The Rutgers-NYU Resource Center for Alzheimer’s and Dementia Research in Asian and Pacific Americans (RCASIA) held its annual retreat on February 7-8, 2025, at the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. This event brought together experts to focus on behavioral, social, and economic research related to Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in older Asian and Pacific Americans.
Funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), RCASIA was developed by the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research in collaboration with NYU. It is notable as the first NIH-funded center focused on Alzheimer’s and dementia research in New Jersey and among the NIA Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research centers focusing on these issues within Asian and Pacific American communities.
The theme of this year's retreat was “Place,” reflecting leadership expertise in health disparities, cognitive neuroscience tailored to linguistic and cultural needs, NJ/NYC-based Asian American behavioral issues, care-related research, and longitudinal studies.
Keynote speakers included Richard Lui from MSNBC/NBC News who spoke about caregiving and mental health. Hae-Ra Han from Johns Hopkins University delivered a keynote address on preparing for healthy aging through literacy.
RCASIA M-PIs William Hu of Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Bei Wu of NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing provided welcoming remarks. Presentations were made by Yaguang Zheng from NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and Yaolin Pei from The University of Texas at Austin.
Updates were shared by Mary Mittelman from NYU Grossman School of Medicine regarding the Research Education Core; Jaclyn Schess from UC Berkeley School of Public Health along with Stephanie Shiau from Rutgers School of Public Health discussed the Analysis and Measurement Core; Simona Kwon from NYU Grossman School led discussions on Community Liaison; Keith Chan represented Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College; Emerson Ea contributed insights from New York City College of Technology at CUNY.
A seminar on Responsible Conduct in Research was conducted by RCASIA Leadership Trainees including Darina Petrovsky from Duke University, Tina Sadarangani from New York University, and Jasmine Travers from NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing.
Poster presentations featured work by Year 1 Pilot Scientists such as Brad Kamitaki discussing health outcomes for Asian Americans with epilepsy alongside Alzheimer’s disease. Yaolin Pei presented a study on decision aid interventions for Chinese American dementia caregivers. Other topics included leveraging glucose monitoring to reduce care burdens presented by Yaguang Zheng, while Michelle Chen explored cognitive trajectories among older U.S. Chinese populations.
Year 2 Pilot Scientists like Gian Pal examined social networks' impact on South Asians with ADRDs. Nidhi Ghildayal investigated cultural factors affecting dementia incidence among Asian patients with kidney disease. Qian Song analyzed living arrangements’ influence on cognitive aging among older adults across different ethnic backgrounds. Xiang Qi researched dementia prevalence variations across Asian American subgroups using data from the All of Us Research Program.
The retreat concluded with gratitude expressed towards attendees with anticipation for next year’s gathering.
