By Samuel McKee
Shellie-Anne Levy, Ph.D., wants to help us better understand the link between cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and a leading cause of dementia. Having recently received the Alzheimer’s Association Clinician Scientist Fellowship to Promote Diversity, or AACSF-D, the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions researcher is one step closer to this goal.
Levy, a clinical assistant professor of neuropsychology in the PHHP department of clinical and health psychology, will investigate how diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity contribute to the severity, progression and clinical symptoms of Lewy body disease, or LBD, especially in racially and ethnically diverse groups. The fellowship is also designed to increase research participation among underrepresented clinicians focused on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
LBD impacts approximately 1.4 million adults in the United States. It is a leading cause of dementia and has some similarities to Alzheimer’s disease. While cardiovascular and metabolic diseases have been linked as risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s disease dementia, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding how these conditions affect LBD clinical symptoms and underlying pathology.
“What excites me most about this work,” Levy said, “is the opportunity to make a real, tangible difference in the lives of those living with LBD.”
In the first study of its kind, Levy and her team will leverage the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Uniform Data Set and its pathology confirmed cohort of LBD participants to investigate the effects of metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors on the severity of LBD and the association between cerebrovascular disease burden and LBD. They will also explore whether these factors differ among ethnoracial groups and confer different symptom trajectories.
“This fellowship is specifically designed to provide me with protected time and access to training opportunities with the Mangurian Clinical-Research Center for Lewy Body and Parkinson’s Disease Dementia at the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at UF Health, led by Dr. Melissa Armstrong, which was nationally recognized as a Lewy Body Dementia Association Research Center of Excellence,” Levy explained.
The AACSF-D grant provides Levy with nearly $200,000 for a two-year study scheduled for 2024 to 2026.