Research Areas
- Aging and Chronic Disease
- Biobehavioral Health
- Social Inequalities and Older Black Adults
- Population Science and Determinants of Health
Scientific Achievements
- Conducted innovative population research on aging disparities.
- Expanded the current knowledge about the health status of midlife and older racial/ethnic minority adults in the US.
- Assessed the impact of neighborhood conditions and disabilities.
- R16 Research Award, NIH-NINDS 2024-2025: Examining the Role of Allostatic Load and Neighborhood Context in Cognitive Function Trajectories among Midlife and Older Americans.
Funding
RCMI Funding: 5U54MD007595-15: “Examining the Role of Neighborhood Context and Biobehavioral Risk Factors for Physical Disability in Midlife and Older Adults with Chronic Conditions.”
Scientific Advance
Perceived Neighborhood Characteristics and Cognitive Functioning among Diverse Older Adults: An Intersectional Approach
Published in Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 6;18(5):2661, PMCID: PMC7967341 PMID: 33800952 .
Published in Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 6;18(5):2661, PMCID: PMC7967341 PMID: 33800952 .
This study examined racial/ethnic disparities in cognitive outcomes by considering neighborhood factors as a determinant of cognitive functioning using a nationally representative sample of older adults. This research expands our understanding of the association between neighborhood environments and older adults’ cognitive health. While we find that negative neighborhood perceptions are related to worse cognitive functioning for older adults, this relationship differs according to education level across racial/ethnic groups.
National Institutes of Health, NIH/NIHMD #3U54MD007595-12S1
