Natascha Merten
Credentials: PhD, MS
Position title: Assistant Professor, Departments of Population Health Sciences and Medicine
Email: natascha.merten@wisc.edu
Phone: (608) 263-0277
Room 1040 WARF Office Building
610 Walnut Street
Madison, WI 53726
Keywords:
Sensory Aging, Cognitive Decline, Dementia, Healthy Brain Aging, Biomarkers
Education
- University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany – MS in Psychology
- University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany – PhD in Epidemiology
- University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI – Postdoc in Epidemiology and Population Health
Research Interests
As a psychologist (MS) and aging epidemiologist (PhD) by training Dr. Merten’s research focuses on human brain aging. She aims to assess aging with a holistic approach through investigating general aging processes that affect multiple domains of brain aging focusing on sensory and cognitive aging and dementia. She considers risk factors of Alzheimer’s pathology and inflammation, vascular and metabolic systems to identify common pathways of neurodegeneration and brain aging. In this context, she also wants to investigate early biomarkers of aging to identify individuals at risk for decline in various health conditions. In addition, she aims to assess potentially modifiable risk factors of brain aging with a particular focus on the roles of psychosocial and behavioral factors. Understanding shared etiological pathways and identifying common modifiable risk factors has the potential to improve prevention and treatment strategies for a wide range of age-related diseases.
Dr. Merten is the Principal Investigator of the Beaver Dam Offspring Study-Neurocognitive Aging Study (BOSS-NCAS)
You can read more about what the Merten Lab does here.