Typically, this type of work would be centered at a federally funded medical facility in a large city. But Delaware, without a medical school and removed from any major metropolis, turns this on its head, offering a unique advantage. Researchers here are able to deliver preventive care and early detection strategies to communities that might otherwise be overlooked. And, according to Martens, “We’re forced to think outside the box.”

A UD graduate, Martens returned to the University in 2017 as a faculty member in kinesiology and applied physiology and immediately connected with a handful of colleagues also interested in Alzheimer’s-related research. The group realized the potential for making great strides in a small, collaborative state like Delaware, where face time with legislators or potential healthcare partners is feasible. And they came to a powerful realization: They’d be more effective if they pooled resources and developed a shared infrastructure. In 2022, they founded the Delaware Center for Cognitive Aging Research (DECCAR). It’s been making waves ever since.

Most recently, the Center received a $13 million grant from the Delaware Community Foundation to help fund a variety of life-changing projects. Enter the work of Curtis Johnson, DECCAR co-founder and associate professor of biomedical engineering. He is leading the international field on research into brain stiffness as an early indicator of Alzheimer’s. (Turns out, gray matter literally goes soft with the onset of neurological disease.)  Then there’s Zhihao Zhuang, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, who’s looking for new biomarkers (aka indicators) of Alzheimer’s in the bloodstream. This work may lead to better testing methods and, down the line, innovative new treatments: “That’s the exciting part,” he said.

The DECCAR mission isn’t just about advancing understanding of a crippling disease; the Center also provides participants with crucial health information a physician might find helpful. On campus and off (thanks to a recent UNIDEL grant, a satellite site in Milton is set to open in 2026), Delawareans can undergo cognitive screening — the tests are more sensitive than some offered in standard clinical practice. While similar institutions traditionally see mostly elderly patients (and only once memory loss has set in) UD’s Center is zeroed in on prevention. Take, for example, the main DECCAR study. It aims to follow participants for up to 30 years to assess health and lifestyle factors that impact cognitive aging — and it recruits people as young as 45.  

“There’s a belief that Alzheimer’s disease is super genetic, so if you had a parent with dementia, you’re doomed,” said Matthew Cohen, clinical neuropsychologist who co-founded DECCAR. “People have been laboring under this belief that there’s nothing they can do, and that’s simply not true. We try to paint a realistic picture of what the risk is, which aspects of risk are modifiable and what protective factors there are.” 

Case in point: Brain-WISE. For this six-session boot camp, Cohen recruits people in mid to later life for a crash course in brain health. In senior centers, retirement communities and churches throughout the state, he regularly blows minds with one recently discovered and little-known fact: Up to 45% of dementia cases are modifiable. In other words, they can be delayed or prevented altogether through intentional behaviors, like wearing the proper hearing aids, correcting any vision loss, prioritizing physical activity and healthy eating, and staying connected with friends or loved ones to avoid loneliness. 

“So we’re really taking this show on the road and getting a lot of nice feedback about how this program is helping people take control of their brain health,” Cohen said. “It’s helping Delawareans feel more hopeful, and that’s been transformational.”

For the DECCAR team, community involvement is a driving value, with an entire arm of the Center devoted to outreach and education. Consider Alyssa Lanzi, founding researcher at the Center and a speech-language pathologist whose work demonstrates that subtle language changes—like forgetting or repeating words—may reveal dementia years before memory issues arise. She’s currently working with a $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Aging to build and refine DementiaBank, a repository of language samples used internationally to classify cognitive decline. For this project, she and Roxanne Williams, a DECCAR study participant turned community liaison, go into Delaware restaurants, libraries, even barber shops to recruit individuals — especially Black, Asian and Hispanic residents, who are typically underrepresented in dementia research.

“Building trust and giving back are key elements of our strategy,” Lanzi said.

It’s a mandate that’s attracting a growing number of researchers across the UD ecosystem, including people who never before considered Alzheimer’s as a focus.

One example is Joshua Cashaback, a biomedical engineering professor who studies how the brain plans quick movements of the body in circumstances like, say, driving a car. Because of DECCAR, he’s discovered the implications of his work for the Alzheimer’s community. If scientists can understand this mind/body connection better, perhaps they can better preserve independence across the disease spectrum.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many people are seeing ways to connect their work to what we’re doing,” Cohen said. “In a way, we’re capitalizing on momentum that already exists at UD.”  

The Center is also actively bringing students into the fold. Undergraduates and graduate-level Blue Hens from kinesiology to psychology to speech pathology and beyond are participating in DECCAR projects, even if they don’t anticipate dementia being a career focus longterm. 

“The healthcare system internationally needs to dramatically ramp up its dementia education,” Cohen said. “Even if you’re a podiatrist, odds are high you’re going to see patients with cognitive decline. The footprint of Alzheimer’s in 2025 is enormous, and over the next 30 years — the career span of our students — it’s set to grow even larger.”

This can be a scary, demoralizing reality. But for the team at DECCAR, it’s motivation to keep pushing forward. One study, one trial, one set of memories at a time. 

“UD is small but mighty,” Martens said. “And there are many reasons to feel hopeful.”