CDHA has joined as a key partner in the renewed Network on Early-Life Determinants, Biosocial Pathways, and Dementia (EdDem). Funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) through an R33 grant mechanism, the expanded network examines how a wider array of early-life social, environmental, and family conditions shape risk for and resilience against Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) across the life course.

The EdDem Network connects population scientists, biostatisticians, and clinical biomedical researchers. It is led by Katrina Walsemann (University of Maryland), alongside CDHA affiliates Sanjay Asthana (UW–Madison Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center) and Pamela Herd (University of Michigan). As a core partner center, CDHA will help extend the network’s national reach by coordinating cross-disciplinary training, dissemination, and research support.

CDHA will also contribute critical data infrastructure and expertise, facilitating the joint use of major longitudinal population datasets—such as the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS)—that integrate cutting-edge neuroimaging, fluid biomarker, and clinical approaches into population-level aging research. The new partnership builds on a conference CDHA jointly hosted with EdDem and ADRC in Madison in summer 2026 and is a key part of CDHA’s signature research theme on the demography of dementia and cognition.

“CDHA is thrilled to contribute our demographic and life-course research infrastructure to support prevention-focused dementia science,” said CDHA Director and WLS Principal Investigator Michal Engelman. “By integrating population sciences with clinical and biomarker research, we can better understand the pathways through which early-life experiences influence cognitive risk and resilience in later life.”