Associate Professor of Neurology
Center for Innovation in Health and Aging Research
Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Rutgers Health
Dr. Auriel A. Willette (BA, Oberlin College, 2002; MS, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2006; PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2010) is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of Rutgers University. He started his first post-doctoral position in neuroepidemiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Medicine and Public Health in 2010, then a second post-doctoral appointment in human neuroimaging at the National Institute on Aging in 2012. As a K99/R00 grant recipient, Dr. Willette first became faculty in 2015 at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa in the Department of Neurology. As a Rutgers Presidential Diversity Initiative Faculty Scholar, Dr. Willette transitioned to Rutgers University in 2023.
Dr. Willette examines why some older adults develop Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) versus others who remain cognitively healthy. To better understand risk profiles and potential therapeutics, he searches for disease biomarkers in CSF or blood products using proteomics, metabolomics, genomics, and other data-driven methods. He complements this approach with expertise in neuroimaging, immunity, endocrinology, nutrition, and both cognitive and affective domains.