Astrid Suchy-Dicey PhD
Associate Professor, Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology
Center Faculty Member, Slone Epidemiology Center
72 E. Concord Street | (617) 206-6196amsuchyd@bu.edu
Sections
Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology
Biography
In my research programs, I have special interest in health disparities and am PI of three large studies funded by National Institute on Aging, focused on sociocultural risk and resilience related to cognition in American Indians (R01AG070822, RF1AG071677, 1R01AG080398). I am also co-PI of a large population-based cohort focused on vascular and Alzheimer’s dementias risk, presentation, and biomarkers in American Indian Elders, leading scientific, operational, and collaborative aspects of this program for the past 10+ years (K01AG057821 Suchy-Dicey; R01HL093086 Buchwald; P50AG005136 Grabowski; UW ADRC philanthropic funds).
I have been responsible for and have overseen multi-institutional collaborations and partnerships; ethical compliance; scientific direction; methods and protocol development; staff training; participant recruitment and examination; data management and quality control; dementia case review and adjudication; fiscal reporting; statistical analysis; manuscript preparation; and public presentations to community and scientific audiences. During that time, I also completed K-supported post-doctoral training in neurobiology, neuropsychology, neuroimaging analysis, and machine learning applications in biostatistics.
I have graduate certifications in public health genetics, programming and data science, and a post-baccalaureate background in molecular pathology. I also serve as Chair of the Strong Heart Study Neurology working group, member of the Neurology working group for the Collaborative Cohort of Cohorts for COVID-19 Research (C4R) study, MPI of the proposed CHARGE Cross-Cohort Consortium renewal, and PI of Research Project 1 for the joint University of Colorado Denver – WSU Resource Center for Minority Aging Research in Alzheimer’s Disease. I mentor several graduate students, post-doctorates, and junior faculty; and previously served on the WSU Institutional Review Board Biomedical section.
Education
Epidemiology, PhD, University of Washington School of Public Health
Epidemiology, MS, University of Washington School of Public Health
Biology, BA, Smith College
Publications
Clarke AJ, Whetung C, Suchy-Dicey A, Withall A, Radford K, Gooding DC, Lavrencic L, Dudley M, Lo Giudice D, Flicker L, Boluarte AS, Aggarwal S, Conniff KR, Brodtmann AG, Diaz MM, Tremblay SA, Nwofe ES, Gleason CE, Jacklin K, Kaholokula JK, Gibson C, Souza-Talarico J, Roach P. Advancing brain health equity with Indigenous peoples: A critical imperative. Alzheimers Dement. 2026 Feb; 22(2):e71125. PMID: 41738518.
Published on 2/1/2026Domingo-Relloso A, Zhang Y, Wang Z, Suchy-Dicey AM, Buchwald DS, Navas-Acien A, Schwartz J, Berhane K, Coull BA, Valeri L. A Path-Specific Effect Approach to Mediation Analysis With Time-Varying Mediators and Time-to-Event Outcomes Accounting for Competing Risks. Stat Med. 2026 Feb; 45(3-5):e70425. PMID: 41640039.
Published on 12/23/2025Hayes CA, Odden MC, Levendovszky SR, Buchwald DS, Verney S, Shibata DK, Zhang Y, Ali T, Suchy-Dicey AM. Examining APOE e4 and Longitudinal Vascular Brain Injury: The Strong Heart Study. Neurol Open Access. 2026 Mar; 2(1). PMID: 41497781.
Published on 11/20/2025Suchy-Dicey AM, Vo TT, Oziel K, Verney SP, Buchwald DS, French BF. Psychometric evaluation of California Verbal Learning Test second edition short form (CVLT-II SF) score validity in American Indian adults: The Strong Heart Study. Neuropsychology. 2026 Feb; 40(2):152-162. PMID: 41264519.
Published on 10/7/2025Ali T, Buchwald D, Shibata D, Roman MJ, Verney S, Howard BV, Umans J, Cole S, West C, Zhang Y, Reese J, Rhoades DA, O'Leary M, Longstreth WT, Fretts A, Suchy-Dicey A. Carotid artery atherosclerosis, MRI-defined structural brain abnormalities, and cognitive performance in elderly American Indians: The Strong Heart Study. Front Epidemiol. 2025; 5:1659856. PMID: 41126822.
Published on 10/1/2025Thomas AB, Matthews AL, Brooks O, Winquist A, Nelson LA, Arias-Fontenot R, Buchwald D, Casaletto KB, Weintraub S, Heaton RK, French BF, Suchy-Dicey A, Barbosa-Leiker C. Psychometric properties of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery composites in older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: A systematic review. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Oct; 21(10):e70673. PMID: 41147516.
Published on 8/20/2025Sawyer L, Suchy-Dicey AM, Nelson LA, Sarche M, Reese JA, Cole S, Sitlani CM, Umans JG, Fretts AM. Association of Social Support With Glycemic Control Among American Indians With Type 2 Diabetes: The Strong Heart Family Study. Diabetes Spectr. 2025; 38(4):455-460. PMID: 41257223.
Published on 6/26/2025Fabsitz RR, Reese JA, Leidner J, Klug MG, Zhang Y, Suchy-Dicey AM, Devereux RB, Best LG, Basson MD. Visit-to-Visit Blood Pressure Variability as a Risk Factor for All-Cause Mortality, Cardiovascular Mortality, and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events Among American Indians: the Strong Heart Study. Prev Chronic Dis. 2025 Jun 26; 22:E30. PMID: 40576375.
Published on 6/2/2025Demmer RT, Cornelius T, Kraal Z, Pike JR, Sun Y, Balte P, Wu C, Allen NB, Cushman M, Suchy-Dicey AM, Elkind MSV, Howard V, Kucharska-Newton A, Levine D, Lutsey PL, Manly J, Mosley TH, Palta P, Power MC, Seshadri S, Tracy RP, Walker K, Coresh J, Oelsner EC. COVID-19 and Cognitive Change in a Community-Based Cohort. JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jun 02; 8(6):e2518648. PMID: 40587126.
Published on 5/1/2025Chan JW, Corradetti G, Wu X, Astraea N, Arakaki X, Fonteh AN, Suchy-Dicey AM, Sadda S. Perifoveal Choriocapillaris Flow Deficits Associated With Cerebrospinal Fluid Aß42/tau in Presymptomatic Alzheimer's Disease. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2025 May 01; 14(5):27. PMID: 40434374.