Melissa Lamar

Melissa Lamar is a Senior Professor at Rush University, where her research focuses on the neuroscience of aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia. Her work integrates cognitive science, neurology, and public health to examine the intersection of cerebrovascular pathology, social determinants of health, and cognitive decline. Recent breakthroughs include studies on adverse childhood experiences and cognitive health in older adults, sub-networks of the brain’s structural connectome and motor functioning, and the use of blood biomarkers (pTau217, GFAP, NfL) to assess dementia risk across Black and White older adults. Her research also explores precision neurocognition via digital assessment technology and disparities in Alzheimer’s biomarkers among U.S. Latinos. She has published extensively in journals such as *Neurology*, *Stroke*, and *Alzheimer’s & Dementia*, with ongoing international collaborations addressing health equity in aging.