Dr Jenna Merenstein
Name:
Dr Jenna Merenstein
Job Title:
Postdoctoral Scholar
Place of work / study:
Duke University Medical Center
Area of research?
Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuroimaging, Healthy Aging
How is your research funded:
National Institute on Aging
Tell us a little about yourself:
My research uses MRI [1] to study the effect of healthy brain aging on numerous cognitive abilities, especially memory and attention. I also use MRI to study the structural and functional brain properties that differentiate Alzheimer’s disease from healthy aging. I obtained my Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience in April 2022 from Dr. Lani Bennett’s lab at the University of California, Riverside. I am currently a Postdoctoral Associate working in the Brain Imaging and Analysis Center (BIAC) with Dr. David Madden.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself:
I’ve never lived in a single state for more than 5 years!
Why did you choose to work in dementia research?
My grandmother passed away at the age of 64. On the other hand, my grandfather lived in good health until age 90. This motivated my current interest in aging research as I began to question how individuals age differently from one another.
What single piece of advice would you give to an early career researcher?
Take time to explore your interests and pay attention to the parts of your work that are especially meaningful to you!