Dr. Caterina Rosano, MD, MPH

I obtained my MD from the School of Medicine, Palermo, Italy, in 1995 and my Master in Epidemiology from the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh in 2003. I have received my training in Neuroscience as a postdoctoral fellow at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami in 1996-98. My research focused on the neuroregenerative potential of the gray and white matter of the central nervous system. As a research associate in the department of Neurobehavioral studies at the University of Pittsburgh, (1999, 2001) I used functional Brain MRI technique to investigate the human brain performance and sensorimotor integration in young and older adults. From 2001-2004, I have conducted research as a National Institute on Aging Fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh, focusing on the epidemiology of age-related brain functional impairment. I am the PI of the e-BRAIN research projects and the PI of the Specialization in Neuroepidemiology.

Courses:

I have a long standing interest in understanding how the brain adapts to the “normal” processes of aging and disease. This is based on the peculiar observation that some individuals age well, while others decline very rapidly. I am specifically interested in understanding the causes, biomarkers and consequences of brain aging. My goal is to identify the modifiers of brain function and structure and their implications to promote survival free of physical disability and dementia. My research approach is grounded on the application of cutting-edge methods of neuroimaging and clinical measures to epidemiological cohorts’ and randomized clinical trials studies. The application of the most advanced neuroimaging technology to large epidemiological studies of aging makes my research most innovative and of great potential impact. Collectively, my studies constitute a unique and novel resource comprising large datasets of detailed brain and functional markers from several hundreds of individuals. I expect that these data will augment our understanding of brain aging and that they will contribute to the discovery of new approaches to the promotion of survival free from disabilities.

Principle Investigator: 

·   NIDDK: Retinal Imaging Markers of Cognition in Adults with T1D

·    NIA: Pittsburgh Older American Independence Center (PI of Integrated Systems Core)

·    NIA: Ultra-high-field neuroimaging in elderly after a two-year exercise intervention

 Co-Investigator:

 ·      NIDDK: Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDC) Phase II (PI: Trevor J. Orchard, Epidemiology)

·      NHLBI:  Neurovascular Determinants of Cognitive Function in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease (PI: Enrico Novelli)

·       NIMH: High Performance Imaging for Assessment of Small Vessel Disease in Older Adults with Depression (PI: Howard Aizenstein)

·       NIA: Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Prospective Community Study (PI: Mary Ganguli)

·      NIA: Cognitive Decline, Brain Aging, Physical Environment, and Mobility (PI: Andrea Rosso)

·       DiaComp Coor. And Bioinformatics Unit (CBU) at the Georgia Regents University: Retinal imaging biomarkers of worsening microvascular complications in type 1 diabetes (PI: Karen Nunley)

Neuroepidemiology

Disability

Gerontology

Aging

Neuroimaging

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/1-qIkh5_6uq5h/bibliography/45623751/public/?sort=date&direction=descending