Biomarkers of Cognitive Decline and Dementias of Aging in Individuals within the Autism Spectrum

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to invite applications to conduct observational studies in individuals living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) along the lifespan. The overarching goal is to determine the occurrence of age-related neurodegeneration across the heterogeneities of the ASD spectrum, characterize the physiopathology and manifestation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD) in ASD, and, ultimately, develop precision-medicine strategies tailored to this understudied population. It is expected that proposed studies pursue deep phenotyping of aging individuals across the ASD spectrum, along with the characterization/validation of existing biomarkers of age-related cognitive decline and/or dementia in this population, and/or the discovery of novel ones. Applications are not being solicited at this time. Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects. This NOFO intends to utilize the U01 activity code. This NOFO encourages collaborations between investigators with expertise in autism and those with expertise in aging and dementia, fostering interactions between established centers for neurodevelopmental research and centers studying age-related cognitive decline.