An official website of the United States government
Use easily accessible, cost- and time-efficient tests (such as blood biomarkers and brief cognitive tests) to develop diagnostic and prognostic algorithms for use in clinical trials and in clinical practice.
2030 PREPARE Challenge: Pioneering Research for Early Prediction of Alzheimer's Disease & Related Dementias PAR-23-258: Analytical and Clinical Validation of Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD) (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) 9.W In Progress Develop diagnostic and prognostic algorithms for use in clinical trials and in clinical practice. DN 2021 AD Summit: 5.L FDA cleared Neuroquant to analyze brain structure 2024
- Initiate at least three (3) research programs aimed at discovery and development of diagnostic and prognostic algorithms for AD/ADRD.
- These programs should identify algorithms able to:
- Identify asymptomatic/pre-clinical AD/ADRD, and
- Predict dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment.
Summary of Key Accomplishments
In 2023, NIA launched the Pioneering Research for Early Prediction of Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias EUREKA (PREPARE) Challenge together with NASA Tournament Lab and DrivenDate to stimulate development of innovative solutions for the early prediction of AD/ADRD. Data gathered during Phase 1 of the three-phase Challenge laid the groundwork for Phase 2, in which participants competed to advance methods and algorithms for early AD/ADRD prediction. Phase 3 will conclude the Challenge with top solvers from Phase 2 testing algorithm performance on diverse datasets and sharing results at an innovation event.
In addition to the PREPARE Challenge, NIA supports several research projects to develop algorithms that leverage cognitive testing, electronic health records (EHR), or other relatively accessible data to detect early signs of AD/ADRD. For example, an NIA-funded research team is building algorithms that could facilitate detection of preclinical AD/ADRD using measures of cognitive function obtainable from simple digital devices, such as recorders and smartphones. NIA also supports a research project that aims to enable algorithmic detection of cognitive impairment from clinical notes and other EHR data.
The key accomplishments summary is current as of September 2025.