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Prof. Sharon Sanz Simon, Ph.D.

 

Prof. Sharon Sanz Simon, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist and researcher in aging, neurosciences, and mental health. She is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University (Newark), in the Department of Psychiatry, New Jersey Medical School. She is also a core member of the Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center at the Brain Health Institute, Rutgers University.
Dr. Simon earned her Ph.D. from the University of São Paulo (Brazil), a Research Fellowship at Harvard University (Brigham and Women’s Hospital), and a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Columbia University.
Dr. Simon is passionate about empowering communities through science, understanding risk and resilience factors for cognitive aging and dementia, and developing effective interventions to improve mental & brain health in older adults, including vulnerable and underrepresented populations.
Currently, she is a member of the US Consortium of Aging, Dementia & Latino Studies. Her research is funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Alzheimer’s Association, and the Brazilian Government (CNPQ).
She is the principal investigator of the BRAINY-NJ Study (Brazilian Aging in New York-New Jersey Study), which investigate risk and resilience factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia among U.S.-Brazilian communities; and is the principal investigator of the MUST Study (MUltitasking Strategy Training Study), a digital clinical trial investigating the effects a multitasking ability training in older adults (K99/R00 Award NIH).
Publications
Honors & Awards
  • K99/R00 Award (Clinical Trial); National Institute on Aging, 2022-2027
  • Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity, 2024-2027
  • IMPACT-AD Fellow: Institute on Methods Protocols for Advancement of Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease and Rel. Dementia, 2022
  • Butler-Williams Program Scholar, National Institute on Aging, 2021
  • Nelson Butters Award, International Neuropsychological Society, 2019
  • Laird S. Cermak Award, International Neuropsychological Society, 2017