Brain Aging Study Leadership
Astrid M. Suchy-Dicey, PhD, Associate Professor, Chair and Scientific Director of Clinical Neurosciences, and Principal Investigator of the Brain Aging Study at HMRI is an epidemiologist dedicated to unraveling risk and etiology in neurodegenerative disease.
Her research focuses on the methodology for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting imaging, plasma biomarkers, cognitive testing, and social determinants pertaining to vascular and Alzheimer’s diseases, with a particular interest in health disparities. She leads multiple independent, NIH-funded research aimed at understanding risk and resilience factors in brain aging in American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other marginalized populations. Some of these projects include Plasma phosphorylated tau protein and Alzheimer’s disease in American Indians; Resilience, cultural alignment, social support, and brain aging; Psychological factors, community, and brain aging; Bilingualism as a protective factor of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
Dr. Suchy-Dicey also holds leadership positions at University of Washington (UW) Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Washington State University (WSU) Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health, and with the Strong Heart Study cohort. Dr. Suchy-Dicey earned her MS and PhD in epidemiology at the University of Washington, with dual concentrations in Public Health Genetics and Quantitative Methods. She has a background in molecular pathology, and advanced certification in machine learning.
Her research interests include: epidemiology of chronic diseases related to aging; complex systems of balance in human physiology; health disparities in U.S. minority populations.
Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD, is Chief Science Officer and Director of Cardiovascular Research at Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI). He serves as Professor of Medicine (Clinical Scholar) at Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California (USC). Prior to accepting an appointment at HMRI, Dr. Kloner served as Director of Research of the Heart Institute of Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles from 1987 to December 2014. He has run nationally and internationally known cardiovascular research programs for over 45 years, training dozens of medical scientists, and collaborating with scores of physician scientists, numerous research institutions and medical industries world-wide.
In the 1970s, Dr. Kloner received his BS and MD in the Honors Program in Medical Education at Northwestern University, and his PhD in Experimental Pathology from Northwestern University Medical School where he trained in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Jennings. Dr. Kloner is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts (1975-1978). Additional training included clinical and research fellowships in medicine and cardiology (with Eugene Braunwald, MD, and Peter Maroko, MD) at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He served as Assistant and then Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and was an attending cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (1979-1984). He was the recipient of an Established Investigator Award of the American Heart Association (AHA), he is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, an Inaugural Fellow of the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences of the AHA, and Dr. Kloner was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation. In 2015, he was elected a Fellow of the Cardiovascular Section of the American Physiology Society.
Dr. Kloner has made major contributions to the understanding and treatment of heart disease, receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), American Heart Association (AHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Defense (DOD) and numerous corporations and private foundations. He performed some of the first studies on and helped define the concepts of no reflow in the heart, stunned myocardium, remote ischemic preconditioning, and triggers of cardiovascular events. He has made major contributions to the understanding of pathophysiology of heart attack, treatments for heart attack; triggers of cardiovascular events; studies on high blood pressure and heart failure; the effect of toxins like alcohol, cocaine, electronic cigarettes and pollution on the heart; stem cell therapy for the heart; and the intersection between sexual dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Kloner is also collaborating with a bio-engineering group (cell phone app) at USC for noninvasive assessment of heart function. A frequent contributor to the medical and scientific press, Dr. Kloner has authored or co-authored over 773 original papers in peer-reviewed journals, 222 chapters or monographs, and 574 abstracts (as of 2024). Dr. Kloner is the author and editor of 18 medical texts including: Cardiovascular Trials Reviews (10 editions); The Guide to Cardiology (3 editions); Stunned Myocardium; Ischemic Preconditioning; VIAGRA; and Heart Disease and Erectile Dysfunction. In addition, he has written and published three medical science fiction novels, and released an album of neo-classical piano compositions entitled “Tunes from Edmonson Alley,” in 2024.
Among his editorial responsibilities, Dr. Kloner served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics (2009-2019). He has served as Guest Editor of Circulation. He is on the editorial boards of American Journal of Cardiology, Basic Research in Cardiology, International Journal of Impotence Research, Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Regenerative Medicine, and Life Sciences. Among his many career distinctions, Dr. Kloner has been listed in Who’s Who in America, The Best Doctors in America, and in 2002 was cited by the Institute for Scientific Information as one of the most highly cited scientific authors. He has an H-index of 137 and is cited over 87,200 times as per Google Scholar. Dr. Kloner is a frequent lecturer at major scientific symposia including the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association, and he has lectured at most major academic medical centers in the United States. He has taught at both the Keck School of Medicine at USC and lectured at Caltech.
Astrid Suchy-Dicey, PhD
Chair and Scientific Director Clinical and Translational Neurosciences Principal Investigator, Brain Aging Study
Astrid M. Suchy-Dicey, PhD, Associate Professor, Chair and Scientific Director of Clinical Neurosciences, and Principal Investigator of the Brain Aging Study at HMRI is an epidemiologist dedicated to unraveling risk and etiology in neurodegenerative disease.
Her research focuses on the methodology for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting imaging, plasma biomarkers, cognitive testing, and social determinants pertaining to vascular and Alzheimer’s diseases, with a particular interest in health disparities. She leads multiple independent, NIH-funded research aimed at understanding risk and resilience factors in brain aging in American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other marginalized populations. Some of these projects include Plasma phosphorylated tau protein and Alzheimer’s disease in American Indians; Resilience, cultural alignment, social support, and brain aging; Psychological factors, community, and brain aging; Bilingualism as a protective factor of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).
Dr. Suchy-Dicey also holds leadership positions at University of Washington (UW) Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Washington State University (WSU) Institute for Research and Education to Advance Community Health, and with the Strong Heart Study cohort. Dr. Suchy-Dicey earned her MS and PhD in epidemiology at the University of Washington, with dual concentrations in Public Health Genetics and Quantitative Methods. She has a background in molecular pathology, and advanced certification in machine learning.
Her research interests include: epidemiology of chronic diseases related to aging; complex systems of balance in human physiology; health disparities in U.S. minority populations.
Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD
Chief Science Officer Chair, Cardiovascular Research Co-Principal Investigator, Brain Aging Study
Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD, is Chief Science Officer and Director of Cardiovascular Research at Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI). He serves as Professor of Medicine (Clinical Scholar) at Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California (USC). Prior to accepting an appointment at HMRI, Dr. Kloner served as Director of Research of the Heart Institute of Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles from 1987 to December 2014. He has run nationally and internationally known cardiovascular research programs for over 45 years, training dozens of medical scientists, and collaborating with scores of physician scientists, numerous research institutions and medical industries world-wide.
In the 1970s, Dr. Kloner received his BS and MD in the Honors Program in Medical Education at Northwestern University, and his PhD in Experimental Pathology from Northwestern University Medical School where he trained in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Jennings. Dr. Kloner is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts (1975-1978). Additional training included clinical and research fellowships in medicine and cardiology (with Eugene Braunwald, MD, and Peter Maroko, MD) at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He served as Assistant and then Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and was an attending cardiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (1979-1984). He was the recipient of an Established Investigator Award of the American Heart Association (AHA), he is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, an Inaugural Fellow of the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences of the AHA, and Dr. Kloner was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation. In 2015, he was elected a Fellow of the Cardiovascular Section of the American Physiology Society.
Dr. Kloner has made major contributions to the understanding and treatment of heart disease, receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), American Heart Association (AHA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Defense (DOD) and numerous corporations and private foundations. He performed some of the first studies on and helped define the concepts of no reflow in the heart, stunned myocardium, remote ischemic preconditioning, and triggers of cardiovascular events. He has made major contributions to the understanding of pathophysiology of heart attack, treatments for heart attack; triggers of cardiovascular events; studies on high blood pressure and heart failure; the effect of toxins like alcohol, cocaine, electronic cigarettes and pollution on the heart; stem cell therapy for the heart; and the intersection between sexual dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Kloner is also collaborating with a bio-engineering group (cell phone app) at USC for noninvasive assessment of heart function. A frequent contributor to the medical and scientific press, Dr. Kloner has authored or co-authored over 773 original papers in peer-reviewed journals, 222 chapters or monographs, and 574 abstracts (as of 2024). Dr. Kloner is the author and editor of 18 medical texts including: Cardiovascular Trials Reviews (10 editions); The Guide to Cardiology (3 editions); Stunned Myocardium; Ischemic Preconditioning; VIAGRA; and Heart Disease and Erectile Dysfunction. In addition, he has written and published three medical science fiction novels, and released an album of neo-classical piano compositions entitled “Tunes from Edmonson Alley,” in 2024.
Among his editorial responsibilities, Dr. Kloner served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics (2009-2019). He has served as Guest Editor of Circulation. He is on the editorial boards of American Journal of Cardiology, Basic Research in Cardiology, International Journal of Impotence Research, Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Regenerative Medicine, and Life Sciences. Among his many career distinctions, Dr. Kloner has been listed in Who’s Who in America, The Best Doctors in America, and in 2002 was cited by the Institute for Scientific Information as one of the most highly cited scientific authors. He has an H-index of 137 and is cited over 87,200 times as per Google Scholar. Dr. Kloner is a frequent lecturer at major scientific symposia including the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association, and he has lectured at most major academic medical centers in the United States. He has taught at both the Keck School of Medicine at USC and lectured at Caltech.
Cognition and Brain Integration Laboratory
Biomarker and Neuro-Disease Mechanism Laboratory
Brain Aging Study Team
Ryan Butler
Data Scientist
Clinical and Translational Neurosciences
David Buennagel
Clinical Coordinator
Clinical and Translational Neurosciences
Judy Rodriguez
Research Coordinator
Clinical and Translational Neurosciences
