Current Work

Neuropsychologist and Assistant Professor, Tanisha's area of expertise includes (1) psychosocial factors affecting cognitive aging of Black older adults and (2) health disparities in cognitive aging and dementia.

Personal Hero

My mother and grandmother

Words of Strength

Innovation, compassion, unification

Vision

The scale/impact of dementia can be reduced by addressing the social determinants of brain health and through community-driven programming. Efforts and resources should be allocated to the most vulnerable of individuals as a step towards equity. 

Strategy

Tanisha is examining the effects of racism and gendered racism on the cognitive functioning of Black older adults. A second goal is to examine how psychological coping strategies influence this stress-cognition relationship.

Motivation

Psychosocial stress is a risk factor for cognitive decline that disproportionately disadvantages older Black adults. It is important to understand how lifetime stressors relate to dementia incidence as well as factors that buffer against decline.