Scientist Advisory Board

Scientist Advisory Board

The Scientist Advisory Board Members include a representative community of RCMAR scientists to provide input and feedback to the RCMAR National Coordinating Center on overall RCMAR programs, services and supports. In addition, their input and feedback allows for a formal mechanism whereby members can interact with the RCMAR CC on how to best meet the professional and career development needs of RCMAR Scientists.

View our 2023 Scientist Advisory Board members below!

2023-2024
Alejandra Morlett Paredes, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging (SOL-INCA) Lab, University of California San Diego
Alejandra Morlett Paredes, Ph.D. (She/her), a native of Tijuana, Baja California, is a post-doctoral Fellow in the Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging (SOL-INCA) lab at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). Her work is focused on understanding the barriers and attitudes of older Latinos towards participating in Alzheimer's Disease research, specifically research that requires invasive procedures (e.g., brain autopsies). Dr. Morlett received her PhD in health psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and completed a 2-year NIMH T32 research fellowship in geriatric mental health at UCSD. Dr. Morlett has been involved in various efforts to develop normative data for a number of neuropsychological tests in Spanish-Speaking adults living in the US and Latin America.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: San Diego Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Alison Huang, MD, MAS
Professor of Medicine, Urology, and Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco
Dr. Alison Huang is Professor of Medicine, Urology, and Epidemiology & Biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco, where her research program focuses advancing scientific understanding and improving management of the impact of aging on genitourinary health and function in women of diverse backgrounds. She has designed and conducted multiple NIH-funded randomized trials of therapeutic interventions in midlife and older women, including an NIA-funded trial of guided-breathing intervention for women with overactive bladder syndrome, NCCIH- and then NIDDK-funded trials of a group-based therapeutic yoga program for ambulatory older women with urinary incontinence, an NIA-funded trial of transdermal nitroglycerin therapy for menopausal vasomotor symptoms in midlife women, and an NIA-funded comparative efficacy and safety trial of pharmacologic treatments for urgency incontinence in older community-dwelling women. As a former RCMAR scholar, she has developed and validated new patient-reported outcome measures of genitourinary health and function for ethnically diverse older women that have been administered and translated into multiple languages in aging women’s health studies in the United States and internationally. She has also conducted epidemiologic investigations into the predictors, consequences, and treatment outcomes of lower urinary tract symptoms in Latina, Chinese, Black, and non-Latina White women in California in the multiethnic Reproductive Risks of Incontinence at Kaiser cohort study spearheaded by investigators at UCSF and Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Supported by an NIA K24 award on mentoring in patient-oriented research, she is committed to guiding the next generation of clinical and translational researchers in developing research programs that address important health issues in aging in diverse populations.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Centers for Aging in Diverse Communities
Calia Morais, PhD
Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology and Oncology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Calia Morais is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at The University of Alabama at Birmingham. She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Alabama in 2019. Her research focuses on understanding mechanisms influencing pain inequities as well as developing culturally-responsive pain assessment tools and psychosocial treatment for chronic pain. More recently, Dr. Morais has become interested in resilience research and identifying resilience factors protecting against the negative impact of pain on functioning. Dr. Morais utilizes an antiracism framework and community-engagement research practices to facilitate the implementation and sustainability of evidence-based treatments for chronic pain in medical and community settings. Dr. Morais has extensive experience delivering psychosocial treatments for pain management, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and she is currently the pain psychologist at the Adult Sickle Cell Center at UAB.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: University of Florida Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Candace Robledo, A. PhD, MPH
Associate Professor, Population Health and Biostatistics, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Candace A. Robledo, Ph.D., M.P.H., is a doctoral-level epidemiologist with experience conducting research on a broad range of environmental health, and behavioral research topics. Dr. Robledo has obtained degrees from Texas A&M University (B.S.), Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center (MPH) and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (PhD). She has also completed a post-doctoral fellowship within the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Division of Intramural Population Health Research. Dr. Robledo is also an Oklahoma Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (OKLEND) Fellow, an interdisciplinary leadership education program funded by the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau in the US Health Resources and Services Administration. She served for three years as an Assistant Professor and Director of the MPH Maternal and Child Health program, Department of Behavioral and Community Health at The University of North Texas Health Sciences Center. She is currently a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health & Biostatistics at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, School of Medicine. Her primary research interests have focused on assessing the impact that environmental chemicals (i.e. bisphenol-A, phthalates, persistent organic pollutants and air pollution) have on maternal and child health. Most recently she has obtained funding from the NIH Community-Engagement Research Alliance Against COVID-19 in Disproportionately Affected Communities Consortium (see www.TexasCeal.org) to conduct research aimed at understanding how pandemic conditions impact mental health and well-being and increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence in Mexican American populations. Dr. Robledo has also sought funding to leverage her experience and expertise to expand her research portfolio in the AD/ADRD field. She obtained pilot from the RGV AD-RCMAR and a career development award from the National Institute on Aging STAC to examine how exposures to persistent organic pollutants impact the aging brain in humans.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Christy Erving, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Christy L. Erving is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Using theories, concepts, and perspectives from various disciplines, her program of research focuses on clarifying and explaining status distinctions in health. Her primary research areas explore how race, ethnicity, gender, and immigrant status intersect to produce health differentials; psychosocial determinants of Black women’s health; and the Black–White mental health paradox. Her research has appeared in Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Society and Mental Health, American Journal of Epidemiology, and Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. She received a B.A. in Sociology and Hispanic Studies at Rice University, and M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology at Indiana University, Bloomington, with a minor in Social Science Approaches to Health and Healing Systems. During academic year 2021-2022, Dr. Erving was a Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research (MCUAAAR) Scientist.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research
Justina Avila-Rieger, PhD
Associate Research Scientist, Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and the Taub Institute for Research in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease, Columbia University Medical Center
Dr. Justina Avila-Rieger is an associate research scientist in Neurology at the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and the Taub Institute for Research in Aging and Alzheimer’s disease at Columbia University. She received her PhD from the University of New Mexico with an emphasis on Neuropsychology and Quantitative Methodology and completed her clinical internship in Neuropsychology at the Baltimore VAMC. During her graduate and postdoctoral training, she also specialized in health policy as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Fellow and a 2021-2022 Health and Aging Policy Fellow. Dr. Avila-Rieger’s research focuses on identifying and understanding macro-social determinants of sex/gender and racial/ethnic disparities in Alzheimer’s disease. She is passionate about amplifying the voices and experiences of communities that are traditionally marginalized in dementia-related research and policy. Her long-term goal is to conduct research that directly influences the development of health policy solutions aimed at eliminating Alzheimer’s disease disparities.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Alzheimer’s Disease Disparities
Katrina Hamilton, R. PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Prior to joining the Behavioral Medicine Research Laboratory at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Hamilton completed her doctoral training in Experimental Health Psychology at Ohio University and a postdoctoral position at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Salivary Bioscience Research at the University of California, Irvine. Broadly, her work has focused on acute and chronic stress, noninvasive interventions, lifestyle medicine, salivary assay methodology, and working with chronically ill and healthy individuals. Her research interests include: Chronic Pain; Non-invasive Interventions (e.g., lifestyle modification, MBSR); Acute and Chronic Stress; Cellular Aging; Health Disparities (e.g., SES); Psychoneuroimmunology; and translating findings into clinical application.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: University of Florida Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Kevin Lu, PhD, FISPE, BPharm
Associate Professor, Pharmacy Administration, University of South Carolina
Kevin Lu, PhD, FISPE, BPharm, is an Associate Professor (with tenure) of Pharmacy Administration at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Lu is an elected Fellow of International Society of PharmacoEpidemiology (ISPE), and chaired or is chairing numerous committees of international or national organizations. Dr. Lu is also an Associate and Guest Editor for several journals. He has extensive experience in mentoring junior faculty, PhD students, and PharmD students. Dr. Lu earned his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Health Services Research from the University of Maryland. His research interests include medication use and patient outcomes and related health disparities among older populations based on big real-world data.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Carolina Center on Alzheimer’s Disease and Minority Research
Lan Ðoàn, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Population Health Section for Health Equity, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Lan Ðoàn is Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health Section for Health Equity at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her research is centered on the structural determinants of health with a focus on cardiovascular disease and psychosocial factors, including quality of life and depression. She specifically examines populations of older adults, with a particular focus on Asian Americans, and how neighborhood environments modify determinants of health at later stages of and across the life course. Her research is motivated by a commitment to promoting health equity for historically marginalized communities through meaningful, community-engaged research and collaborations.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Center for Improving Care Delivery for the Aging
Man (May) Guo, PhD
Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Iowa
Dr. Guo is an Associate Professor at University of Iowa, School of Social Work. Her work addresses the intersection between immigration and aging, examining the well-being of older immigrants in the changing family and neighborhood contexts. Her work covers a broad range of topics including acculturation, family norms, social support, coping, resilience, and cognitive and mental health among minority older adults.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Rutgers Asian Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Marianne Chanti-Ketterl, PhD, MSPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, School of Medicine, Duke University
Dr. Chanti-Ketterl is an Assistant Professor in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, School of Medicine at Duke University. She first obtained a degree in Medicine and Surgery in Costa Rica, and then completed a Master of Science in Public Health with a focus on Epidemiology and a PhD in Aging Studies both at the University of South Florida. Her postdoctoral training was in the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development at Duke University. Dr. Chanti-Ketterl serves as the Junior Lead of the Duke-UNC ADRC-ORE Core. She is co-investigator in several research studies and her research focus is on preventive factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. She is exploring how environmental factors are associated with risk of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly in underrepresented populations.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: University of Southern California Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (ADRD) Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Mateo Farina, P. PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar, School of Gerontology, University of Southern California
Mateo Farina currently is a postdoctoral scholar in the School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California and will be starting a tenure-track faculty position in the Human Development and Family Sciences Department at the University of Texas at Austin in August 2023. His research focuses on documenting and examing the life course origins of cognitive and biological aging among older adults, with an emphasis on understanding the experiences of minoritized populations. His work has been published in aging, public health, and interdisciplinary health journals.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: University of Southern California Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (ADRD) Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Melody Schiaffino, K. PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, School of Public Health | IBACH San Diego State University Visiting Researcher, Radiation Medicine | Cancer Control UCSD Moores Cancer Center
Dr. Melody K Schiaffino is a bilingual, bi-cultural health services researcher and epidemiologist. Her primary research interests center around identifying disparities in the organization and delivery of health services to diverse older adults. Using systems science and big data approaches to study how care is delivered, her work leverages the information and technology to improve sub-optimal outcomes for minority aging populations. Her current work addresses treatment variation in timely care to diverse and older adults with cancer as well as the role of language, social and other demographic barriers in access to care and advanced care including the role of telehealth and telemedicine.
RCMAR Site: The San Diego Alzheimer's Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (AD-RCMAR)
Omonigho Bubu, M. MD, MPH, PhD, CPH
Departments of Psychiatry and Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Dr. Bubu is an Assistant Professor and physician scientist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine (NYUSoM), in the Departments of Psychiatry and Population Health, with a programmatic research focus on sleep, aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Dr. Bubu has graduate, internship, and fellowship-level clinical and research training in neurology, neuro-epidemiology and public health. His research examines how age-related and age-dependent sleep changes, and vascular risk, impact cognitive decline and AD risk, and how they drive AD related disparities.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Columbia Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Alzheimer’s Disease Disparities
Pamela Bowen, G. PhD, CRNP, BBA
Associate Professor, School of Nursing, The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Pamela G. Bowen, PhD, CRNP, BBA, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner. Given the mounting evidence that numerous social inequities contribute to health disparities, my pursuit of racial health equity and justice for minority and vulnerable populations is motivated by the desire to improve health outcomes for these groups by creating and evaluating interventions to encourage healthy lifestyle behaviors. Being a part of the RCMAR Scientist Advisory Board excites me because it responds to the demands of its RCMAR members. This board is crucial because it will give scientists a way to talk about, report on, and deal with sensitive topics including systematic racism, gender discrimination, and power relationships in academia that could have an adverse effect on a scientist's personal and career trajectory. I also have the added distinction of representing the scientists at UAB Deep South RCMAR.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Robert Turner II, W. PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Research and Leadership and Department of Neurology, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Dr. Robert W. Turner II is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Research and Leadership, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Neurology, at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Community Engagement at the GW Institute on Brain Health and Dementia, also holds a position as a Research Scientist in the Center on Health & Society at Duke University and is a Faculty Fellow at the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University. After attending James Madison University on an athletic scholarship, Dr. Turner played football professionally in the now defunct United States Football League (USFL), the Canadian Football League (CFL), and briefly in the National Football League (NFL) with the S.F. 49ers. He is also the author of “Not For Long: The Life and Career of the NFL Athlete” (Oxford Press) and a consultant for the LeBron James produced HBO documentary film “Student Athlete.”
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research
Roger Wong, PhD, MPH, MSW
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health & Preventive Medicine, State University of New York Upstate Medical University
Roger Wong is an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) in the Department of Public Health & Preventive Medicine at State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University. His research focuses on racial and ethnic disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), and ADRD prevention through lifestyle behaviors (e.g. physical activity, substance use, diet, and social contacts). He received his PhD (public health), MPH, and MSW from Washington University in St. Louis and BS (neurobiology and behavior) from Cornell University.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Romeo Escobar, PhD, LCSW, ACSW
Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Dr. Romeo L. Escobar is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He earned a PhD in Leadership Studies and a master’s degree in Social Work from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. He began his career in academia as an Adjunct Professor in 2014 and in 2015, he was offered a full-time faculty position as an Assistant Professor in the tenure track program at the university. Currently, he is serving as the Program Director for the traditional MSSW program and Faculty Advisor for the Graduate Association of Student Social Worker. Prior to transitioning into academia, Dr. Escobar worked in both the private and public sector and held positions in the clinical, leadership, and administrative arena. He has practiced social work for the past 48 years of which the last 34 years have been in the field of mental health, aging, and substance use. He maintains his licensure as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and is certified through the national Academy of Certified Social Workers. He has participated as a RCMAR (Resource Center for Minority Aging Research) scientist at UTRGV for the past four years and has served as a member of the RCMAR National Scientist Advisory Board for two years. He has presented his research findings in local, state, national, and international conferences and has published several manuscripts together with other colleagues of the School of Social Work. His interests in research are in working with Latinos, mental health, aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, substance use, and social work competency. Dr. Escobar is very involved as a member of the Cameron County Mental Health Task Force in the Rio Grande Valley area and has served as Board Member since 2017.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Ronica Rooks, PhD, MA
Professor, Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Director of Online Education, University of Colorado Denver
Ronica N. Rooks is a Professor in the Department of Health and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Director of Online Education at the University of Colorado Denver. She completed postdoctoral fellowships in health disparities at the University of Michigan and geriatric epidemiology at the National Institute on Aging. She has a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Maryland College Park. Her research focuses on social-ecological explanations for racial and ethnic disparities in chronic conditions. Her Fulbright Canada fellowship developed interdisciplinary networks in the social and health sciences to examine relationships between gentrification, social disadvantage (e.g., lower SES and racial/ethnic minority status) and prevalent chronic conditions and management among older adults in Hamilton, Ontario. She is similarly examining these relationships among older adults in Denver, Colorado. Her other research explores if working and volunteering, as productive activities, can mitigate Black vs. White racial disparities in dementia, as well as cognitive changes over time among older adults in the longitudinal Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study. She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and served as past Chair for the Minority Issues in Gerontology Advisory Panel with the GSA.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease
Sadaf Milani, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas Medical Branch
Dr. Sadaf Arefi Milani is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Milani’s overall research focuses on disparities among older adults in the United States and Mexico, with a current focus on sex/gender differences in pain, pain treatment, and the association of pain with cognitive decline and dementia. Her current research uses data from diverse, population-based, cohorts of aging, including the Mexican Health and Aging Study, the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly, and the Health and Retirement Study.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Texas Resource Center on Minority Aging Research
Saruna Ghimire, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Gerontology, Miami University
Saruna Ghimire is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology. Her research focuses on health and well-being in late life and understanding the social determinants of healthy aging in the global context and among minorities in the US.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Rutgers Asian Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Steffi Kim, M. PhD, MS
Lead Research Associate, Memory Keepers Medical Discovery Team, University of Minnesota
Dr. Steffi M. Kim is a licensed clinical-community psychologist and has worked with Alaska Native communities employing community-based participatory research frameworks for the past seven years. She serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Alaska in Anchorage and as a senior researcher at the Memory Keepers - Medical Discovery Team at the University of Minnesota. As a NAD RCMAR scholar, she investigates experiences of stigma among Alaska Native dementia caregivers. This work has provided valuable insights into a successful aging framework incorporating and highlighting the voices of Alaska Native Elders. Dr. Kim collaborates with Alzheimer’s Resources of Alaska and several tribal communities statewide. She is working to promote dementia awareness and reduce the stigma associated with dementia. In addition to her work with Alaska Native Elders, Dr. Kim provides mental health services for adults.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: IREACH Native Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Steven Nieto, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow and Project Scientist, Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles
Dr. Steven Joseph Nieto, PhD is a project scientist in the Department of Psychology at UCLA. He received his PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from the University of Houston in 2019. His work focuses on leveraging deep behavioral phenotyping and human laboratory paradigms to advance precision medicine for addiction, particularly alcohol use disorder. His research interests include: (1) identifying neurofunctional domains relevant for etiology and treatment of addiction, (2) applying behavioral economics to screen novel medications for alcohol use disorder, and (3) examining the relationship between chronic pain and heavy alcohol use.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Center for Health Improvement of Minority Elderly
Tiffany Kindratt, B. PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Public Health Program, Department of Kinesiology, University of Texas at Arlington
Tiffany B. Kindratt, PhD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Public Health Program, Department of Kinesiology at the University of Texas at Arlington. Dr. Kindratt is Director of the Health Survey Research Laboratory. Her research focuses on evaluating factors that influence individuals’ health-related behaviors, morbidity, and mortality across the life course using large data sources. She has current federal research funding from NIA and HRSA to uncover health outcomes of Middle Eastern and North African individuals across the life course using data from the National Health Interview Survey, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, and American Community Survey. In 2020, she was selected as a research scientist for the Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease (MCCFAD) for her research examining cognitive limitations and coexisting diabetes among US- and foreign-born racial/ethnic minority groups. She continues to engage in MCCFAD’s monthly research enrichment seminars and summer data immersion programs.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease
Travonia Brown-Hughes, PhD, MS, MPH, CPH
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Hampton University
Dr. Travonia Brown-Hughes is an Associate Professor in the School of Pharmacy at Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia and an Assistant Community Professor with Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the South Eastern Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and was appointed to the state Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders by Governor Ralph Northam in 2020. Her research interests are grounded in the study of cognitive aging in minority populations, Alzheimer's disease and health disparities research. She has been active in the development and facilitation of several research and community-based projects with a focus on cognitive aging in diverse populations, and barriers and facilitators to clinical research participation among minorities. As a Johns Hopkins University Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) Scientist (NIA-1P30-AG059298-01), Dr. Brown-Hughes’s current research focuses on the identification of differential risk factors for the early progression of Alzheimer’s disease (Black American-United Memory and Aging Project, NIA-1R01AG079388-01) and level of awareness and knowledge about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia among mid-life and older African Americans.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Yeonsu Song, PhD, RN, FNP
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, University of California Los Angeles
Dr. Yeonsu Song is an Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She is also an affiliated investigator at the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Center for Health Improvement of Minority Elderly
Zahra Rahemi, PhD, RN
Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, Clemson University
Dr. Rahemi is currently an Assistant Professor at Clemson University School of Nursing. She has studied older adults from culturally and ethnically diverse populations and those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, their treatment preferences, and end-of-life care planning. Her current research interests focus on an interdisciplinary approach to enhance older adults’ quality of life and end-of-life care. Her publications and research projects mainly focus on older adults, end-of-life planning, treatment decisions, quality of life, and complementary treatments. Dr. Rahemi seeks interdisciplinary research to ultimately enhance older adults’ quality of life and end of life, especially through artificial indigence techniques. Her goal is to use innovative technologies to improve early advance care planning engagement in older adults before cognitive decline. The ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life at the end of life and reduce end-of-life care disparities among diverse senior residents.
RCMAR Site Affiliation: Carolina Center on Alzheimer's Disease and Minority Research

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