Angela Jefferson, Ph.D.
Director, Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer's Center
VKC Member
Overview of Interests
Dr. Angela L. Jefferson is a clinical psychologist with expertise in neuroscience, Professor of Neurology, and Founding Director of the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center and the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-Designated Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center of Excellence at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is also the Founding Director of the Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project, a one-of-a-kind longitudinal cohort study examining the complex intersection of vascular health and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Jefferson’s research focuses on understanding vascular contributions to cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and related disorders. She investigates the pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of subclinical cardiovascular changes and cerebral small vessel disease, both independent from and in combination with Alzheimer’s disease. She has expertise in multimodal biomarker assessment of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including neuropsychological phenotyping, structural and functional neuroimaging, and cerebrospinal fluid and blood-based biomarkers. She was the first investigator to show that suboptimal reductions in cardiac output relate to lower cerebral blood flow in humans [PubMed] and increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia [PubMed]. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to biomedical science, Dr. Jefferson was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2024.
Current Titles
Herbert O. and Vineta Christopher Directorship in Alzheimer's Disease
Director, National Institutes of Health-Designated Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center of Excellence (P30-AG086403)
Director, Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project (R01-AG034962)
Director, Vanderbilt Interdisciplinary Training Program in Alzheimer’s Disease (T32-AG058524)
Professor, Department of Neurology
Vice Chair, Scientific Strategy & Innovation, Department of Neurology
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