The New Jersey Kids Study (NJKS) is a transdisciplinary statewide initiative to understand influences on child health, development, and disease. We conducted a mixed-methods study of project planning teams to investigate team effectiveness and relationships between team dynamics and quality of deliverables.

Ten theme-based working groups (WGs) (e.g., Neurodevelopment, Nutrition) informed protocol development and submitted final reports. WG members (n = 79, 75%) completed questionnaires including de-identified demographic and professional information and a modified TeamSTEPPS Team Assessment Questionnaire (TAQ). Reviewers independently evaluated final reports using a standardized tool. We analyzed questionnaire results and final report assessments using linear regression and performed constant comparative qualitative analysis to identify central themes.

WG-level factors associated with greater team effectiveness included proportion of full professors (β = 31.24, 95% CI 27.65–34.82), team size (β = 0.81, 95% CI 0.70–0.92), and percent dedicated research effort (β = 0.11, 95% CI 0.09–0.13); age distribution (β = −2.67, 95% CI –3.00 to –2.38) and diversity of school affiliations (β = –33.32, 95% CI –36.84 to –29.80) were inversely associated with team effectiveness. No factors were associated with final report assessments. Perceptions of overall initiative leadership were associated with expressed enthusiasm for future NJKS participation. Qualitative analyses of final reports yielded four themes related to team science practices: organization and process, collaboration, task delegation, and decision-making patterns.

We identified several correlates of team effectiveness in a team science initiative's early planning phase. Extra effort may be needed to bridge differences in team members' backgrounds to enhance the effectiveness of diverse teams. This work also highlights leadership as an important component in future investigator engagement.

This study seeks to describe the context and contents of YouTube videos featuring non-evidence-based practices (NEBPs) for autism spectrum disorder, including recent fad usage of transcranial magnetic stimulation.

A sample search of autism intervention-related YouTube videos was conducted to reflect the experience of caregivers researching autism intervention information on the internet. Exclusion criteria was applied to create a preliminary dataset. The videos were categorized into general evidence-based practice (EBP), non-evidence-based practice (NEBP), and both EBP and NEBP. The NEBP-related videos were then qualitatively described using a priori codes based on the literature regarding signs of pseudoscience, as well as an iteratively developed codebook through a constant comparative method between two independent coders.

Total videos from the YouTube search using the query "Autism Treatment" were capped at 150 videos. Total videos in English were 138. Total discrete videos (non-repeated) were 134. Total NEBP-related discrete videos were 62 (46% of final dataset); Total EBP-related videos were 38 (28.3% of final dataset); and total videos containing both EBP and NEBP as subject matter were 25 (18.6% of final dataset). Of the NEBP-related in the final dataset, the most frequent NEBP which occurred was stem cell therapy (n=26), followed by the Son-Rise program (n=13), Cannabis/marijuana (n=5), transcranial magnetic stimulation/magnetic e-resonance therapy (n=5), neurofeedback (n=1), brain rehabilitation (n=1), suramin (n=2), fecal transplants (n=2), Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy (n=1), Ayurvedic medicine (n=1), virtual reality (n=1), and others. The constant comparative method of coding yielded results specific to videos about NEBPs in autism, including: statements declaring a treatment will be effective, a banner on the YouTube page indicating if the channel is from a reputable source, a parent testimonial, a parent or caregiver display of emotion with respect to treatment efficacy, statements regarding pre-intervention repetitive or challenging behaviors, statements regarding demonstrated effects of the treatment, statements of a definitive cause of autism, statements regarding the severity of the autism in the treatment subject, specific words in reference to autism, including "disease", "toxin", or "inflammation", discussion of the financial aspect of the treatment, and videos with both high and low production values.

The likelihood of a caregiver encountering and watching videos containing NEBP-related material when using a general query to search the internet for information on autism intervention is high. Additionally, videos regarding NEBPs have more engagements (e.g., likes, comments, shares) than videos regarding EBPs, oftentimes by multitudes. The information contained within videos in which an NEBP is the subject aligns with pre-established warning signs for pseudoscience for autism interventions, however this study also contributes new warning signs through the construction of the iterative codebook. Specifically, statements about treatment efficacy in the absence of cited research, an emotional parent testimony about the individual with autism's experience with the NEBP therapy, statements regarding behavioral improvements linked to participation in the therapy oftentimes in the context of inflated claims, and clear and confident statements regarding the cause of autism with no cited research.

Novel blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease (AD) could transform AD diagnosis in the community; however, their interpretation in individuals with medical comorbidities is not well understood. Specifically, kidney function has been shown to influence plasma levels of various brain proteins. This study sought to evaluate the effect of one common marker of kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)) on the association between various blood-based biomarkers of AD/neurodegeneration (glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neurofilament light (NfL), amyloid-b42 (Ab42), total tau) and established CSF biomarkers of AD (Ab42/40 ratio, tau, phosphorylated-tau (p-tau)), neuroimaging markers of AD (AD-signature region cortical thickness), and episodic memory performance.

Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project participants (n=329, 73±7 years, 40% mild cognitive impairment, 41% female) completed fasting venous blood draw, fasting lumbar puncture, 3T brain MRI, and neuropsychological assessment at study entry and at 18-month, 3-year, and 5-year follow-up visits. Plasma GFAP, Ab42, total tau, and NfL were quantified on the Quanterix single molecule array platform. CSF biomarkers for Ab were quantified using Meso Scale Discovery immunoassays and tau and p-tau were quantified using INNOTEST immunoassays. AD-signature region atrophy was calculated by summing bilateral cortical thickness measurements captured on T1-weighted brain MRI from regions shown to distinguish individuals with AD from normal cognition. Episodic memory functioning was measured using a previously developed composite score. Linear mixed-effects regression models related predictors to each outcome adjusting for age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, apolipoprotein E-e4 status, and cognitive status. Models were repeated with a blood-based biomarker x eGFR x time interaction term with follow-up models stratified by chronic kidney disease (CKD) staging (stage 1/no CKD: eGFR>90 mL/min/1.73m2, stage 2: eGFR=60-89 mL/min/1.73m2; stage 3: eGFR=44-59mL/min/1.73m2 (no participants with higher than stage 3)).

Cross-sectionally, GFAP was associated with all outcomes (p-values<0.005) and NfL was associated with memory and AD-signature region cortical thickness (p-values<0.05). In predictor x eGFR interaction models, GFAP and NfL interacted with eGFR on AD-signature cortical thickness, (p-values<0.004) and Ab42 interacted with eGFR on tau, p-tau, and memory (p-values<0.03). Tau did not interact with eGFR. Stratified models across predictors showed that associations were stronger in individuals with better renal functioning and no significant associations were found in individuals with stage 3 CKD. Longitudinally, higher GFAP and NfL were associated with memory decline (p-values<0.001). In predictor x eGFR x time interaction models, GFAP and NfL interacted with eGFR on p-tau (p-values<0.04). Other models were nonsignificant. Stratified models showed that associations were significant only in individuals with no CKD/stage 1 CKD and were not significant in participants with stage 2 or 3 CKD.

In this community-based sample of older adults free of dementia, plasma biomarkers of AD/neurodegeneration were associated with AD-related clinical outcomes both cross-sectionally and longitudinally; however, these associations were modified by renal functioning with no associations in individuals with stage 3 CKD. These results highlight the value of blood-based biomarkers in individuals with healthy renal functioning and suggest caution in interpreting these biomarkers in individuals with mild to moderate CKD.

In recent decades, a large body of evidence has linked prenatal exposure to environmental neurotoxins to adverse intellectual, neurodevelopmental, and psychiatric outcomes in offspring. This evidence has clearly highlighted the widespread impact of neurotoxin exposure on the developing brain; however, it is unclear how and why these exposures alter brain development in a way that appears to increase risk for multiple, seemingly disparate outcomes.

Shifting our focus from describing links between neurotoxin exposure and symptoms of offspring mental/cognitive problems considered categorically, to investigating how neurotoxins adversely affect domains of functioning known to cut across risk for multiple problems in offspring may be critical to answering these questions. This presentation will discuss how combining research in developmental neurotoxicology with novel systems that take dimensional approaches to understanding emotions, cognition, and behaviour (i.e., the NIHM Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)) may provide a fruitful future research direction for the field. The RDoC framework aims to understand neuropsychological outcomes (i.e., mental health, mental illness, IQ) across major domains of human emotion, cognition, behaviour, and social functioning, rather than within distinct diagnostic categories.

Using lead exposure as an example, this presentation will outline a framework for how researchers can use this dimensional approach to develop more specific hypotheses that can reveal how and why neurotoxin exposure increases risk for multiple adverse outcomes and elucidate the mechanisms that may underly these links.

Additionally, given that adverse development within domains of functioning can be detected prior to the onset of full-blown diagnoses, this research could enable us to develop more precise, targeted prevention and risk reduction campaigns. Adopting a dimensional framework will provide a more complete picture of the overall impact of prenatal exposure to neurotoxins - critical for informing public health policy.

Impactful, transdisciplinary scientific discoveries are created by teams of researchers spanning multiple disciplines, but collaboration across disciplines can be challenging. We examined how team dynamics and collaboration are related to successes and barriers faced by teams of researchers from multiple disciplines.

A mixed-methods approach was used to examine 12 research teams granted multidisciplinary pilot awards. Team members were surveyed to assess their team dynamics and individual views about transdisciplinary research. Forty-seven researchers (59.5%) responded, including two to eight members from each funded team. Associations were examined between collaborative dynamics and scholarly product outcomes, including manuscripts, grant proposals, and awarded grants. One member from each team was selected for an in-depth interview to contextualize and extend information about collaborative processes, successes, and barriers to performing transdisciplinary research.

Quality of team interactions was positively associated with achievement of scholarly products (r = 0.64, p = 0.02). Satisfaction with team members (r = 0.38) and team collaboration scores (r = 0.43) also demonstrated positive associations with achievement of scholarly products, but these were not statistically significant. Qualitative results support these findings and add further insight into aspects of the collaborative process that were particularly important to foster success on multidisciplinary teams. Beyond scholarly metrics, additional successes from the multidisciplinary teams were identified through the qualitative portion of the study including career development and acceleration for early career researchers.

Both the quantitative and qualitative study results indicate that effective collaboration is critical to multidisciplinary research team success. Development and/or promotion of team science-based trainings for researchers would promote these collaborative skills.