Capstone
Often called the “silent epidemic,” Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that affects millions worldwide—yet remains widely underdiagnosed, especially in its earliest stages. Despite advancements in biomarkers and neuroimaging, the path to timely and accurate diagnosis is often delayed by systemic, cognitive, and clinical barriers.
Our capstone project investigates the barriers to early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease through an interdisciplinary lens, integrating perspectives from biomedicine, neuropsychology, and public health. By identifying cross-cutting challenges and limitations within current diagnostic pathways, our goal is to inform more equitable, timely, and accessible diagnostic practices for individuals at risk of developing AD.
Milestone 1 : Broad Foundation and Project Planning
We began Milestone 1 with an ambitious scope—aiming to explore diagnostic challenges across a range of neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), including AD, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, FTD, and Huntington’s disease. Our focus was on understanding diagnostic variability, barriers across systems, and the influence of socioeconomic and cultural factors. We conducted an environmental scan, reviewed existing frameworks, and developed a detailed project plan. This phase helped us recognize the complexity and breadth of the topic, ultimately guiding our decision to narrow our focus.
Milestone 2 : Narrowing Focus and Structured Literature Review
For Milestone 2, we refined our scope to focus specifically on Alzheimer’s disease, recognizing its global prevalence, diagnostic complexity, and pressing need for early intervention. We conducted a systematic scoping review using PubMed and ProQuest, screening over 900 articles and selecting 151 that addressed early AD diagnostic barriers. Findings were categorized into biomedical, neuropsychological, public health, and digital health domains. This milestone allowed us to develop a domain-based structure, introduce AD as a wicked problem, and begin exploring targeted, interdisciplinary solutions.
Milestone 3 : Synthesis and Cross-Disciplinary Insights
In Milestone 3, we synthesized our findings across disciplines to identify cross-cutting barriers to early AD diagnosis—particularly cost and generalizability. We categorized the 151 articles into biomedicine, neuropsychology, and public health, and analyzed how challenges within each discipline interact and compound. From this, we developed actionable recommendations such as supporting culturally inclusive cognitive assessments, improving biomarker protocols, and addressing access disparities. This milestone positioned us to build a cohesive, interdisciplinary framework for improving AD diagnosis.