Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg
About
Dr. O'Brien earned her PhD in psychology from the University of Wales, Bangor, UK and completed postdoctoral training in Aging Studies and Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL, US. She has been conducting research on and teaching about attention and cognition since 2004, receiving federal funding and publishing numerous peer-reviewed articles on topics of older adult cognitive decline and cognitive training.
Current Work:
Dr. O'Brien studies how brain functions changes in later life. She uses non-pharmacological interventions to improve older adults' cognitive and everyday functioning. She examines the underlying behavioral and neural mechanisms of effective cognitive interventions. She also systematically evaluates recruitment and retention strategies for aging-related research, with an emphasis on enhancing minority participation. Numerous health disparities exist for minority older adults and their underrepresentation in aging research only furthers these disparities.
Research Area Keyword(s):
Cognitive aging, cognitive rraining, Alzheimer's prevention, visual cognition, attention
