Personal Summary

Rachel Peterson is social epidemiologist who has long been focused on promoting health equity in diverse communities. Rachel brings more than a decade of experience in designing, implementing and evaluating health promotion initiatives to her research and teaching. These experiences include providing HIV/AIDS education as a Peace Corps Volunteer in eSwatini, overseeing the operations of a community health worker led chronic disease prevention and treatment program in the Dominican Republic, managing the health promotion section of a local health department in Oregon, and developing educational curricula and materials to advance gerontology and geriatrics training among healthcare professionals in Arizona.

Rachel grew up in Wyoming and, after many years of living in Southwestern cities, is delighted to be back in the snowy northern Rockies. She spends her free time hiking, backpacking and snowshoeing in the great outdoors with her husband and their toddler.

Education

PhD Health Behavior Health Promotion, University of Arizona

MPH, Des Moines University

MA, International Studies, University of Wyoming

BS, Journalism/Spanish, University of Wyoming

Research Interests

My work seeks to redress disparities in healthy aging through two primary research threads: 1) using epidemiology methods to disentangle the role of social and physical environments across the lifecourse for advancing healthy cognitive aging and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) in diverse populations; 2) extending translational research and implementation science methods to test the effect of population-level (e.g., policy) interventions and strategies for improving aging outcomes among racially/ethnically and geographically diverse populations.

Projects

National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging

Award Number: 4R00AG073457-02

Lifecourse Community Contexts and Health Behaviors as Drivers of Disparities in Risk of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias

Role: Principal Investigator

Sept. 2022-Aug. 2025

Field of Study

Health Promotion; Social Epidemiology; Gerontology

Selected Publications

*Denotes student/mentee coauthor

Meza, E., Peterson, R., Gilsanz, P., George, K. M., Miles, S. J., Eng, C. W., Mungas, D.M., Mayeda, E.R., Glymour, M.M. & Whitmer, R. A. (2022). Perceived Discrimination, Nativity, and Cognitive Performance in a Multi-ethnic Study of Older Adults: Findings from the Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE) Study. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A. doi: 10.1093/gerona/glab170

Besser, L.M., Meyer, O.L., Jones, M.R., Tran, D.*, Booker, M., Mitsova, D., Peterson, R.L., Galvin, J.E., Bateman, J.R., Hayden, K., Hughes, T. (2022). Neighborhood segregation and cognitive change: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. In press.

Peterson, R. L., George, KM, Gilsanz, P., Barnes, L., Mayeda, E.R., Glymour, M.M., Mungas, D.M., Whitmer, R.A. (2021). Timing of school desegregation experience and late-life cognition in the Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR) cohort. JAMA Network Open. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.29052

George, K.M., Peterson, R.L., Gilsanz, P., Barnes, L.L.,  Mayeda, E.R., Glymour, M.M., Mungas, D.M., DeCarli, C.S., Whitmer, R.A. (2021). Stroke Belt Birth State and Late-life Cognition in The Study of Healthy Aging in African Americans (STAR). Annals of Epidemiology. doi: 10.1016/j.annepidem.2021.09.001

Peterson, R. L., George, K. M., Tran, D.*, Malladi, P.*, Gilsanz, P., Kind, A. J., Whitmer, R.A., Besser, L.M., & Meyer, O. L. (2021). Operationalizing Social Environments in Cognitive Aging and Dementia Research: A Scoping Review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(13), 7166. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18137166

Peterson, R. L., George, K. M., Gilsanz, P., Mayeda, E. R., Glymour, M. M., Meyer, O. L., Mungas, D.M., DeCarli, C., & Whitmer, R. A. (2021). Lifecourse socioeconomic changes and late-life cognition in a cohort of US-born and US immigrants: findings from the KHANDLE study. BMC public health, 21(1), 1-11. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10976-6

Peterson, R. L., George, K. M., Gilsanz, P., Ackley, S., Mayeda, E. R., Glymour, M. M., Mungas, D.M., DeCarli, C., & Whitmer, R. A. (2021). Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Young Adulthood and Midlife Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Late-life Cognitive Domains: The Kaiser Healthy Aging and Diverse Life Experiences (KHANDLE) Study. Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders, 35(2), 99-105. doi: 10.1097/WAD.0000000000000436

Peterson, R. L., Butler, E. A., Ehiri, J. E., Fain, M. J., & Carvajal, S. C. (2021). Mechanisms of Racial Disparities in Cognitive Aging: An Examination of Material and Psychosocial Well-Being. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(3), 574-582. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa003

Peterson, R. L., Gilsanz, P., George, K. M., Ackley, S., Glymour, M. M., Mungas, D. M., & Whitmer, R. A. (2020). Differences in association of leisure time activities and cognition in a racially/ethnically diverse cohort of older adults: Findings from the KHANDLE study. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 6(1), e12047. doi: 10.1002/trc2.12047

Peterson, R. L., Fain, M. J., A. Butler, E., Ehiri, J. E., & Carvajal, S. C. (2020). The role of social and behavioral risk factors in explaining racial disparities in age-related cognitive impairment: A structured narrative review. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 27(2), 173-196. doi: 10.1080/13825585.2019.1598539

Peterson, R. L., Carvajal, S. C., McGuire, L. C., Fain, M. J., & Bell, M. L. (2019). State inequality, socioeconomic position and subjective cognitive decline in the United States. SSM-population health, 7, 100357. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100357

Professional Experience

2019-2022 Postdoctoral Scholar, California Dementia Epidemiology Training Program, University of California, Davis

2016-2019  Health Educator, Senior, University of Arizona Center on Aging, Tucson, Arizona

2014-2016 Health Promotion Manager/National Accreditation Coordinator, Lincoln County Public Health, Newport, Oregon

2009-2011 Prevention Program Manager, Northern Arizona Regional Behavioral Health Authority, Flagstaff, Arizona

International Experience

2011-2012 Programs and Operations Manager, Horizontes de Salud, Montellano, Republica Dominicana

2007-2008 Community Health Educator, U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer, eSwatini