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 8/1/2026

    Moore EE, Zhang P, Khan OA, Liu D, Gupta DK, Pechman KR, Gifford KA, Landman BA, Hohman TJ, Jefferson AL. Lower cardiac output is a risk factor for faster cerebral atrophy over a 11-year follow-up period in APOE-e4 carriers. Alzheimers Dement. 2026 Aug; 22(8):e71598. PMID: 42549659.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 6/23/2026

    Aaronson A, Ly MT, Tripodis Y, Altaras C, Lenio S, Farris CW, Nowinski CJ, O'Connor MK, Martin BM, Palmisano JN, Nosheny RL, Gifford KA, Steinberg EG, Turk KW, Budson AE, Stein TD, McKee AC, Mez J, Alosco ML. Subjective cognitive complaints and decline among aging individuals with prior repetitive head impact exposure. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2026; 18(2):e70407. PMID: 42358563.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/11/2026

    Williams K, Finch S, Peterson AJ, Jo J, Jonzzon S, Prozak O, Hajdu KS, Gifford KA, Zuckerman SL, Terry DP. Sex Differences in Athletic Trainer Coverage and Recovery After Sport-Related Concussion in High School Athletes. J Athl Train. 2026 May; 61(5):315-321. PMID: 42181775.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/1/2026

    Muller E, Guan C, Gifford KA, Sunderaraman P, Devine S, Liu Y, Hwang PH, Gurnani AS. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment at the Framingham Heart Study: A Re-Examination of the Norms. Brain Behav. 2026 May; 16(5):e71487. PMID: 42112960.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 4/29/2026

    Au R, Gifford KA, Paschalidis IC, Wighton P, Levin M, Imam F, Bose N, Pratap A. The myth of digital biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease: how to make them a reality. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2026 Jul 01; 39(4):331-338. PMID: 42083983.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 115 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Websites

Education

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

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