The Memory and Aging Project began in 1997 [29]. The overall goal of the study is to identify factors associated with the maintenance of cognitive health despite the accumulation of AD and other pathology. When the Memory and Aging Project began, there were a number of ongoing epidemiologic studies that included, but did not require, organ donation. However, there were only two cohort studies of aging and AD that required organ donation: the Nun Study and the Religious Orders Study. Both studies were restricted to Catholic clergy and included participants with a restricted range of life experiences and socioeconomic status and exceedingly high educational attainment. The Memory and Aging Project was specifically designed to complement and extend other ongoing epidemiologic studies that included organ donation. The study design is similar to the Religious Orders Study in that it enrolls persons without dementia who agree to annual clinical evaluation and organ donation. However, it enrolls participants with a much wider range of life experiences and socioeconomic status with a goal of enrolling a third of participants with 12 or fewer years
