Dr. Stern has provided some of the earliest epidemiologic evidence and developing the theory of cognitive reserve, differentiating it from other important concepts such as brain reserve and brain maintenance. His lab is involved in several ongoing, large scale imaging studies of cognition in normal aging, studies of heterogeneity of AD and epidemiologic studies of aging, AD incidence and progression.

Dr. Stern’s research approach includes classic neuropsychological and cognitive experimental techniques, with strong focus on functional imaging.

Marilyn Albert, PhD, is Professor of Neurology and Director of the Division of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of the Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is also the Director of the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

Her research focuses on understanding the cognitive and brain changes in aging and neurodegenerative disorders such as AD. Dr. Albert’s research aims to identify the relationship between biomarkers based on imaging, cerebrospinal fluid, blood and genetics to cognitive changes and the early diagnosis of AD.  Her research was the first to show the characteristic feature of delayed recall in AD.

Dr. Albert’s work on the examination of risk and protective factors in progression from normal cognition to mild cognitive impairment incorporates the important concept of cognitive reserve. More recently her work has combined longitudinal studies with biomarkers and cognitive test scores to characterize the progression across the AD continuum.

Roberto Cabeza, PhD, is Professor at the Department of Psychology of Neuroscience of Duke University, where he is also Core Member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Senior Fellow of the Center for Aging and Human Development.

Dr. Cabeza has over 20 years of experience in neuroimaging of episodic memory and aging. His laboratory uses functional MRI (fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), electro-encephalography (EEG), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Using these various techniques, his laboratory investigates compensatory mechanisms in the aging brain, including the phenomena that older adults tend to show more bilateral and more frontal activation patterns than younger adults. Dr. Cabeza and his students also examine age-related deficits in white-matter and their impact on functional brain activity and connectivity. They also study the effects of aging on the neural mechanisms of memory processes, including recollection, source memory, false memory, emotional memory, and autobiographical memory.

Currently, Dr. Cabeza’s laboratory is using sophisticated network and representational analyses to examine age effects on cognitive abilities, including decision making, and examining the use of cognitive training and TMS to enhance cognition in older adults. Dr. Cabeza’s work has direct implications for understanding individual differences in cognitive abilities among older adults, including those related to pathological processes such as Alzheimer’s Disease

Alvaro Pascual-Leone, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and a Senior Scientist at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research and Medical Director of the Center for Memory Health at Hebrew SeniorLife (HSL) in Boston, MA. He also serves as the Director of the Guttmann Brain Health Institute and the Scientific Director of the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative in Barcelona, Spain.

Dr. Pascual–Leone is an international leader in the study and modulation of human cortical plasticity and a pioneer in the use of noninvasive brain stimulation methods and their application for the study of brain behavior relations and the development of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions in neuropsychiatry. His work has contributed to the technological improvement, clinical application, and teaching of noninvasive brain stimulation technologies, including Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and transcranial Electric Stimulation (tES).

Dr. Pascual-Leone is also a listed inventor in multiple patents regarding the integration of various brain imaging and neurophysiologic techniques, engineering solutions to enable closed-loop, EEG-gated stimulation, as well as new brain stimulation methods and techniques, such as Temporal Interference Stimulation (TIS) that allow precise and selective noninvasive stimulation of deep brain structures. A major current focus of Dr. Pascual-Leone’s scientific work is the development of translational approaches to characterize and promote brain health across the lifespan. Dr. Pascual-Leone remains a practicing cognitive neurologist and dementia specialist with a focus on comprehensive, patient-centered, personalized care and multi-disciplinary, holistic support of individuals with cognitive decline, their families and caregivers.