Personal profile
Research Interests
My work seeks to redress disparities in healthy aging through two primary research threads: 1) using epidemiology methods to disentangle the role of social and physical environments across the lifecourse in driving disparities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD); 2) extending translational research and implementation science methods to test the effect of population-level interventions and strategies that improve aging outcomes among racially/ethnically and geographically diverse populations.
Teaching Experience
PUBH 445 - Program Planning
CHTH 485 - Community Health Promotion Theory
Education/Academic qualification
Master, Public Health, Des Moines University
Doctorate, Health Behavior Health Promotion, University of Arizona
Master, International Studies, University of Wyoming
Bachelor, Journalism & Spanish, University of Wyoming
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Associations of Immigrant Generation with Level and Change in Self-Reported Everyday Cognition and Objectively Measured Cognition
Vodovozov, S., Pederson, A. M., Meyer, O. L., Al Hazzouri, A. Z., Peterson, R. L., Meunier, C. C., Whitmer, R. A., Kuiper, C. & Glymour, M. M., 2026, In: Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders. 40, 1, p. 8-13 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Evaluating segregated school attendance as a mediator of geographic inequities in late-life cognitive function: evidence from the Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR)
Gutierrez, S., Whitmer, R. A., George, K. M., Peterson, R. L., Thomas, M. D., Lor, Y., Allen, I. E., Barnes, L. L., Glymour, M. M., Torres, J. M. & Gilsanz, P., Jan 2026, In: Alzheimer's and Dementia. 22, 1, e71036.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Evaluating administrative measures of school quality as mediators of the relationship between attending a segregated school and cognitive function among older Black individuals: The STAR study
Gutierrez, S., Whitmer, R. A., Thomas, M. D., George, K. M., Peterson, R., Barnes, L. L., Allen, I. E., Glymour, M. M., Torres, J. M. & Gilsanz, P., Nov 2025, In: American Journal of Epidemiology. 194, 11, p. 3238-3247 10 p., e0129673.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access1 Scopus citations -
Parental Education, Midlife Hypertension, and Disparities in Late-Life Cognitive Test Scores: Application of an Equity-Focused Causal Decomposition Approach
Adrien, T. V., Hirst, A. K., Turney, I. C., Peterson, R. L., Zahodne, L. B., Chen, R., Crane, P. K., Levy, S. A., Andrews, R. M., Mayeda, E. R., Whitmer, R. A., Gilsanz, P., Jackson, J. W. & Hayes-Larson, E., 2025, In: Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders. 39, 1, p. 1-7 7 p., 10.1097/WAD.0000000000000662.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Childhood Community Disadvantage and MRI-Derived Structural Brain Integrity after Age 65 Years
Peterson, R. L., Meza, E., George, K. M., Maillard, P., Decarli, C., Gilsanz, P., Soh, Y., Lor, Y., Kind, A. J., Barnes, L. L. & Whitmer, R. A., Nov 7 2024, In: JAMA network open. 7, 11, p. e2443703Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access3 Scopus citations