Projects

Environmental-Social Contexts and Aging Outcomes

Dr. Reynolds is a member of the IGEMS consortium and serves as contact PI of a NIA-funded MPI project (R01AG089666; Reynolds, Neiderhiser) that combines data from over 20 twin and sibling studies. The aims are devoted to understanding why early life adversity, and social factors are associated with diverse outcomes including mortality, and physical, emotional and cognitive health. Goals include harmonization of data across studies and extensions of work on GE interplay considering gene associations and aging trajectories across domains to evaluate risk and resilience factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). We will leverage within-between models of twins and siblings of exposures and genetic risk to test causal hypotheses that control for confounding, and explore gene-environment (GE) interplay of modifiable risk factors for AD/ADRD and qualities of resilience to address our aims: (1) evaluate mid- and late life physical health and health behavior factors that alter AD/ADRD risk; (2) evaluate midlife and late life socioemotional factors that alter AD/ADRD risk; and (3) examine how early life risks work together with midlife and late life health and socioemotional factors to influence AD/ADRD risk while also incorporating GE interplay. Additional work on IGEMS-funded projects include understanding the role of education on AD/ADRD risk considering country and cohort level contexts (R01AG081248; Finch, Finkel, Gatz, MPIs), and the role of alcohol on AD/ADRD risk (R21AG087486; Luczak, PI). Read mode about IGEMS here: https://dornsife.usc.edu/cesr/igems/. 

Cognitive Aging from a Lifespan Perspective

The NIA-funded renewal, Colorado Adoption/Twin Study of Lifespan behavioral development & cognitive aging (CATSLife2) [2R01AG046938; Reynolds (contact), Wadsworth, MPIs] is evaluating the unique saliency of early childhood versus proximal influences that influence cognitive functioning across the midlife transition. Whereas CATSLife1 established baseline performance at the cusp of midlife, CATSLife2 will evaluate stability and change across the midlife transition in up to 1,400 participants from the prospective Colorado Adoption Project and parallel Longitudinal Twin Study. Additionally, we will further integrate the prospective Twins Early Development Study (TEDS) with a new assessment of 5000 twins at age 28 years. This integrated follow-up study of CATSLife and TEDS aims to: 1) assess individual differences in cognitive stability and change across midlife, considering cognitive reserve pathways that may be mediated by genetic factors and genetically mediated environments; 2) evaluate lifestyle and health behaviors associated with cognitive stability and change, considering early life cognitive reserve and genetic moderation; 3) assess and characterize patterns of biomarkers of accelerated aging that may mediate cognitive stability and change; and 4) evaluate stressful and buffering contexts associated with cognitive stability and change, including socio-demographic and neighborhood features, accounting for active selection (rGE). Read more about CATSLife2 here: https://www.colorado.edu/ibg/catslife/home. 

The Lifespan BBR Lab also contributes to the Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) study where Dr. Reynolds serves as an MPI of the fourth wave (VETSA4). The goals of VETSA4 are to understand predictors of cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and the role of biomarkers. Read more about VETSA here: https://psychiatry.ucsd.edu/research/programs-centers/vetsa/index.html.