Cardiovascular behavioral medicine lab research
The foci of our collaborative research include: (a) relations of cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases to neurocognitive function and subclinical brain pathology (assessed by neuroimaging), and associated implications for accelerated brain and cognitive aging, and dementia risk; (b) biopsychosocial correlates of cardiometabolic risk profiles, subclinical vascular disease, and stress-induced cardiovascular responses; and (c) variation and disparities/inequities in the above associations as a function of sociodemographic characteristics.
We emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration, working with colleagues from internal medicine, geriatrics, epidemiology, radiology, nephrology, cardiology, physiology, physics, physical therapy, psychiatry, neurology, nursing, statistics, engineering, sociology, and others. Our primary collaborations are with the National Institute on Aging's Intramural Research Program, the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, and the George Mason University. We also enjoy collaborative relationships with investigators from several other institutions, e.g., University of Delaware School of Nursing, Pennsylvania State University, University of Rochester School of Medicine.
We are strongly interested in multi-level (e.g., micro-macro) level determinants of brain and cardiometabolic health and disease processes, and how these differ across individuals as a function of their intersectional identities including self-identified race, socioeconomic status, sex/gender, and age. Understanding the common and differential mechanisms underlying inequities in these relations is critical to the promotion of health, successful aging, and disease prevention, particularly the disproportionate disease burden experienced by marginalized groups. In our research, we frequently integrate sociodemographic, biomedical, behavioral, psychosocial, psychophysiological, environmental, neurocognitive, and/or neuroimaging data. We apply life span developmental and life course approaches in our work, and have a particular interest in health transitions from middle-to-older age.
Our group collaborates extensively with Dr. Alan Zonderman and Dr. Michele Evans from the National Institute on Aging’s Intramural Research program, using data from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study (http://handls.nih.gov). One of our recently completed grants from the National Institute on Aging - HANDLS SCAN – supported collection of MRI data from African American and White stroke- and dementia-free participants from the HANDLS study to: (a) examine race- and SES-related health disparities in MRI-assessed measures of gray and white matter volume, and white matter integrity; (b) examine multi-level mediators of the relations of race and SES to brain MRI outcomes; these include biomedical, behavioral, psychological, social, and environmental factors; and (c) examine associations of MRI indices of white and gray matter to measures of cognitive and physical function.
We emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration, working with colleagues from internal medicine, geriatrics, epidemiology, radiology, nephrology, cardiology, physiology, physics, physical therapy, psychiatry, neurology, nursing, statistics, engineering, sociology, and others. Our primary collaborations are with the National Institute on Aging's Intramural Research Program, the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania, and the George Mason University. We also enjoy collaborative relationships with investigators from several other institutions, e.g., University of Delaware School of Nursing, Pennsylvania State University, University of Rochester School of Medicine.
We are strongly interested in multi-level (e.g., micro-macro) level determinants of brain and cardiometabolic health and disease processes, and how these differ across individuals as a function of their intersectional identities including self-identified race, socioeconomic status, sex/gender, and age. Understanding the common and differential mechanisms underlying inequities in these relations is critical to the promotion of health, successful aging, and disease prevention, particularly the disproportionate disease burden experienced by marginalized groups. In our research, we frequently integrate sociodemographic, biomedical, behavioral, psychosocial, psychophysiological, environmental, neurocognitive, and/or neuroimaging data. We apply life span developmental and life course approaches in our work, and have a particular interest in health transitions from middle-to-older age.
Our group collaborates extensively with Dr. Alan Zonderman and Dr. Michele Evans from the National Institute on Aging’s Intramural Research program, using data from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study (http://handls.nih.gov). One of our recently completed grants from the National Institute on Aging - HANDLS SCAN – supported collection of MRI data from African American and White stroke- and dementia-free participants from the HANDLS study to: (a) examine race- and SES-related health disparities in MRI-assessed measures of gray and white matter volume, and white matter integrity; (b) examine multi-level mediators of the relations of race and SES to brain MRI outcomes; these include biomedical, behavioral, psychological, social, and environmental factors; and (c) examine associations of MRI indices of white and gray matter to measures of cognitive and physical function.