Chetan Aware
Researcher in Ai-Ling Lin's group at the University of Missouri who studies how rapamycin and the gut microbiome affect brain blood flow and metabolism in people and mice at genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease
Department of Radiology and NextGen Precision Health, University of Missouri (Ai-Ling Lin lab, papers 2024–2026)
APOE4 is the strongest common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Carriers often show lower blood flow and weaker energy use in the brain years before any memory problems. In the Atlas study AWARE2026, Chetan Aware was first author of a small pilot trial at the University of Missouri. Twenty-three cognitively normal adults aged 45 to 65 took 1 mg of rapamycin a day for four weeks. In the nine APOE4 carriers, blood flow in several brain regions rose by more than 15%, while non-carriers showed no clear change. Blood markers of metabolism and inflammation improved, and the gut microbiome shifted. There was no placebo group and very few participants, so this is early evidence that needs a controlled trial.
Aware works in Ai-Ling Lin's group in the Department of Radiology and NextGen Precision Health at the University of Missouri. The group had earlier shown in mice carrying human APOE4 that 16 weeks of rapamycin improved mitochondrial function and nerve-cell signalling in the brain, with different effects in APOE3 mice; Aware was a co-author of that 2024 study. In 2026 Aware was first author of a mouse study in which gut bacteria taken from stroke patients sped up tau changes and brain inflammation in Alzheimer's model mice, pointing to the gut-brain connection as a possible link between stroke and later dementia. No official profile page was found.
Milestones in the Atlas
A selection, not a full bibliography: only papers that meet the Atlas inclusion criteria.
| Year | Evidence | Study |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | H | Rapamycin increases cerebral blood flow and modulates metabolic, inflammatory, and microbiome profiles in healthy middle-aged APOE4 carriers: a pilot single-arm trial. AWARE2026 First author: ran the pilot trial in which four weeks of low-dose rapamycin raised brain blood flow in APOE4 carriers aged 45 to 65. |
Co-authors in the Atlas 1
People with a profile here who share at least one study with Chetan Aware.
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- Ai-Ling Lin Neuroimaging scientist who studies brain blood flow and metabolism in ageing and Alzheimer's risk, including the effect of rapamycin in people who carry APOE4.
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