How biology and lifestyle affect our brains and bodies as we age
In this episode, Dr. Aditi Gurkar and Dr. Howard Aizenstein join us to discuss the biological indicators of aging, and the changes that can take place in cognitive function as we age. Listen to learn more about factors related to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, along with practical steps each of us can take to support our cognitive health.
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Assistant Professor of Medicine, Aging Institute and Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Gurkar received her PhD degree from Boston University School of Medicine. She completed postdoctoral work at Massachusetts General Hospital/ Harvard Medical School & Broad Institute and then at Scripps Research Institute, Florida. She joined the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh as an Assistant Professor in the Aging Institute and the Division of Geriatric Medicine. Her lab focuses on defining the metabolic and senescence signatures of human aging. She is funded by the NIH, AFAR/Hevolution, National Academy of Medicine Longevity grant and RK Mellon Foundation. Outside of the lab, Dr. Gurkar is involved in multiple community outreach programs to engage people in “healthy aging” initiatives.
Professor of Psychiatry and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Aizenstein is an expert on the cognitive and affective neuroscience of aging and geriatric brain disorders. He is trained as a geriatric psychiatrist and also a computer scientist. His research program is recognized for expertise in MRI analyses methods, as well as their use for clinical research in aging. Dr. Aizenstein’s research group has developed semi-automated methods of morphometric and functional MRI analyses. He uses structural and functional neuroimaging to identify networks of brain regions associated with affective and cognitive processing, and how these change over time with and without intervention.
