Kristen Kennedy

Research Associate/Postdoctoral Fellow - Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging
University of Texas at Dallas - 2012

Postdoctoral Fellowship - Urban Health & Aging Disparities
Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University - 2008

PhD - Psychology (emphasis in Lifespan Cognition & Neuroscience)
Wayne State University - 2007

MS - Clinical Neuropsychology
Emporia State University - 2000

BA - Psychology
Hendrix College - 1996

Geospatial environmental complexity, spatial brain volume, and spatial behavior across the Alzheimer's disease spectrum 2024 - Journal Article

Differential effects of aging on regional corpus callosum microstructure and the modifying influence of pulse pressure 2023 - Other

Functional activation features of memory in successful agers across the adult lifespan 2022 - Journal Article

The effect of vascular health factors on white matter microstructure mediates age-related differences in executive function performance 2021 - Journal Article

Influence of sample size and analytic approach on stability and interpretation of brain‐behavior correlations in task‐related fMRI data 2021 - Journal Article

Cortical thickness mediates the relationship between DRD2 C957T polymorphism and executive function across the adult lifespan 2021 - Journal Article

Frontostriatal white matter connectivity: age differences and associations with cognition and BOLD modulation 2020 - Journal Article

Contribution of iron and Aβ to age differences in entorhinal and hippocampal subfield volume 2020 - Journal Article

Assistant Professor
The University of Texas at Dallas [2012–2018]

Associate Professor with Tenure
The University of Texas at Dallas [2018–2023]

Professor
The University of Texas at Dallas [2023–Present]

Scientists Aim to Identify the Neural Signature of Healthy Brain Aging

Younger people efficiently engage brain processes necessary to perform a task, while at the same time “shut down” processes irrelevant to the task, according to new research from the Center for Vital Longevity (CVL) at UT Dallas.

In addition, this ability to modulate, or control, brain activity appears compromised in older adults, said Dr. Kristen Kennedy, assistant professor at the center and the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

Alzheimer's Study Delves into Degraded Connections in the Brain

A new study from the Center for Vital Longevity at The University of Texas at Dallas is among the first to investigate how degraded connections in certain parts of the adult brain might affect the ability to perform the financial calculations that are vital to everyday life among older adults.

The results, published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, relied on imaging the white matter connections within the brain and measuring how intact the connections are. Researchers found a correlation between the integrity of white matter — the tracts that allow communication between different brain regions — and the ability to calculate finances.

Psychological Science Group Honors Vital Longevity Researchers

Dr. Karen Rodrigue and Dr. Kristen Kennedy have been recognized by the Association for Psychological Science (APS) as Rising Stars. Rodrigue and Kennedy joined the UT Dallas Center for Vital Longevity as assistant professors in 2012.
The APS Rising Star award highlights early career psychologists from around the world who are making a significant impact in the field of psychological science.

“Both of these young scientists have international reputations in the field of neurocognitive aging,” said Dr. Denise Park, co-director of the Center for Vital Longevity and Distinguished University Chair in Behavioral and Brain Sciences. “What is exciting to me is that their most important work is still ahead of them. I am thrilled to have them at the Center for Vital Longevity.”

Prof Studies White Matter for Insights into the Aging Brain

Dr. Kristen Kennedy is looking to the brain’s white matter for clues about how the brain changes as we age and why some people are able to maintain good cognitive health while others are not.

Nearly half the human brain is white matter, which consists of millions of bundles of nerve fibers that connect neurons in different brain regions into functional circuits.

Kennedy joined the UT Dallas faculty this year as an assistant professor in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) and UT Dallas’ Center for Vital Longevity.

Study Finds Which Brain Skills Are More Likely to Last over a Lifetime

Research from the Center for Vital Longevity (CVL) at The University of Texas at Dallas has shed new light on which cognitive processes tend to be preserved with age and which ones decline.
Results from a study recently published in NeuroImage confirm behavioral findings that verbal ability — the accurate memory of words and vocabulary — remains intact during a lifetime while reasoning ability decreases in older adults.

Adjunct Associate Professor, Advanced Imaging Research, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center

2012/08

Affiliate, Alzheimer's Disease Center, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center

2009/01