Projects & Funding
My research examines how sleep physiology relates to brain health, aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
CURRENT RESEARCH AS PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Reading brain health through sleep
During sleep, coordinated brain rhythms support memory processing. This project asks whether their timing and strength can reveal changes in brain health.
Across more than 15,000 recordings from nine cohorts, we combine EEG signal processing and machine learning to develop candidate biomarkers and validate them independently.
We test which signals reveal accelerated brain aging, predict cognitive decline and track Alzheimer’s-related imaging and molecular markers. The goal is accessible monitoring through low-cost, single-channel EEG headbands.
NIH / NIA R01AG087163 My role: Contact Principal Investigator
CURRENT RESEARCH AS CO-INVESTIGATOR / COLLABORATOR
Immune pathways to early brain change
Astrocytes support connections between neurons and help regulate immune activity. This project asks how immune signaling relates to early brain changes in Alzheimer’s disease.
The study combines repeated blood measurements of immune proteins with advanced MRI, cognitive testing and cerebrospinal-fluid markers of synaptic function.
This project examines whether immune-network changes precede changes in fine-scale brain structure and cognition, and how age and amyloid pathology affect these relationships. The goal is blood-based markers and pathways for tracking early disease and guiding future therapeutic research.
NIH / NIA R01AG101783 My role: Co-investigator
PAST AWARD
Theta bursts, memory, and cognitive decline
This project investigated whether the strength and timing of theta bursts during sleep are associated with memory performance and later cognitive decline in older adults. Theta bursts are brief EEG events involved in memory processing.
The study examined whether theta-burst power and baseline cognitive performance could help predict later decline, and how burst strength and timing contribute to those relationships. The aim was to inform future studies of sleep, memory and cognitive aging.
NIH / NIA R03AG080427 My role: Contact Principal Investigator