Sherral A. Devine, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Anatomy & Neurobiology
Biography
Dr. Devine earned her BA in psychology at DePauw University, and then her MA and PhD in clinical psychology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She completed her clinical internship at the Boston VA Medical Center/Tufts University Consortium and then completed a three-year postdoctoral program in clinical neuropsychology, providing services to veterans and civilians with a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Devine has worked in a research setting since completing her postdoctoral work, and she has also worked intermittently in clinical settings, evaluating individuals with a variety of cognitive disorders. These clients have been as young as 12, but Dr. Devine’s primary interest is in a geriatric population.
In 1999, Dr. Devine started working as a clinical neuropsychologist at the Framingham Heart Study (FHS), where research on cognitive functioning was greatly expanding. Through the years, she has collaborated with Dr. Rhoda Au in applying the Boston Process Approach (BPA) to research using neuropsychological tests. BPA goes beyond the typically used quantitative scores, adding the wealth of information available in qualitative aspects of an individual’s performance on cognitive tests. Although widely used in clinical settings, research using BPA is severely limited, given the challenges of operationalizing qualitative aspects of an individual’s behavior while taking cognitive tests. Dr. Devine has especially enjoyed this challenge, as well as providing training and supervision to testers to ensure reliable and consistent coding of behavior. This has been important because of the large number of testers who have been involved with FHS over the years. In addition to BPA generally, Dr. Devine been especially interested in examining the extensive information that can be gleaned from the Clock Drawing Test, a quick and simple task that involves asking an individual to draw a clock and set the hands to a specified time, and to copy a pre-drawn clock. Dr. Devine is involved with the research at FHS into identification of cognitive biomarkers, especially those caught digitally (i.e., with audio recorders and digital pens), that may reveal risk in the very early (i.e., pre- pre-clinical) stages of dementia.
Other Positions
- Research Assistant Professor, Neurology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
- Center Faculty Member, Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
Education
- Bowling Green State University, PhD
- Bowling Green State University, MA
- DePauw University, BA
Publications
- Published on 1/19/2023
Hwang PH, Ang TFA, De Anda-Duran I, Liu X, Liu Y, Gurnani A, Mez J, Auerbach S, Joshi P, Yuan J, Devine S, Au R, Liu C. Examination of potentially modifiable dementia risk factors across the adult life course: The Framingham Heart Study. Alzheimers Dement. 2023 Jan 19. PMID: 36656649.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/3/2022
Liu C, Li Y, Nwosu A, Ang TFA, Liu Y, Devine S, Au R, Doraiswamy PM. Sex-specific biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease progression: Framingham Heart Study. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2022; 14(1):e12369. PMID: 36348973.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/6/2022
Tao Q, Akhter-Khan SC, Ang TFA, DeCarli C, Alosco ML, Mez J, Killiany R, Devine S, Rokach A, Itchapurapu IS, Zhang X, Lunetta KL, Steffens DC, Farrer LA, Greve DN, Au R, Qiu WQ. Different loneliness types, cognitive function, and brain structure in midlife: Findings from the Framingham Heart Study. EClinicalMedicine. 2022 Nov; 53:101643. PMID: 36105871.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/2/2022
Yuan J, Liu X, Liu C, Ang AFA, Massaro J, Devine SA, Auerbach SH, Blusztajn JK, Au R, Jacques PF. Is dietary choline intake related to dementia and Alzheimer's disease risk: results from the Framingham Heart Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022 Aug 02. PMID: 35918258.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/23/2022
Zhang X, Tong T, Chang A, Ang TFA, Tao Q, Auerbach S, Devine S, Qiu WQ, Mez J, Massaro J, Lunetta KL, Au R, Farrer LA. Midlife lipid and glucose levels are associated with Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2023 Jan; 19(1):181-193. PMID: 35319157.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/28/2019
Joshi PS, Heydari M, Kannan S, Alvin Ang TF, Qin Q, Liu X, Mez J, Devine S, Au R, Kolachalama VB. Temporal association of neuropsychological test performance using unsupervised learning reveals a distinct signature of Alzheimer's disease status. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2019; 5:964-973. PMID: 31921970.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/27/2019
Ang TFA, An N, Ding H, Devine S, Auerbach SH, Massaro J, Joshi P, Liu X, Liu Y, Mahon E, Au R, Lin H. Using data science to diagnose and characterize heterogeneity of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2019; 5:264-271. PMID: 31304232.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/2/2018
Wong CG, Thomas KR, Edmonds EC, Weigand AJ, Bangen KJ, Eppig JS, Jak AJ, Devine SA, Delano-Wood L, Libon DJ, Edland SD, Au R, Bondi MW. Neuropsychological Criteria for Mild Cognitive Impairment in the Framingham Heart Study's Old-Old. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2018; 46(5-6):253-265. PMID: 30391953.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/1/2017
Au R, Piers RJ, Devine S. How technology is reshaping cognitive assessment: Lessons from the Framingham Heart Study. Neuropsychology. 2017 11; 31(8):846-861. PMID: 29376667.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/1/2017
Neu SC, Pa J, Kukull W, Beekly D, Kuzma A, Gangadharan P, Wang LS, Romero K, Arneric SP, Redolfi A, Orlandi D, Frisoni GB, Au R, Devine S, Auerbach S, Espinosa A, Boada M, Ruiz A, Johnson SC, Koscik R, Wang JJ, Hsu WC, Chen YL, Toga AW. Apolipoprotein E Genotype and Sex Risk Factors for Alzheimer Disease: A Meta-analysis. JAMA Neurol. 2017 Oct 01; 74(10):1178-1189. PMID: 28846757.
Read at: PubMed
View 9 more publications: View full profile at BUMC