Population Neuroscience of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease (PNA)

2018–2023
Grant T32AG055381
Caterina Rosano (MPI)
Mary Ganguli (MPI)
Andrea Rosso (MPI)

Pittsburgh Older American Independence Center

2020–2025
P30 AG024827-06, NIA 
Susan Greenspan (PI)
Caterina Rosano (Core Leader)

Neurovascular Determinants of Cognitive Function in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease

2016–2021
R01HL127107
Enrico Novelli (PI)
Caterina Rosano (Co-Investigator)

Restoring Central Motor Control to Improve Community Mobility of Older Adults

2018–2022
1 R01 AG057671-01A1, NIA/NINR
Andrea Rosso (PI)

Caterina Rosano (Co-Investigator)

Locomotor Adaptability for Community Mobility of Older Adults: The Role of Gait Automaticity

2020–2022
Pitt Momentum Funds
Andrea Rosso (Co-Investigator)

 

Preventing Cognitive Decline and Dementia Among Older Chinese Immigrants: The Role of Activity, Engagement, Immigration Experience, and Neighborhood Environments

2020–2024
1R01AG067548-01
Fengyan Tang (PI)

Andrea Rosso (Co-Investigator)

 

Environmental Challenges and the Aging Brain: Implications for Community Mobility

2016–2022
1K01AG053431-01, NIA
Andrea Rosso (PI)

 

Neighborhoods, Cognitive Aging and Modifiable Risk Factors

2018–2022
1R01AG055404-01A1, NIA
Michelle Carlson (PI)
Andrea Rosso (Co-Investigator)

 

ADRD Supplement: Urban Revitalization and Long-term Effects on Diet, Economic, and Health Outcomes

2018–2021
R01 CA149105-07S1, NIA
Tamara Dubowitz (PI) 
Andrea Rosso (Co-Investigator)

 

ADRD Supplement: Natural Experiment of Neighborhood Revitalization and Cardiometabolic Health

2018–2021
R01 HL131531-03S1, NIA
Wendy Troxel (MPI)
Tiffany Gary-Webb (MPI)
Andrea Rosso (Co-Investigator)

 

Cognitive Decline, Brain Aging, Physical Environment, and Mobility

2016–2018
R21 AG054666-01, NIA
Andrea Rosso (PI)

 

Identification of Factors Associated with Subsequent Alzheimer's Disease Diagnosis Using Machine Learning Over Complex Large-scale Longitudinal Health Data

2020–2021
Momentum Funds Teaming Grant
University of Pittsburgh Senior Vice Chancellor’s Office
Richard Boyce (PI) 
Beth Shaaban (Co-Investigator)

 

 

Pathways of Beneficial Effects of a Physical Activity Intervention on Hippocampal Atrophy Among Older Adults

2016–2018
F31AG054084, NIA
Beth Shaaban (PI) 

 

Ultra-high-field Neuroimaging in Elderly After a Two-year Exercise Intervention

2014–2018
1 R01 AG044474-04, NIA
Caterina Rosano (PI)
Howard Aizenstein (PI)

Retinal Imaging Markers of Cognition in Adults with T1D

2015–2017
R21 DK107926-01
Caterina Rosano (PI)

Healthy Brain Project 2 - Resilience to Mobility Impairment: Neural Correlates and Protective Factors

2011–2017
1 R01 AG037451-01A1, NIA
Caterina Rosano (PI)

Imaging Biomarkers of Accelerated Brain Aging in Type-1 Diabetes

2010–2016
R01 DK089028-04, NIDDK
Caterina Rosano (PI)

Healthy Brain Project 1 - Brain Anatomical Correlates of Mobility Control in the Oldest Old

2007–2012
1 R01 AG029232-01
Caterina Rosano (PI)

Trainee Research

Maria Ly, MD, PhD
she/her/hers
July 2019-April 2020

  1. Mizuno, A., Karim, H.T., Rangarajan, A., Ly, M.,[….]Snitz, B.E. An effect of education on memory-encoding activation in subjective cognitive decline (2021). Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 81(3) 1-14.
  2. Ly, M.*, Raji, C.A.*, Yu, G., Wang, Q., Wang, Y., Schindler, S., An, H., Samara, A., Eisenstein, S.A., Hershey, T., Smith, G., Klein, S., Ances, B., Morris, J.C., Benzinger, T.L. Obesity and White Matter Neuroinflammation Related Edema in Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarker Negative Cognitively Normal Individuals (2021). Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 79(4): 1801-1811. *co-first authors.
  3. Yu, G.Z., Ly, M., Karim, H.T., Muppidi, N., Aizenstein, H.J., Ibinson, J.W. Accelerated brain aging in chronic low back pain (2021). Brain Research. 1755, 147263.
  4. Ly, M., Karim, H.T., Becker, J.T., Lopez, O.L.,[…] Butters, M.A. Late-life depression and increased risk of dementia: a longitudinal cohort study (2021). Translational Psychiatry. 11(1): 1-10.
  5. Karim, HT, Ly, M., Yu, GZ., Krafty, R., […]. Aging faster: worry and rumination in late life are associated with greater brain age (2021). Neurobiology of Aging.101 (13-21).
  6. Ly, M., Foley, L., […] Modo, M. Mesoscale diffusion magnetic resonance imaging of the ex vivo human hippocampus (2020). Human Brain Mapping. 41(15): 4200-4218. Cover illustration.
  7. Lin, C.*, Ly, M.*, Karim, H.T., […] Wei, W., Snitz, B.E., Klunk, W.E., Aizenstein, H.J. The longitudinal effect of amyloid on the resting-state functional connectivity in cognitively normal older adults (2020). Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy. 12(1): 1-10. *co-first authors.
  8. Ly, M., Yu, G.Z.,[…], Aizenstein, H.J. Improving Brain Age Prediction Models: Incorporation of Amyloid Status in Alzheimer’s Disease (2020). Neurobiology of Aging. 87: 44-48.
  9. Raji, C.A., Ly, M., Benzinger, T.L.S. Overview of goals and accomplishments of MR Imaging Volumetric Quantification in Neurocognitive Disorders (2019). Topics in Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 28(6):311-15. 

Alina Lesnovskaya, MS
she/her /hers
July 2019 – June 2021

  1. Aghjayan SL*, Lesnovskaya A*, […] Erickson KI. Aerobic exercise, cardiorespiratory fitness, and the human hippocampus. Hippocampus. 2021 Aug;31(8):817-844. PMCID: PMC8295234. [*1st authors]
  2. Peven JC, Jakicic JM, Rogers RJ, Lesnovskaya A, [..] Stillman CM. The Effects of a 12-Month Weight Loss Intervention on Cognitive Outcomes in Adults with Overweight and Obesity. Nutrients. 2020 Sep 29;12(10):2988. doi: 10.3390/nu12102988. PMID: 33003548; PMCID: PMC7600527.
  3. Donofry, S.D., Lesnovskaya, A.L., Gilmore,[….] Erickson, K.I. (2022). Obesity and resting state connectivity of the hippocampus and amygdala among women with breast cancer. Front Hum Neurosci 16.

Sara Godina, MPH
she/her/hers
May 2019 – March 2022

  1. Godina, SL Jacob, ME, Ganguli, M., Rosano, C.,Tutorials in population neuroimaging: Using epidemiology in neuroimaging research. (Frontiers in Neuroimaging; April 2022, accepted- not yet indexed)
  2. Godina, SL, Gianaros, PJ, Aizenstein, HJ, Shaaban, CE, Rosso. What factors explain racial differences in gray matter volume among older adults? (Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment, and Disease Monitoring May 2022)
  3. Godina, SL, Rosso, AL, Lovasi, GS, Besser, LM, Donovan, GH, Garg, PK, Hirsch, JA, Platt, JL, Fitzpatrick, AL, Lopez, OL, Michael, YL. Neighborhood greenspace and cognition: The Cardiovascular Health Study (Journals of Gerontology Social Science, Series B; May 2022).

Rebecca Ehrenkranz, MPH
she/her/hers
May 2020 – April 2022

  1. Ehrenkranz R, Rosso AL, Sprague BN, [….] Rosano C. Functional correlates of self-reported energy levels in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2021 Oct;33(10):2787-2795. doi: 10.1007/s40520-021-01788-0. Epub 2021 Mar 10. PMID: 33751489; PMCID: PMC8531104.
  2. Tian Q*, Ehrenkranz R*, Rosso AL, Glynn NW, Chahine LM, Hengenius J, Zhu X, Rosano C. Mild parkinsonian signs, energy decline, and striatal volume in community-dwelling older adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2021 May 28:glab150. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glab150. PMID: 34049395. *co-1st authors
  3. Sprague BN, Zhu X, Ehrenkranz RC, Tian Q, Gmelin TA, Glynn NW, Rosso AL, Rosano C. Declining energy predicts incident mobility disability and mortality risk in healthy older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021 Nov;69(11):3134-3141. doi: 10.1111/jgs.1737 PMID: 34297847; PMCID: PMC8595505.
  4. Chahine LM, Zhu X, Ehrenkranz R, Chen H, Glynn NW, Rosano C. Changes in Self-Reported Energy Levels in Prodromal Parkinson’s Disease. Mov Disord. 2021 May;36(5):1276-1277. doi: 10.1002/mds.28535. Epub 2021 Feb 26. PMID: 33634907.
  5. Tian Q, Glynn NW, Ehrenkranz RC, Sprague BN, Rosso AL, Rosano C. Perception of Energy and Objective Measures of Physical Activity in Older Adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020 Aug;68(8):1876-1878. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16577. Epub 2020 Jun 8. PMID: 32510584; PMCID: PMC7432989.

Briana Sprague, PhD
she/her/hers
August 2019 – July 2022

  1. Chamberlain JD, Sprague BN, Ross LA. Age- and Time-Varying Associations Between Subjective Health and Episodic Memory in Older Adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2022;77(4):673-682.
  2. Ehrenkranz R, Rosso AL, Sprague BN, et al. Functional correlates of self-reported energy levels in the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2021;33(10):2787-2795.
  3. Freed SA, Sprague BN, Stephan AT, et al. Feasibility and Enjoyment of Exercise Video Games in Older Adults. Front Public Health. 2021;9:751289.
  4. Johnson KE, Sol K, Sprague BN, Cadet T, Muñoz E, Webster NJ. The impact of region and urbanicity on the discrimination-cognitive health link among older Blacks. Res Hum Dev. 2020;17(1):4-19.
  5. Sprague BN. Cognitive training, mobility, and everyday life. Lancet Healthy Longev. 2021;2(9):e533-e534.
  6. Sprague BN, Freed SA, Phillips CB, Ross LA. A viewpoint on change point modeling for cognitive aging research: Moving from description to intervention and practice. Ageing Res Rev. 2020;58:101003.
  7. Sprague BN, Phillips CB, Ross LA. Cognitive Training Attenuates Decline in Physical Function Across 10 Years. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021;76(6):1114-1124.
  8. Sprague BN, Rosso AL, Zhu X, Bohnen NI, Rosano C. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) polymorphism predicts rapid gait speed changes in healthy older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021;69(11):3194-3202.
  9. Sprague BN, Zhu X, Ehrenkranz RC, et al. Declining energy predicts incident mobility disability and mortality risk in healthy older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2021;69(11):3134-3141.
  10. Tian Q, Glynn NW, Ehrenkranz RC, Sprague BN, Rosso AL, Rosano C. Perception of Energy and Objective Measures of Physical Activity in Older Adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020;68(8):1876-1878.

 

Thomas Kraynak, PhD
he/him/his
January 2022 – current

  1. Kraynak TE, Andreescu C. Pathways linking hypertension and depression with mild cognitive impairment in older adults. Int Psychogeriatr. 2022:1-8.
  2. Gianaros, P. J., Rasero, J., DuPont, C. M., Kraynak, T. E., Gross, J. J., McRae, K., Wright, A. C. G., Verstynen, T. D., & Barinas-Mitchell, E. (2022). Multivariate brain activity while viewing and reappraising affective scenes does not predict the multiyear progression of preclinical atherosclerosis in otherwise healthy midlife adults. Affective Science, 3, 406-424.
  3. Kragel, P. A., Han, X., Kraynak, T. E., Gianaros, P. J., & Wager, T. D. (2021). Functional MRI can be highly reliable, but it depends on what you measure: A commentary on Elliott et al. (2020). Psychological Science, 32(4), 622-626.
  4. Gianaros, P. J., Kraynak, T. E., Kuan, D. C. H., Gross, J. J., McRae, K, Hariri, A. R., Manuck, S. B., Rasero, J., & Verstynen, T. D. (2020). Affective brain patterns as multivariate neural correlates of cardiovascular disease risk. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 15(10), 1034-1045.
  5. Ginty, A. T., Kraynak, T. E., Kuan, D. C. H., & Gianaros, P. J. (2019). Ventromedial prefrontal cortex connectivity during and after psychological stress in women. Psychophysiology, 56(11), e13445.
  6. Kraynak, T. E., Marsland, A. L., Hanson, J. L., & Gianaros, P. J. (2019). Retrospectively reported childhood physical abuse, systemic inflammation, and resting corticolimbic connectivity in midlife adults. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 82, 203-213.

Sarah Royse, PhD
she/her/hers

Royse, SKSnitz, BEHengenius, JB, et al. Unhealthy white matter connectivity, cognition, and racialization in older adultsAlzheimer’s Dement2023114https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13494