Scientists

Racial disparities in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) are likely driven by manifestations of structural racism that may have a direct effect in cognitive function. Gentrification is one manifestation of structural racism and is under-studied in the public health literature, especially as it pertains to cognitive aging. Gentrification refers to the influx of relatively high socioeconomic status or advantaged residents into an under-resourced, disinvested neighborhood, resulting in increased investment in and development of the neighborhood at the expense of the long-standing, structurally marginalized residents. The physical space is overwhelmed with multiple healthy resources, such as green space, healthier food options, restaurants, cafes, and healthcare providers. However, they are rarely accessible to the long-standing residents who, due to the increased cost of living, cannot afford to take part or end up displaced from the neighborhood altogether. Like other manifestations of structural racism, gentrifying forces are associated with an increased risk of multiple adverse health outcomes, including anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and self-reported chronic health conditions produced by the increased housing and food insecurity due to increased living costs, as well as disruptions to existing resources (e.g., established healthcare providers, familiar grocery stores) and social networks due to forced relocation. While many of these associations are more pronounced for racially and ethnically marginalized and economically disadvantaged populations, the potential association between critical components of gentrification and ADRD disparities is yet to be sufficiently explored. This study will leverage a longitudinal database of census-tract-level social and structural inequality measures to provide a multifaceted assessment of gentrification-related constructs, such as housing instability and directed policing, over time. 

Dr. Hokett's pilot project, Neighborhood- and individual-level and factors in relation to racial/ethnic sleep disparities and cognition in a community-based older adult sample, examines neighborhood-level factors that may contribute to racial/ethnic sleep and cognitive disparities. Her mentors are Drs. Jennifer Manly, Priya Palta, and Adam Brickman.

Dr. Weiss's pilot project, Unpacking Educational Gradients in Dementia, to evaluate heterogeneity in the effect of education on dementia across population subgroups, and to identify drivers of that heterogeneity. His mentor is Dr. David Rehkopf.

Dr. Camacho's pilot project, Loneliness, Chronic Pain and Cognitive Functioning in Racially Diverse Older Adults: Examining the Role of Minority Stress, investigates how cultural and minority stress factors influence the relationship between loneliness, chronic pain, and impaired cognitive functioning among community-dwelling older Latinos and African Americans. His mentors are Drs. Carrington Reid and Elaine Wethington.

Dr. Turney's pilot project, Neuroimaging Predictors of Cognition in Mid-life and Late-life across Race/Ethnicity, focuses on underlying neural correlates of cognition across the lifespan in racially/ethnically diverse middle-aged and older adults. Her current research uses multiple neuroimaging modalities to identify lifecourse sociocultural and structural mechanisms that underlie brain aging in racially/ethnically diverse adults across the lifespan. Her mentor is Dr. Adam Brickman.

Dr. Hernandez's pilot, The Relationship between Energy Insecurity (EI) and Cognitive Impairment and ADRD, empirically tests if subjective measures of energy insecurity based on the Energy Insecurity Scale are associated with cognitive function, sleep quality and psychosocial stress in older adults. Her mentors are Drs. Jose Luchsinger and Jennifer Manly.

Dr. Murphy's pilot project, Causal Attributions about Alzheimer’s Disease and Attitudes towards Genetic Risk Assessment, Diagnostic Imaging and Research Participation among African Americans and Latinos, leverages an existing cohort to investigate causal attributions made for AD, as a function of family history of AD and demographic factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, education, and socio-economic status (SES). Her mentor is Dr. Ruth Ottman.