“This kind of interdisciplinary project would have been impossible to start without the PRE award,” Ning said. “The funding helped us establish the collaboration, collect preliminary data and demonstrate the concept which in turn made it possible to secure a major federal grant.”
Working with Douglas Scharre, MD, director of cognitive neurology at the Wexner Medical Center, Ning is developing predictive AI models that can detect early signs of cognitive decline before they become noticeable in routine clinical assessments.
The research integrates information from electronic health records including medications, medical procedures, injuries and family history of dementia with data from a digital tool called the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination, or SAGE, developed by Scharre. The SAGE test, widely used in hospitals to evaluate memory and problem-solving ability, is now available as a smartphone app.
Through the app, users complete exercises such as solving math problems or drawing a clock showing a specific time. The system tracks not only their answers but also their behavior: how long they take to respond, the steadiness of their hand movements and even the accuracy of their drawings.
“These behavioral indicators such as response time or drawing precision can reveal subtle changes in brain function that might not appear in a traditional evaluation,” Ning said. “By combining that information with medical data, we can train AI models to detect early cognitive impairment far more accurately.”
The team is now refining the models and validating them with larger patient groups. Once the system is ready for real-world use, it could be implemented in hospital record systems to give physicians a predictive risk score for mild cognitive impairment or through the SAGE app to help people monitor their own cognitive health at home.
“We want this technology to empower patients, not just physicians,” Ning said. “Even if someone doesn’t have access to a memory clinic or specialist, they should still be able to get meaningful insight into their cognitive health.”
This Alzheimer’s study is the second major federally funded research project from Ning’s lab that began with a PRE award. An earlier PRE-supported project also led to a multimillion dollar NIH grant, which she said shows how internal investment can spark transformative research.
“PRE awards give faculty the chance to explore innovative ideas that might be too early for external funding,” she said. “They enable the kind of collaboration that can truly advance science.”
Ning is the AI for Health lead as part of The Ohio State University’s newly launched AI(X) Hub, a university-wide effort to expand responsible and interdisciplinary AI research.
“We’re entering a new era where AI can improve patient care, from Alzheimer’s to cancer and beyond,” Ning said. “Ohio State is building the infrastructure to lead in this space and programs like the PRE award are helping make that possible.”
