Johns Hopkins Receives $20M for AI in Aging Research

The Johns Hopkins Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory for Aging Research (JH AITC) announced that 14 pilot projects were awarded funding through a $20 million grant from the National Institute on Aging, according to a news brief shared via email with HealthITAnalytics.

A post discussing the news on JH AITC’s website states that the funding aims to drive the development of artificial intelligence (AI) devices to improve the health of older adults and help them live independently for longer.

The funds will also help launch an AI and technology collaboration among the Johns Hopkins University Schools of Medicine and Nursing, the Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures, and the Carey Business School, and outside stakeholders, such as older Americans and their caregivers, industry partners, and technology developers, over the course of five years.

“Many older adults accumulate health problems and have functional and cognitive declines that impact their ability to stay in their own homes and enjoy meaningful social interactions,” said Jeremy Walston, MD, a professor of geriatric medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and co-director of JH AITC, in the post. “This new enterprise is attempting to disrupt these problems in ways that will lengthen the years that people have to enjoy independent, highly functional lives, free of cognitive impairment.”

The 14 projects, which include efforts to develop a virtual reality platform to reduce social isolation, an AI-powered handlebar device to help seniors improve their balance, advanced algorithms to screen for cataracts and other age-related ailments, and other innovations, receive up to $200,000 in mini-grants from JH AITC over a one-year period. During that time, awardees also gain access to resources and expertise from JH faculty in fields such as computer science, nursing, medicine, and technology commercialization.

The JH AITC post also notes that new advances made over the course of the project will be brought to market through eight workgroups and business partnerships.

“The power of this kind of collaboration is that you aren’t proposing solutions in a vacuum,” said  Phillip Phan, PhD, the Alonzo and Virginia Decker Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and the leader of the AITC’s networking and mentoring core, in the post. “The solutions are more likely to be implementable because you’re considering how people will use them in the marketplace upfront. The most meaningful impact is if we can move the needle on the proportion of older Americans living in long term chronic care facilities to living healthily at home. That’s the bottom line.”

The projects support the ongoing work of the JH AITC, which was launched in 2021 to serve as a hub for aging research and to help establish infrastructure that will bolster collaboration in the space.

“I am thrilled to see these important projects get underway,” concluded Walston in the emailed news brief. “The integration of engineering and AI approaches into the care of older adults represents an exciting new frontier for the improvement of their health and well-being. In addition, the engagement of the business community in these efforts will help accelerate the availability of these novel paradigms to those who need them the most.”

The JH AITC is just one collaboration focused on applying AI to aging research.

Last month, the Massachusetts AI and Technology Center for Connected Care in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease (MassAITC) announced $1.7 million in funding for seven projects to pioneer approaches for in-home care, aging, and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) management using AI, ML, contactless sensing, and wearables.

The MassAITC is a collaboration between UMass Amherst, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brandeis University, and Northeastern University launched in 2021 to support healthy aging at home for older adults and those with Alzheimer's disease.