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PhD student Adam Mohammed’s interest in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease began in his native Ghana, where, as a young working nurse, he observed his stepfather’s cognitive decline and his mother’s increasing isolation as his sole care provider.

In Ghana, Mohammed said, Alzheimer’s disease isn’t formally recognized and considered more “just a part of old age,” he said, but the PhD in nursing student recalls observing his mother’s challenges and feeling that “there must be something more we can do to help these people and their caregivers cope better.”

One of two Virginia Alzheimer’s Disease Center (VADC) scholars at UVA, Mohammed is a mentee of social and behavioral scientist Ishan Williams, UVA School of Nursing professor and an NIH grantee. As a VADC scholar, Mohammed will also be mentored by scientists at UVA’s Schools of Data Science, Medicine, and Arts and Sciences on how to use the biological, behavioral, and pathological indicators of dementia. The year-long VADC Scholars program, which aims to nurture talented emerging investigators taking part in interdisciplinary research in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, culminates in a presentation of his work at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Toronto in summer 2025.

For his dissertation, Mohammed aims to understand what interventions for caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease make a meaningful impact to improve both their health, ability to cope financially and psychologically, and ensure a sound quality of life. He is particularly interested in the experiences of Black and African American caregivers, who are disproportionately impacted by the disease, as well as people living in rural areas who might lack access to many of the social and healthcare support systems and resources more typical to urban environments.

After interviewing caregivers in these groups, he plans to co-create, deploy, and study a series of interventions to offer support, including social and community groups, as well as a web site or technological platform that connects individuals caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease to needed resources.