LOWELL, Mass. (AP) — A University of Massachusetts Lowell researcher has received a $2.7 million federal grant to continue her research into the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

The National Institutes of Health grant will help engineering associate professor Joyita Dutta look at the disease from a network perspective, viewing the interconnections between the regions of the brain, the university said in a statement last week.

She will use machine learning and artificial intelligence tools to build models from existing patient imaging data.

She aims to develop models that predict the progression of primary protein markers for Alzheimer’s disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 5.8 million Americans were living with Alzheimer’s last year. That number is projected to rise to 14 million by 2060. There is no known cure for the disease.

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