We are pleased to announce that Dr. Annalise Rahman-Filipiak, a faculty member in our Leaders Initiative and current junior investigator mentee in our REC program, received a five-year K23 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging. This award will catalyze the next stage of Dr. Rahman-Filipiak’s training as an independent investigator in Alzheimer’s disease research through a combination of experiential and formal training, mentorship with the field’s experts, and study implementation. The project is focused on understanding whether disclosure of amyloid and tau PET imaging results to older adults with mild cognitive impairment leads to effective or maladaptive changes in health behaviors, advanced planning, and research engagement. Importantly, her team will also be examining the role of an important social determinant of health – culturally competent healthcare access – in post-disclosure behavior and psychological change for Black and white older adults.
When asked about the award, Dr. Rahman-Filipiak shared, “This award is the result of three years of challenging work, not only on my part, but on the parts of my mentors. The submission and subsequent resubmission would never have been successful without the support and infrastructure provided by the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s REC program and, in particular, my primary mentor Dr. Benjamin Hampstead. On a personal note, it also affords me the opportunity to translate my own experiences as a woman of color, as a caregiver, and as an individual with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease into tangible research and – hopefully – meaningful contributions to the way we think about biomarker disclosure as an intervention.”
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Rahman-Filipiak on her great achievement!