Aging and Cognition

USC Resource Center for Aging and Dementia Research (USC RCAD)

Aging and Cognition

USC RCAD

The USC Resource Center for Aging and Dementia Research (USC RCAD) was established through funding from the National Institutes of Health and aims to increase the success of junior faculty focusing their research on the health and economic wellbeing of minority elderly populations.

Program Leadership

Julie Zissimopoulos, PhD

Co-Director, Aging and Cognition Program, USC Schaeffer Center
Co-Director, CeASES ADRD and AD-RCMAR
Senior Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
Professor, USC Price School

Jennifer A. Ailshire, PhD

Senior Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
Professor of Gerontology and Sociology, Associate Dean of Research, and Associate Dean of International Programs and Global Initiatives, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology

Emma Aguila, PhD

Senior Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
Associate Professor, USC Price School of Public Policy

Briana Taylor, MNLM

Senior Program Administrator, Research Training, USC Schaeffer Institute

Learn More About RCAD

About USC Resource Center for Aging and Dementia Research (USC RCAD)

USC RCAD provides infrastructure and resources to support the academic success of underrepresented minority researchers and to increase the number and diversity of researchers in aging.

Applying to be a USC AD/ADRD RCMAR Scientist

Since 2012, the Schaeffer Center has received $6.1 million in funding from the NIH to fund pilot projects by junior scholars focused on addressing disparities. This year we are seeking junior scientists concentrating on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in minority populations.

Featured Research View All

Race, Gender, and Cohort Differences in the Educational Experiences of Black and White Americans

Among White adults, many of the gender differences in educational experiences documented in the oldest cohort were still found among the most recent cohort; Most race inequities in educational experiences persiste

Experts: Mateo Farina, Jennifer A. Ailshire

Does Adding MRI and CSF-Based Biomarkers Improve Cognitive Status Classification Based on Cognitive Performance Questionnaires?

Estimates of Diagnosed Dementia Prevalence and Incidence Among Diverse Beneficiaries in Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage

The Use of Telehealth Among People Living With Dementia-Caregiver Dyads During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Scoping Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research

Webinars & Resources

Webinars and Workshops

Webinars and workshops for social science researchers of ADRD.

Report Database

Major reports and other resources for social science researchers of ADRD.

Data

A comprehensive list of relevant data resources for researchers in ADRD.

Program Scientists

Cleopatra Abdou, PhD

2012-2013 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor of Gerontology and of Psychology, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology

Jennifer A. Ailshire, PhD

Rodrigo Aranda, PhD

2022-2023 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Postdoctoral Scholar, USC Center for Economic and Social Research
Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Faculty Affiliate, Georgia State University

Silvia Helena Barcellos, PhD

2012-2013 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Economist, USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research

Ricardo Basurto-Davila, PhD

2012-2013 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Chief Evaluation Office, Office of Evaluation, Performance, and Analytics, San Diego County

Tyson H. Brown, PhD

2015-2016 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Associate Professor, Sociology and Medicine, Duke University

Jose Eduardo Cabrero-Castro, PhD

2024-2025 USC AD/ADRD RCMAR Scientist
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Public and Population Health, University of Texas Medical Branch

Leandro Carvalho, PhD

2013-2014 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Research Scientist, USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research

Maria Casanova, PhD

2024 USC AD/ADRD RCMAR Visiting Fellow
Associate Professor of Economics, Cal State Fullerton

Marianne Chanti-Ketterl, PhD, MSPH

2021-2022 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University

Jack M. Chapel, PhD

Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
Research Assistant Professor, USC Price School
2025-26 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center

Alice Chen, PhD

Senior Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
Director, Value of Life Sciences Innovation
Associate Professor, USC Price School of Public Policy
2018-2019 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center

Ryon Cobb, PhD

2014-2015 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor, Rutgers University

Portia Y. Cornell, Ph.D.

2020-2021 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Investigator, Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice, Brown University

Emmanuel Drabo, PhD

2017-2018 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Loraine A. Escobedo, PhD

2016-2017 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Project Scientist, Cedars-Sinai

Mateo Farina, PhD

2020-2022 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, UT Austin

Nasim Ferdows, PhD

2019-2020 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

Jevay Grooms, PhD

Nonresident Senior Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
2023 – 2024 USC AD/ADRD RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Co-Director, ATRIL
Associate Professor of Economics and Co-Director, Center for an Equitable Economy and Sustainable Society, Howard University

Nicole L. Hair, PhD

2022-2023 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor of Health Services Policy & Management, University of South Carolina

Sidra Haye, PhD

Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
Research Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center

2023-2024 USC AD/ADRD RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center

Eleanor Hayes-Larson

2025-2026 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor of Gerontology, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology

Arun S Hendi, PhD

2017-2018 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor, Sociology, Princeton

Jessica Ho, PhD

2017-2018 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Associate Professor of Sociology and Demography, Social Science Research Institute, Penn State University

Kimson E. Johnson, PhD

2025-2026 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center

Liisa T. Laine, PhD

2019-2020 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor, University of Missouri

Hoda S. Abdel Magid, MHS, PhD

2024-2025 USC AD/ADRD RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center

Assistant Professor of Population and Public Health Science, Division of Health Behavior Research, University of Southern California; Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California

Uchechi A. Mitchell, PhD

Associate Professor, University of Illinois Chicago
2015-2016 RCMAR Fellow
Postdoctoral Fellow, USC/UCLA Center for Biodemography and Population Health

Ann Nguyen, PhD

2016-2017 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor, Case Western Reserve University

Alberto Ortega, PhD

2019-2020 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor, Indiana University

Thalia Porteny, PhD, MSc.

2024-2025 USC AD/ADRD RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management (in the Butler Center for Aging) Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University

Maria Jose Prados, PhD

2015-2016 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Associate Economist, USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research

Adriana Reyes, PhD

2020-2021 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University

Juan Saavedra, PhD

2013-2014 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Research Scientist, USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research

Joseph L. Sáenz,PhD

2016-2017 RCMAR Fellow, USC Schaeffer Center
Postdoctoral Fellow, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology

Azizi Seixas, PhD

Added 2021- 2022 USC AD/ADRD RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center
Assistant Professor, Langone Health, New York University

Sze-chuan Suen, PhD

Scholar, USC Schaeffer Institute
Assistant Professor, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
2018-2019 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer Center

Miesha Williams, PhD

2022-2024 RCMAR Scientist, USC Schaeffer
Associate Professor of Economics, Spelman College