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.
Education & Experience
Tanisha is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida within the Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair. She has a doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Florida and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in geriatric neuropsychology at the University of Michigan. As a clinician and researcher, the heart of her work has focused on contextualizing the experience of aging while Black in America which lies at the intersection of race, cognitive aging, and neuropsychology. Her program of research examines how psychosocial stressors interact with the aging process for older Black Americans and contribute to disparities in cognitive functioning and dementia.
Awards & Honors
News
Send
Tanisha
a NoteHave ideas for global brain health or a collaboration? I would love to hear from you. Feel free to send an introductory note.
