Dr. Kathleen Hayden
About me
I am a psychiatric epidemiologist specializing in modifiable dementia risk factors. In 2025, I completed a certificate program for Equity in Brain Health at Trinity College in the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI). As an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, I subsequently co-founded the Journal of Brain Health along with my colleagues from GBHI and a team of experienced editors and distinguished researchers from around the globe. This initiative champions equitable knowledge sharing by dismantling systemic inequities in scientific publishing, ensuring diverse populations and data guide truly fair solutions for brain health worldwide, and seeks to translate rigorous science into actionable global public health policy.
My academic and research career has focused on aging, cognitive health, and dementia prevention. After completing an undergraduate degree in business administration with a major in accounting, I transitioned into gerontology, earning a graduate degree in educational psychology with a gerontology certificate. This led to a position as a corporate gerontologist, where exposure to leading aging research conferences inspired me to pursue a research career.
I completed doctoral training in psychiatric epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health, where I began studying Alzheimer's disease. This was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University's Center for Aging and Human Development. I subsequently joined the faculty at Duke University, where my research focused on the early detection of cognitive impairment and dementia.
After a decade at Duke, I joined Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where I became a tenured Full Professor. My research concentrated on modifiable risk factors for dementia, and I led major research grants leveraging long-running cohort studies to investigate dementia risk in later life.
A sabbatical fellowship at Trinity College Dublin's Global Brain Health Institute highlighted the barriers faced by researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in scientific publishing. In response, my colleagues and I founded the Journal of Brain Health, an international, open-access journal committed to equitable publishing. The journal removes publication fees as a barrier for authors and is supported by a globally diverse team of Associate Editors and Editorial Advisory Board members.
Throughout my career, I have mentored early-career researchers and remain committed to supporting research capacity, particularly for women and researchers in LMICs. I am therefore very excited to become a Friend of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD).
My research publications can be found at the following websites:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kathleen-Hayden-2?ev=hdr_xprf
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=HDo_Jj8AAAAJ&hl=en
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7745-3513
Degrees:
1. Hayden KM, Basnet M, Bido Bello C, Brodie-Mends D, Brotherhood EV, Castaner O, Colverson A, Cullum SJ, De Jong-Bambagioni D, Duron Reyes DE, Evans TE, Farombi TH, Kennedy B, Lawson M, Lay S, Lopez Barrenechea I, Lopez JD, Maciulskyte S, Manu KS, Memran M, Migeot J, Mlaki D, Morales I, Njamnshi W, Orellana Diaz C, Putthinun P, Reyes P, Erismas KR, Sanches Mendoza SL, Schmitz E, Sfetcu R, Simushi F, Solis S, Udeh-Momoh C, Vergara P, Yenesew M, Trépel D, Khachaturian AS. Introducing the Journal of Brain Health: Mission Statement and Editorial Vision. J Brain Health, November 2025; 1(1):1-4. doi:10.65104/001c.145991
2. Hayden KM. The Algorithmic Blind Spot: Why Artificial Intelligence Needs Data
from LMICs – A Call for Papers. J Brain Health. 2026;1(1):33-36. doi:10.65104/001c.16
3. Yasar S, Anderson A, Hayden KM, Carmichael OT, Clark JM, Carlson MC, Asby DJ, Kehoe PG, Miners S, Espeland MA. Association between renin angiotensin system and cognitive outcomes over 15 years: The Look AHEAD Study. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2026. doi:10.1177/13872877261458824
4. Deal JA, Zhang W, Jiang K, Huang A, Pike JR, Arnold M, Burgard S, Chen ZS, Chisolm T, Couper D, Goman AM, Glynn NW, Gmelin T, Gravens-Mueller L, Hayden KM, Mitchell CM, Pankow JS, Reed NS, Sanchez V, Schrack JA, Sullivan K, Lin FR, Coresh J, for the ACHIEVE Collaborative Research Group. Effects of hearing intervention on physical function: a secondary analysis of the ACHIEVE study. PLOS One. 2026. In press. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0347500
5. Espeland MA, Yasar S, Carmichael OT, Luchsinger JA, Udeh-Momoh CT, Hayden KM, Wagenknecht LE, Molina-Henry DP, Houston DK. Associations of Weight Sensitive Cytokine Concentration Changes with Neurodegeneration in the Look AHEAD Cohort. J Brain Health. Published online February 24, 2026. doi:10.65104/001c.157569
6. Klinger HM, Coughlan GT, Hayden KM, Manson JE, Wild RA, Jung SY, Casanova R, Liu L, Shadyab AH, Wactawski-Wende J, Schembre SM, Liu S, Rapp SR, Amariglio RE, Rentz D<, Resnick SM, Baker S, Buckley RF. Independent, but not synergistic, associations of APOEε4 and systemic inflammation on cognitive decline: findings from the Women’s Health Initiative. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 2026 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803395.2025.2608340
7. Lockhart SN, Sutphen CL, Tanley J, Gonzalez-Ortiz F, Kac PR, Habes M, Heckbert SR, Ashton NJ, Mielke MM, Koeppe R, Rudolph MD, Sai KK, Whitlow CT, Hiatt KD, Craft S, Register TC, Hayden KM, Rapp SR, Sachs BC, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Karikari TK, Hughes TM. Plasma and neuroimaging biomarkers of small vessel disease and Alzheimer's disease in a diverse cohort: MESA. Alzheimer's Dement. 2026; 22:e71131. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.71131
8. Migeot J, Araya-Ríos D, Montecinos M, Baez S, Behrens MI, Castaner O, Cruzat J, Delgado C, De Jong-Bambagioni D, Duran-Aniotz C, Durón Reyes DE, Evans TE, Gonzalez-Gomez R, Gutiérrez M, Hayden KM, Hernandez H, Ibanez A, Legaz A, Miller J, Mačiulskytė S, Putthinun P, Santamaría-García H, Slachevsky A, Trépel D. Dementia prevention requires moving beyond individual choice: the costs of effort and time intersect with social determinants of health. Neuroscience. 2025 Nov 28;589:256-267. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.10.043. Epub 2025 Oct 26. PMID: 41151667; PMCID: PMC13034983.
9. Rudolph MD, Tanley J, Ding Z, Solingapuram Sai KK, Chen H, Hayden KM, Liu Y, Bryan RN, Nasrallah IM, Dolui S, Habes M, Luchsinger JA, Koeppe RA, Heckbert SR, Craft S, Lockhart SN, Hughes TM. Subclinical vascular risk composites and dementia imaging biomarkers 17-20 years later in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Cerebral Circulation-Cognition and Behavior. Vol 9, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cccb.2025.100406.
10. Emrani S, Tanley J, Schaich CL, Shah S, Bertoni AG, Korcarz C, Heckbert SR, Habes M, Lockhart SN, Chirinos JA, Ding Z, Stein JH, Gepner AD, Bryan RN, Nasrallah IM, Luchsinger JA, Hayden KM, Liu Y, Hughes TM. Carotid and regional arterial stiffness and dementia-related imaging biomarkers in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Alz Dem Oct 2025 https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70866.
11. Tanley J, Jaeger BC, Chen H, Rudolph MD, Hayden KM, Luchsinger JA, Ding Z, Liu Y, Bertoni AG, Heckbert SR, Sachs BC, Rascovsky K, Li C, Post WS, Szklo M, Hughes TM. Subclinical vascular burden in relation to cognitive decline and impairment: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Alz Dem Oct 2025, https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70866.
12. Zhang L, Yeung CH, Lee KA, Shadyab AH, LaCroix A, Stone KL, Yaffe K, Hayden KM, Casanova R, Rapp SR, Chen JC, Baker L, Manson JE, Huang Y, Xiao Q. Metabolomic biomarkers of rest-activity rhythms in older women: results from the Women’s Health Initiative study. SLEEPJ. 2025 Oct doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsaf320.
13. Jakubek YA, Smith AP, Leng XI, Hall ME, Ezzat D, Pershad Y, Collins JM, Uddin MM, Fardo DW, Natarajan P, Bick AG, Kitzman JO, Honigberg MC, Hayden KM, Manson JM, Jaiswal S, Whitsel EA, Reiner AP. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential and the risk of cognitive impairment in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study. Alz Dem Sept 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70737
14. Cleary JA, Kumar A, Su Y, Singh S, Hsu FC, Craft S, Harrison W, Keene CD, Howard M, Hayden KM, Espeland MA, Ding J, Deep G. MicroRNA cargo in neuron-derived vesicles as peripheral biomarkers of brain insulin dysregulation. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70597
15. Mongraw-Chaffin M, Evans JK, Shappell HM, Espeland MA, Hayden KM. Association of body composition trajectories with changes in cognitive performance in the Look AHEAD study. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2025 Jul 20. doi: 10.1002/oby.24212. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40685568.
16. Mielke MM, Evans JK, Neiberg RH, Molina-Henry DP, Marcovina SM, Johnson KC, Carmichael OT, Rapp SR, Sachs BC, Ding J, Shappell HM, Luchsinger JA, Espeland MA, Hayden KM. Alzheimer Disease Blood Biomarkers and Cognition Among Individuals With Diabetes and Overweight or Obesity. JAMA Network Open. 2025;8(2):e2458149. Epub 20250203. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.58149. PubMed PMID: 39913137; PMCID: PMC11803481.