Katherine A. Gifford, PsyD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Katherine Gifford is a clinical neuropsychologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. She is a Investigator within the Precision Brain Health Initiative (https://www.bumc.bu.edu/pbhi/) and the Framingham Heart Study- Brain Aging Program. Dr. Gifford’s research focuses on disorders of aging, dementia, and developing tools for early detection of cognitive impairment. Her research incudes a specific emphasis on understanding subjective cognitive decline in older adults, or when people start to notice changes in their own memory and thinking. She is involved in independent and collaborative research projects that improve early identification of unhealthy aging, clinical phenotyping of abnormal brain aging (i.e., Alzheimer's disease and related disorder), and health care education to improve primary care management of dementias.

Before joining the BUSM faculty, she was an Associate Professor (tenured) of Neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center, and Clinical Core Co-Leader of the Vanderbilt Exploratory Alzheimer's Disease Center. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in psychology at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY and her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL. She completed her pre-doctoral internship in neuropsychology at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, MI. Her postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology was completed at Boston University and at Vanderbilt University.

Publications

  • Published 4/16/2026

    Eissman JM, Regelson AN, Walters S, Archer DB, Durant A, Mukherjee S, Lee ML, Choi SE, Scollard P, Trittschuh EH, Mez J, Kang M, Bush WS, Kunkle BW, Naj AC, Gifford KA, Bilgel M, Kuzma AB, Cuccaro ML, Cruchaga C, Pericak-Vance MA, Farrer LA, Wang LS, Schellenberg GD, Vardarajan BN, Mayeux R, Haines JL, Jefferson AL, Kukull WA, Keene CD, Saykin AJ, Thompson PM, Martin ER, Albert MS, Johnson SC, Engelman CD, Ferrucci L, Bennett DA, Barnes LL, Schneider JA, Resnick SM, Sperling RA, Crane PK, Hohman TJ, Dumitrescu L. Sex-specific genetic drivers of memory, executive functioning and language in older adults. Brain. 2026 Apr 16. PMID: 41989867.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/10/2026

    Gifford KA, Rong J, Schramm E, Zhang Y, Pathiravasan CH, Benjamin EJ, Lin H, Liu C, Au R, Libon DJ, Murabito JM. Digital Stroop Test as a neurocognitive marker in a community-based sample of older adults: Data from the Framingham Heart Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2026 Mar; 110(1):463-470. PMID: 41668525.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/1/2026

    Durant A, Mukherjee S, Lee ML, Choi SE, Scollard P, Klinedinst BS, Trittschuh EH, Mez J, Farrer LA, Gifford KA, Cruchaga C, Hassenstab J, Naj AC, Wang LS, Johnson SC, Engelman CD, Kukull WA, Keene CD, Saykin AJ, Cuccaro ML, Kunkle BW, Pericak-Vance MA, Martin ER, Bennett DA, Barnes LL, Schneider JA, Bush WS, Haines JL, Mayeux R, Vardarajan BN, Albert MS, Thompson PM, Jefferson AL, Crane PK, Dumitrescu L, Archer DB, Hohman TJ, Gaynor LS. Evaluating the association of apolipoprotein E genotype and cognitive resilience in SuperAgers. Alzheimers Dement. 2026 Jan; 22(1):e71024. PMID: 41542929.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 11/6/2025

    Butterbrod E, Rabin L, Tommet D, Jones RN, Dubbelman MA, Crane PK, Jessen F, van der Flier WM, Gifford KA, Sikkes SAM. Perspectives on the measurement of self-perceived cognitive function in older adults. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2025; 17(4):e70158. PMID: 41211302.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 11/1/2025

    Bolton CJ, Zhang P, Wilhoite SR, Moore EE, Houston ML, Pechman KR, Dumitrescu L, Peterson A, Khan OA, Liu D, Gifford KA, Blennow K, Hohman TJ, Zetterberg H, Jefferson AL. Increased neuroplastic activity in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Nov; 21(11):e70897. PMID: 41315049.

    Read at: PubMed

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Websites

Education

  • Florida Institute of Technology, PsyD
  • Florida Institute of Technology, MS
  • Skidmore College, BA

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