Research

People with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) may experience impairments in memory, executive function (the ability to complete tasks and interact with others), attention, and vigilance (alertness). They may also show increased levels of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) biomarkers, which are substances in the body that may indicate the presence of disease. Fortunately, treatment for OSA has been shown to reduce levels of AD biomarkers and improve impaired cognitive function. However, additional research is needed to better understand how OSA treatment affects individuals in populations that experience higher rates of sleep disorders.

Some populations experience higher rates of OSA and Alzheimer’s disease compared with others. Differences in access to care, treatment adherence, and other health factors may make managing these conditions more difficult. The Personalized Obstructive Sleep Apnea Treatment and Effects on Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers and Cognition (PRAISE) study aims to improve sleep apnea treatment adherence through personalized assistance and to observe changes in health outcomes during treatment. Treating OSA may also improve chronic conditions commonly associated with sleep apnea, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, and stroke.

Who Can Participate

Adults between the ages of 55 and 85 who have recently been diagnosed with OSA may qualify to participate. We aim to enroll 330 volunteers over the five-year duration of the study. Please click the link below:

Eligibility Survey

Contact Us

For more information about the future direction of our study, please contact PRAISE@miami.edu.

Reducing differences in sleep health outcomes has been recognized as a priority area for intervention by the National Institutes of Health. Insufficient sleep is an important preventable and treatable condition that is associated with increased cardiovascular risk and adverse health outcomes, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cardiac arrhythmia, and chronic heart failure.

The purpose of our Psychosocial and Environmental Determinants of Insufficient Sleep and Effects on Health Outcomes (ESSENTIAL) Study is to develop profiles of individuals who are at increased risk of insufficient sleep through participation in a home-based study and clinical visit. Using the information collected, our research team will examine how psychosocial and environmental factors influence sleep patterns and identify strategies that may help reduce insufficient sleep and related health conditions.

Who Can Participate

Adults who are 18 years of age or older may qualify to participate. We aim to enroll more than 500 volunteers over the five-year duration of this study. If you are interested in participating, please complete our REDCap survey, and a member of our study team will contact you. Please click the link below:

Eligibility Survey

Contact Us

For more information and to register as a potential volunteer, please contact ESSENTIAL@miami.edu.

The Mechanisms of Sleep Deficiency and Effects on Brain Injury and Neurocognitive Functions (MOSAIC) Study will examine the interaction between Alzheimer’s disease and sleep disruption. Adults experiencing sleep deficiency, defined as poor sleep, sleep apnea, and circadian misalignment, have an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, cognitive decline, or preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Sleep deficiency is therefore an important target for preventing Alzheimer’s disease. This study will investigate a range of factors, including behavioral and physiological indicators, brain biomarkers, and neurocognitive function.

With voluntary participation in this home-based study, our research team will examine potential causes of sleep deficiency and evaluate their role in influencing differences observed in markers of brain health among older adults.

Who Can Participate

Adults who are 55 to 85 years of age may qualify to participate. We aim to enroll more than 500 volunteers over the 4.5-year duration of this study. If you are interested in participating, please complete our REDCap survey, and a member of our study team will contact you.

Contact Us

For more information and to register as a potential volunteer, please contact MOSAIC@miami.edu.

Some populations appear to be more affected by the rural–urban divide in cardiovascular disease health outcomes. These groups may experience higher levels of cardiovascular risk factors such as excess weight and obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and cardiovascular mortality. Cardiovascular mortality alone accounts for a significant proportion of deaths and remains a leading cause of mortality in many populations.

Your voluntary participation in our Determinants of Insufficient Sleep in Rural–Urban Settings (DORMIR) Study will allow our research team to identify factors that may contribute to these health outcomes. The findings from this research may lead to clinical, lifestyle, and policy interventions that support improved health outcomes.

Who Can Participate

Adults who are 18 years of age or older may qualify to participate. We are enrolling more than 500 volunteers in this five-year study. If you are interested in participating, please complete our REDCap survey, and a member of our study team will contact you.

Contact Us

For more information and to register as a potential volunteer, please contact DORMIR@miami.edu.

Background

Some populations experience higher rates of risk factors for heart disease, such as high blood pressure, compared with others. In addition, individuals in these groups may report greater difficulties with sleep, which can further increase these risks. These challenges are often influenced by chronic stress related to financial strain, caregiving responsibilities, and other demanding life circumstances.

The Realist Women Study seeks to explore whether virtual reality (VR) technology can support participants in managing stress and improving heart health. Focus group participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences with stress, sleep, and coping strategies, as well as provide insights into the potential use of VR as a stress-relief tool. Participants will also discuss potential challenges and solutions related to immersive technology and managing daily responsibilities.

If you or someone you know may be interested in participating in this study, please click the button below to learn more and check eligibility.

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You may also contact us via phone at 305-243-5033 or by email at realistwomenstudy@miami.edu.

The Wellbeing Study is a longitudinal research project designed to investigate mental health and overall wellbeing among adults participating in the study. This large prospective study will first identify key mental health, overall health, and sleep-related factors through focus groups. Researchers will also examine variables such as employment, education level, income, demographic characteristics, genomic factors, and exposure to stressful or traumatic events.

The results will inform the development of a survey designed to evaluate the impact of specific stress-related factors across a larger group of participants. The project may also identify differences in experiences and health outcomes associated with factors such as geographic location, migration history, and social environment.

The ultimate goal is to enroll 1,000 participants in the study. Depending on funding, the research may follow participants for up to 10 years to observe potential changes over time. Findings from focus group discussions and survey responses are expected to contribute to the development of strategies that support improved health and wellbeing.

For more information about the Wellbeing Study, please call 305-243-7452 or email Haitianstudy@miami.edu.

Background

Recent evidence suggests that some older adults may be at higher risk of developing amyloid deposition independently of vascular disease, which may partially account for differences observed in the prevalence of dementia across populations. This study extends prior work to examine whether poor slow wave sleep (SWS), a sleep stage associated with restorative brain function, may contribute to these associations.

Previous studies have reported variation in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) prevalence and amyloid burden across populations, which has often been associated with vascular disease and other health-related factors. However, recent community-based studies of cognitively healthy older adults, along with preliminary data, suggest that additional physiological or environmental factors may influence the risk of amyloid deposition and cognitive decline. The purpose of this study is to test whether poor slow wave sleep (SWS) may be one of these contributing factors.
 
Sleep disturbances vary across individuals and may include longer sleep onset latency, shorter sleep duration, reduced sleep efficiency, and decreased SWS duration. In addition, individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer’s disease often experience increased sleep fragmentation and reductions in both SWS and REM sleep compared with cognitively healthy individuals. These observations suggest that disturbed sleep may contribute to neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer’s disease, or that sleep processes may be particularly sensitive to amyloid deposition.

Objective

The study has two primary goals. First, it seeks to examine whether certain biological or environmental factors are associated with longitudinal increases in amyloid-PET uptake and cognitive decline. Second, it aims to determine whether poor slow wave sleep at baseline is associated with these changes after controlling for cardiovascular conditions that are shared risk factors for both sleep disturbances and dementia.

Participants will include cognitively normal older adults between the ages of 55 and 75 who will be recruited from the same geographic communities and balanced across age, sex, body mass index (BMI), education level, and other demographic variables.

Visit one will include a full clinical evaluation, neuropsychological testing, and clinical laboratory assessments. Participants will then undergo home monitoring for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for two nights followed by five days of actigraphy monitoring. Individuals with normal sleep breathing will be invited to complete two nights of nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG). A final visit will include imaging assessments to measure amyloid load and cerebrovascular health using 11C-PiB PET-MR imaging. All participants will be invited to repeat the study visits after approximately 30 months.

This study has the potential to identify clinical and potentially treatable predictors of amyloid burden in cognitively normal older adults and may contribute to improved strategies for preventing or delaying the onset of dementia.

Background

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a major public health challenge affecting aging populations worldwide. Previous studies have reported variation in the prevalence of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease across populations; however, relatively few studies have examined the biological mechanisms that may contribute to these differences. In addition, many biomarker studies and clinical trials investigating AD have not fully explored factors that may influence variation in disease risk and progression.

The current biomarker classification system (the ATN model) does not fully account for differences observed in the prevalence of AD and related vascular risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension. Research in cognitive neurology has traditionally focused on how decline in cortical and hippocampal regions influences cognition. However, tau pathology often emerges decades before amyloid pathology and appears first in the brainstem, particularly in the locus coeruleus (LC), the primary source of the brain’s norepinephrine (NE).

Over the past decade, our studies in humans using a norepinephrine transporter (NET)–selective radiotracer ([11C]MRB) have demonstrated that the LC may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of aging and stress. Preliminary data suggest that the rate of NET decline, which normally occurs with aging due to loss of NET availability and neuronal cell death, may vary across individuals and populations beginning in midlife.

Objective

Because the locus coeruleus plays a central role in coordinating the central nervous system’s response to stress and environmental challenges, we hypothesize that cumulative exposure to long-term stressors may lead to lasting changes in LC function and eventual neuronal loss. These changes may contribute to variation in clinical presentations of Alzheimer’s disease and related neurological conditions.

To test this hypothesis, the study will examine whether differences in NET availability (measured with [11C]MRB) occur across midlife and later life in the LC and its associated brain regions (Aim 1). The study will also investigate whether reduced NET availability is associated with increased stress levels and impaired cognitive performance (Aim 2), as well as whether NET availability can predict longitudinal changes in cognition over time (Aim 3).

This research may help determine whether dysfunction of the LC can serve as: a potential biomarker associated with Alzheimer’s disease pathology observed during normal aging; a contributor to the development of metabolic syndrome, vascular dysfunction, and cognitive decline associated with chronic stress; a factor associated with differences in the prevalence of AD and vascular risk factors across populations; a marker associated with cumulative stress exposure and cognitive changes over time. This study will evaluate whether loss of LC–NE function may provide improved prediction of cognitive impairment compared with current ATN biomarkers and may help inform future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer’s disease.

Contact Us

For more information about this project, please contact TSCS@miami.edu.

The Nurturing Moms Project uses virtual reality to evaluate and reduce stress among expectant and postpartum mothers. The project, conducted in partnership with the Miller School’s Media and Innovation Lab, provides headsets preloaded with VR videos to participants who are currently pregnant and to others who gave birth within the previous 12 months. Effectiveness is measured after each VR session and following completion of the year-long study to evaluate the technology’s short- and long-term impact on maternal mental health.

The VR videos are designed as an immersive experience that combines educational content with mindfulness-based relaxation techniques.

For more information on the Nurturing Moms Study, email nurturevr@miami.edu or call 305-243-7931 or 786-584-8003.