Emily Rogalski has been named the first Rosalind Franklin PhD Professor in the Department of Neurology. Rogalski joined UChicago in 2023 to lead the new University of Chicago Healthy Aging & Alzheimer's Research Care (HAARC) Center, which will bring together a wide range of scientists and health experts to accelerate breakthroughs in aging, dementia and cognitive resilience.
Emily Rogalski
Rogalski is a clinical and cognitive neuroscientist, and her research uses a highly multidisciplinary approach to investigate two aging perspectives: primary progressive aphasia, in which neurodegenerative disease invades the language network, and “SuperAging,” in which individuals are seemingly resistant to the deleterious changes in memory associated with “normal” or more typical cognitive aging.
Her aphasia research focuses on characterizing the clinical and anatomical features of primary progressive aphasia, drivers of disease progression, identifying risk factors, and refining our understanding of language and network organization. She has also pioneered a line of care support research for individuals with dementia including the development of Communication Bridge, an intervention delivered via telemedicine focused on maximizing communication and quality of life for individuals with the condition and their care partners.
She operationalized the SuperAging phenotype and has helped to establish the unique biologic, molecular, genetic and psychosocial features associated with SuperAging. She leads an international study of SuperAgers that holds promise for identifying protective factors for avoiding Alzheimer’s disease, optimizing health span and reducing stigma and negative expectations associated with aging.
She is the recipient of several awards, including Crain’s Chicago Business ‘40 under 40’ and the Alzheimer’s Association Howie Dean Award.
