Jennifer Ailshire
Jennifer Ailshire | |
|---|---|
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan (PhD) Arizona State University (BA) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Sociology/Demography |
| Institutions | USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology |
Jennifer Ailshire is a sociologist and demographer whose research focuses on aging and how environmental and social factors influence health. She is a professor of gerontology and spatial sciences at the University of Southern California. She serves as Associate Dean of Research as well as Associate Dean of International Programs and Global Initiatives at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, where she also holds the UPS Foundation Chair in Aging and Justice.[1]
Biography
[edit]After graduating summa cum laude with a BA in sociology from Arizona State University in 2003, Ailshire completed a PhD in sociology with an emphasis in demography at the University of Michigan. She began postdoctoral research at USC under the mentorship of Eileen Crimmins in 2009 and was appointed as an assistant professor in the USC Leonard Davis School in 2014. In 2020, she was granted tenure and the title of associate professor.[2]
Research
[edit]Ailshire's research focuses on how neighborhood environments, including physical and social factors, affect health and aging.[1] She is a co-investigator of the Health and Retirement Study.[3]
In 2021, Ailshire and USC Leonard Davis School colleague Caleb Finch independently published studies linking air pollution to higher risk of cognitive decline.[4][5] Later that year, Ailshire and Finch coauthored a research letter that noted how decreasing levels of PM2.5 pollution, particles often found in industrial and automobile exhaust that are small enough to pass through the blood-brain barrier, correlate with reduced risk of cognitive deficits.[6][7]
A widely publicized February 2025 study Ailshire authored with postdoctoral researcher Eunyoung Choi linked increased days of excess heat with faster biological aging in older adults.[8][9][10]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Jennifer Ailshire, PhD - USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology". Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ↑ "Curriculum Vitae - Jennifer Ailshire" (PDF). Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ↑ "Jennifer Ailshire - Health and Retirement Study". Health and Retirement Study. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
- ↑ Ailshire, Jennifer; Walsemann, Katrina M. (2021-01-19). "Education Differences in the Adverse Impact of PM2.5 on Incident Cognitive Impairment Among U.S. Older Adults". Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 79 (2): 615–625. doi:10.3233/JAD-200765. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ↑ Zhang, Hongqiao; D’Agostino, Carla; Forman, Henry Jay; Cacciottolo, Mafalda; Thorwald, Max; Mack, William J.; Liu, Qinghai; Shkirkova, Kristina; Lamorie-Foote, Krista; Sioutas, Constantinos; Pirhadi, Milad; Mack, Wendy Jean; Morgan, Todd E.; Finch, Caleb E. (2021-06-29). "Urban Air Pollution Nanoparticles from Los Angeles: Recently Decreased Neurotoxicity". Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. 82 (1): 307–316. doi:10.3233/JAD-201577. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ↑ Ailshire, Jennifer A.; Finch, Caleb E (2022). "Recently decreased association of air pollution with cognitive impairment in a population‐based aging cohort and in a mouse model". Alzheimer's & Dementia. 18 (5): 1077–1078. doi:10.1002/alz.12471. ISSN 1552-5260. PMC 11703122. PMID 34617667. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ↑ "USC researchers find links between air pollution, Alzheimer's". Daily News. 2021-10-07. Retrieved 2026-05-13.
- ↑ Choi, Eun Young; Ailshire, Jennifer A. (28 February 2025). "Ambient outdoor heat and accelerated epigenetic aging among older adults in the US". Science Advances. 11 (9). doi:10.1126/sciadv.adr0616. PMC 11864172. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
- ↑ Ravindranath, Mohana (26 February 2025). "Extreme Heat Linked to Accelerated Aging in Older Adults, Study Finds". New York Times. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
- ↑ Paddison, Laura (25 July 2025). "Extreme heat is miserable and dangerous. It's also making us age faster". CNN. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
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