{"id":597,"date":"2024-08-21T11:40:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T15:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/bme\/?p=597"},"modified":"2025-07-28T17:02:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T21:02:44","slug":"rise-project-awarded-nih-grant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/bme\/news\/rise-project-awarded-nih-grant\/","title":{"rendered":"RISE Project Awarded NIH Grant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mabe.utk.edu\/people\/xiaopeng-zhao\/\">Xiaopeng Zhao<\/a>, a professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering and founding director of the Applied AI Program in the College of Emerging and Collaborative Studies at UT, is part of a collaborative team that has been awarded a $401,090 grant from the National Institutes of Health.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team received the multi-year funded grant for the project \u201cRobot-based Information and Support to Enhance Alzheimer\u2019s Caregiver Health (RISE).\u201d The research is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the NIH.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/bme\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/07\/RISE.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-598\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/bme\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/07\/RISE.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/bme\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2025\/07\/RISE-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The project aims to develop an AI-powered system (RISE) to disseminate important educational information to the Alzheimer\u2019s community. Using a state-of-the-art humanoid social robot integrated with cutting-edge AI tools, RISE delivers evidence-based caregiver training information derived from Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer\u2019s Caregivers Health (REACH) II and REACH VA programs.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alzheimer\u2019s disease and related dementias (ADRD) are progressive diseases that destroy memory and other important mental functions. They can have a significant impact on people with ADRD and their caregivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur goal is to provide essential, targeted information tailored to the specific needs of caregivers and individuals with ADRD,\u201d Zhao said. \u201cBy leveraging advanced AI and robotics technologies, we aim to enhance engagement and make critical caregiving information more accessible.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with Zhao, other members of the team include:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Jennifer Martindale-Adams,\u00a0professor of\u00a0preventive\u00a0medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center\u00a0and co-director of the\u00a0VA\u2019s national\u00a0Caregiver Center,\u00a0located\u00a0at the\u00a0LTC Luke Weathers, Jr.\u00a0VA Medical Center, Memphis\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Linda Nichols,\u00a0professor of\u00a0preventive\u00a0medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center\u00a0and co-director of the\u00a0VA\u2019s national\u00a0Caregiver Center,\u00a0located\u00a0at the\u00a0LTC Luke Weathers, Jr.\u00a0VA Medical Center, Memphis\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wenjun Zhou, Lawson Professor of Business in the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sharon Bowland,\u00a0associate\u00a0professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The project has received community support to implement the program from Dottie Lyvers, the director of the Office on Aging at the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Rhiannon Potkey (865-974-0683,&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:rpotkey@utk.edu\">rpotkey@utk.edu<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Xiaopeng Zhao was awarded a $401,090 grant from the National Institutes of Health for a project that uses AI-capable robots to help Alzheimer caregivers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[36],"class_list":["post-597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-xiaopeng-zhao"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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