Associate Professor of Psychology
About
Additional Research Interests: Clinical neuropsychology
Dr. Zahodne is a clinical neuropsychologist who received her PhD from the University of Florida and completed her neuropsychology internship at Brown University. Before joining the faculty at the University of Michigan, she completed postdoctoral training at Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Zahodne's interests include:
Psychosocial Factors in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease. The overall aim of my research program is to understand how psychosocial experiences influence late-life cognitive trajectories and the expression of neurodegenerative disease. I have examined several putative risk (e.g., depressive symptoms, psychosis) and protective (e.g., educational attainment, bilingualism) factors in the prediction of dementia incidence and course. My current interest is in the role of positive psychosocial factors (e.g., social networks, religious involvement) and racially-patterned social stress (e.g., discrimination, external locus of control) in cognitive and brain aging. Ultimately, I wish to understand how these psychosocial factors contribute to brain maintenance or reserve.
Psychosocial Factors and Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Cognitive Aging. I decompose racial/ethnic differences in cognitive and brain aging and investigate interactions between psychosocial factors and race/ethnicity in order to (1) identify causes of disparities in late-life cognitive outcomes, (2) identify differential impact of key risk and protective factors across groups, and (3) explore how social structures shape late-life cognitive trajectories. My current projects also involve promoting the inclusion of Middle Eastern and North African older adults in research through culturally appropriate measurement and community engagement.
Statistical Modeling of Symptom Trajectories in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease. Advanced longitudinal methods such as latent growth curve modeling represent powerful, flexible techniques for characterizing inter-individual differences in intra-individual changes in brain and behavior over time. I am interested in modeling multivariate outcomes longitudinally to explore theories of disease progression, identify sources of individual differences in aging and disease, and improve clinical prognosis.
