Brian Gold

Brian Gold, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Kentucky's College of Arts and Sciences. He leads research at the Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging Lab, affiliated with the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the MarkVCID Consortium. His work focuses on neuroimaging biomarkers of preclinical dementia, age-related cognitive declines, and cognitive reserve factors like bilingualism and aerobic fitness.

Research areas include:

• Age-related brain changes (white matter integrity, iron accumulation)
• Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular pathology interactions
• Lifestyle modifiers of cognitive decline (diet, exercise, bilingualism)
• Development of MRI biomarkers for vascular cognitive impairment

Recent publications highlight his contributions to understanding how dietary intake, blood-brain barrier dysfunction, and vascular pathology interact with neuroimaging markers to predict cognitive outcomes. His lab emphasizes multimodal imaging (fMRI, ASL, DTI) to study distributed neurocognitive systems.

Scientific contributions include:

• Advancing DP-ASL for blood-brain barrier research
• Validating free water imaging as a VCID biomarker
• Exploring synergies between plasma biomarkers (S100B) and MRI metrics
• Investigating sex differences in cerebrovascular aging

The Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging Lab operates with core values of honesty, integrity, and rigor, united by the keyphrase: "We're all in this together!"