Dr. Zahodne’s research focuses on cognitive and brain aging, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), and racial disparities in ADRD. The overall aim of her research program is to understand how psychosocial experiences influence late-life cognitive trajectories and the expression of neurodegenerative disease.
Dr. Weir’s research interests include the measurement of health-related quality of life; the use of cost-effectiveness measures in health policy and medical decision-making; the role of supplemental health insurance in the Medicare population; the effects of health, gender, and marital status on economic well-being in retirement; and the effects of early-life experience on longevity and health at older ages. He has directed the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) since 2007 and organizes MiCDA’s HRS Partner Studies Network.
Dr. Webster’s research focuses on social relations across the life course and highlights how social ties can serve as a resource across various age groups and in particular during later life.
Dr. Sonnega conducts research on the social contextual determinants of work, health and well-being within a multidisciplinary life course. Her current work examines both health and work with a goal of informing policies that can positively affect both.
Dr. Smith studies genomics, transcriptomics, and epigenomics of age-related chronic disease and its risk factors. Her recent research investigates the interaction between genetic risk and socioeconomic risk factors as determinants of chronic disease phenotypes, particularly those that lead to disparities in health.
Dr. Smith applies life course/lifespan theory to the study of health and well-being in late life. Much of her research focuses on tracing life course predictors and pathways of different trajectories of functional maintenance, change, and survival. She serves as a co-investigator on the Health and Retirement Study.
Dr. Ryan’s research investigates individual and contextual influences on psychological well-being, physical health, and cognition as adults age. She has extensive experience developing, implementing and harmonizing over the life course new measures for studies of older adults.
Dr. Polenick’s research focuses on family relationships and caregiving in the context of complex care needs including dementia and multimorbidity. She is particularly interested in understanding family and social influences in everyday life that shape the health and well-being of older adults and their care partners. Her long-term goal is to inform interventions and policies that mitigate stress and promote resilience among older adults living with complex care needs and their families.
Dr. Pienta’s research focuses on three areas: (1) life course and aging, (2) development of research infrastructure to support social and behavioral health research, and (3) data sharing and reuse behaviors.
Dr. Peterson’s background is in physical activity and rehabilitation science with an interest in factors that influence health and life expectancy in persons with and without disabilities. His specific research interests have been devoted to physical activity epidemiology and behavioral interventions for the treatment/prevention of obesity and related cardiometabolic diseases, frailty, functional motor declines, cognitive health, and early mortality.