Aaron Reuben, Postdoctoral Scholar in Neuropsychology and Environmental Health, Duke University, presents, "Neighborhood disadvantage and the geography of dementia"

Dementia risk appears to be greater in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods, but the reasons why remain unclear. Dr. Reuben investigates social determinants of healthy brain development and aging, focusing on modifiable environmental factors such as air and water quality, natural amenities, and features of the built environment. This talk will focus on Dr. Reuben's recent work investigating neighborhood-based disparities in dementia risk, which seem to result from the geographic aggregation of dementia risk factors (such as poor sleep, diet, and mental health) decades before clinical symptoms typically emerge. Hypotheses about how neighborhoods "get under the skin" will be discussed, along with ideas about how residential neighborhoods may offer potentially novel, scalable opportunities for preventing hard to treat diseases of the aging brain.