NIA IMPACT Collaboratory

Purple box with arrow with 9 small purple cubes and one yellow cube with the words "NIA IMPACT Collaboratory Transforming Dementia Care"

The NIA AD/ADRD Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory, established as the National Institute on Aging (NIA) Imbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory in fall 2019, serves as a national resource to improve the care and health outcomes of people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners in partnership with various health care systems.

The IMPACT Collaboratory’s mission is to build the nation’s capacity to conduct pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs) of interventions embedded within health care systems for PLWD and their care partners. The IMPACT Collaboratory actively develops and disseminates knowledge, promotes research development, builds investigator capacity, and engages stakeholders to establish and strengthen an infrastructure to improve the health of persons living with dementia and their care partners.

The IMPACT Collaboratory is jointly led by:

Vincent Mor, PhD - Principal Investigator
- Florence Pierce Grant University Professor and Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice at the Brown University School of Public Health
Susan Mitchell, MD, MPH – Principal Investigator
- Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Senior Scientist at Hebrew SeniorLife's Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research

The IMPACT Collaboratory is a cooperative agreement between the NIA and the grantees institutions. The NIA Program Officer is Partha Bhattacharyya, PhD, and the NIA Project Scientists are Lisa Onken, PhD and Marcel Salive, MD, MPH. The governance structure also includes a Steering Committee, an External Advisory Panel, Administrative & Management Teams, and 10 Working Group Cores & Teams. Learn more at IMPACTcollaboratory.org/who-we-are/.

To learn more about the IMPACT Collaboratory, check out the IMPACT Funding, Training, and Engagement Opportunities Video.

Research Support

Pilot and Demonstration Project Grant Programs

Pilot Grant Program – Pilot ePCTs test non-pharmacological interventions embedded in health care system(s) for people living with AD/ADRD and their care partners to generate the preliminary data necessary to design and conduct a future full-scale Stage IV effectiveness ePCTs funded through other grant activity codes. For more information on the Pilot Grant Program and request for applications (RFAs), please visit https://impactcollaboratory.org/pilot-grants-program/.
Demonstration Project Grant Program - Demonstration Projects are full-scale, Stage IV effectiveness ePCTs that are meant to generate evidence on effective care delivery practices for persons with dementia that can be expanded and/or implemented in other systems. For more information on the Demonstration Project Grant Program and request for applications (RFAs), please visit https://impactcollaboratory.org/demonstration-grants-program/.

Training Development Opportunities

Career Development Awards (CDA) Program – The CDA Program supports the development of early-stage MD, PhD, or equivalent researchers who seek careers conducting ePCTs for people living with AD/ADRD and their care partners.
Health Care Systems (HCS) Embedded Research Program – The HCS Scholars Program offers both junior and senior investigators an opportunity to work directly with health care systems interested in improving the care provided to people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners.
Training Workshop – This workshop provides an opportunity for early-stage and mid-career investigators to learn more about designing and conducting ePCTs to improve care for PWLD and their care partners. Learn more about the annual workshop and how to apply here.
Adjunct Faculty Program – This is an annual opportunity for early to mid-career investigators to integrate into IMPACT Cores/Teams for one year to develop skills in the design and conduct of ePCTs for dementia care. Adjunct faculty members engage through: attending monthly meetings, mentorship by an executive committee member, engagement in scholarly projects, and attendance at IMPACT-wide events including Training Workshops and the Annual Business Meeting and Scientific Conference. Adjunct faculty are nominated by IMPACT members.

IMPACT Collaboratory Learning Resources

Engaging Stakeholders & Building Infrastructure

To build and strengthen the infrastructure for improving the health of persons living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners, the IMPACT Collaboratory includes a growing consortium of health and long-term systems. In the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) (RFA-AG-19-009), Health and long-term systems are defined broadly and include organizations providing care for persons living with dementia and their caregivers across various health care settings.

Lived Experience Panel

In collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association, IMPACT Collaboratory established the Lived Experience Panel, a diverse community of 12 PLWD and care partners. Panel members participate in quarterly conference calls to discuss issues relevant to the development and conduct of research studies for PLWD and care partners. Members share their thoughts and experiences to help researchers increase accessibility and relevance of research efforts. Panel member commitment is for one year. Nominations to join are accepted year-round.

COVID-19 Response

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IMPACT Collaboratory has leveraged its infrastructure and industry partnerships to conduct research on how COVID-19 impacts older adults such as those in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, a large proportion of whom are cognitively impaired, and who recent studies have shown are at greater risk for adverse COVID-19 outcomes. These initiatives to develop data sharing & reporting systems and data infrastructures to monitor the effects of the COVID-19 vaccines will provide near real-time insight into the effects and outcomes related to the use of COVID-19 vaccines among frail older populations, including people living with dementia. For more information, please visit https://impactcollaboratory.org/building-infrastructure/ .

For More Information

For more information, visit the website or send an email to the IMPACT Collaboratory team.

The IMPACT Collaboratory is funded by NIA grant U54AG063546.

Related NIA Press Releases and Blogs:

Program Contacts

NIA Program Officer:

Partha Bhattacharyya, PhD
Division of Behavioral and Social Research (DBSR)
Telephone: 301-496-3131
Email Partha Bhattacharyya

NIA Project Scientists:

Lisa Onken, PhD
Division of Behavioral and Social Research (DBSR)
Telephone: 301-496-3131
Email Lisa Onken

Marcel Salive, MD, MPH
Division of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology (DGCG)
Telephone: 301-496-6761
Email Marcel Salive