African Americans have higher rates of cognitive decline and suffer a disproportionate burden of dementia compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Yet, prior work has often examined risk and protective factors for cognitive health using predominately White samples. This MIT AgeLab Aging & Equity talk featuring Dr. DeAnnah Byrd will discuss health disparities research across the life course, making between-group and within-group comparisons, and chart the effects of risk and protective factors on memory and cognitive changes in older African Americans.

Dr. DeAnnah Byrd is an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University (ASU) in Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation. Dr. Byrd is a Faculty Affiliate of the Center for Innovation and Healthy and Resilient Aging (CHIRA) at ASU and an Associate at the Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research at the University of Michigan. Dr. Byrd received her PhD in Community Health Sciences from UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health in 2017. Her early work formed the basis of her current research program, which examines the effects of risk (chronic conditions, biological and psychosocial stressors) and protective (coping and social support) factors on memory and cognitive changes in older African Americans. Dr. Byrd is committed to help improve cognitive outcomes. Her work has been funded by the National Institute on Aging, the Alzheimer's Association, and the Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Center. She has received multiple awards, and her work is recognized both nationally and internationally.