Alice L. Dawson, MA

Associate Research Scientist, Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center

Alice L. Dawson, M.A. is an Associate Research Scientist at the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center, through the Rutgers Brain Health Institute and the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research. She works in the lab of Dr. Auriel Willette, a Core Member of the Center, and on September 1, 2026 will begin doctoral studies in the Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience Program in the Department of Psychology (New Brunswick), continuing under Dr. Willette’s supervision with additional mentorship from field experts through other collaborations.

Her work uses secondary analyses of large population cohort datasets, such as ADNI, WRAP/ADRC, and the UK Biobank, to examine how psychological, neurobiological, and epidemiological factors converge across the lifespan, with the goal of understanding Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) from a translational and interdisciplinary perspective. Alice Dawson is lead author on a two-part ADRD PIA (Professional Interest Area) manuscript in progress. Building on this focus, she plans to pursue an interdisciplinary studies PhD with a secondary advisor from a partnering department, developing analytic approaches that can inform public policy. Alice Dawson received her B.S. in Psychology from Kennesaw State University in 2015 and her M.A. in Psychology from New York University, where she completed an informal concentration in clinical neuroscience and was an active member of multiple graduate organizations. Her research interests sit at the intersection of lifespan development, early childhood adversity, immune system modulation, chronic stress, and what role these factors play in mediating lifetime psychiatric risk.