Giovanna Pilonieta, Ph.D., DDS, MPH, assistant professor in the UAB Department of Neurology, was recently named one of two 2025 recipients of the McKnight Clinical Translational Research Scholarship in Cognitive Aging and Age-Related Memory Loss. Pilonieta was awarded along with Deborah Rose, M.D., of the National Institutes of Health.
The scholarship, established in 2018, intends to advance research on new discoveries in understanding and preventing age-related cognitive decline and memory loss. Pilonieta and Rose will each receive $150,0000 in funding from the McKnight Brain Research Foundation through the American Brain Foundation and American Academy of Neurology to advance their research. Their projects have been peer-reviewed and selected by the American Academy of Neurology’s Science Committee and McKnight Brain Research Foundation Trustees.
Pilonieta’s project, “Role of Modifiable Health Behaviors in the Associations between Depression, Anxiety and Cognitive Function in a National Database”, aims to explore how habits like blood pressure and weight control, smoking, alcohol consumption, and regular physical activity relate to mental health and brain functions, following a large cohort of participants over time to evaluate what patterns emerge in both men and women.
“I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the McKnight Brain Research Foundation’s mission and look forward to conducting this research on maintaining brain health and preventing declines in cognition and daily function with aging," Pilonieta said. "The training and mentorship in the McKnight Clinical Translational Research Scholarship in Cognitive Aging and Age-Related Memory Loss will advance my progress toward an independent career that integrates analysis of the interactions between life experiences and of brain health, leading to future non-pharmacological interventions to optimize cognitive abilities among older adults.”
According to the McKnight Brain Research Foundation, the McKnight Clinical Translational Research Scholars “represent the best and brightest early-career physician-scientists.” To date, 15 clinician-scientists have received scholarships from the McKnight Brain Research Foundation to advance the understanding of age-related cognitive decline and memory loss.