Duke Han

Duke Han, PhD is a tenured Professor of Psychology and Family Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC), with additional appointments in Neurology and Gerontology. He serves as the Director of Neuropsychology in the Department of Family Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine and leads the Han Research Laboratory, focused on improving health, wellbeing, and independence in aging adults. His work integrates neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, epidemiology, genetics, and behavioral economics to study neurobiological mechanisms impacting cognition and decision-making across the lifespan.

Education:

• PhD in Clinical Psychology/Neuropsychology, University of Massachusetts Boston (2004)
• BSc in Psychology/Neuroscience, Duke University (1998)
• Postdoctoral Training: T32 Biological Psychiatry Fellow at UCSD (2005–2006) and VA San Diego Healthcare System (2004–2005)

Research Interests center on cognition, decision-making, and aging, particularly financial exploitation vulnerability and early Alzheimer’s disease detection. His lab employs multidisciplinary approaches to investigate links between brain changes (e.g., functional connectivity, white matter integrity) and financial behaviors in older adults. Recent studies explore discrimination's impact on brain connectivity, MCI reversion, and temporal discounting in aging.

Scientific Awards and Leadership Roles

• Fellow of the American Psychological Association and National Academy of Neuropsychology
• Recipient of the Paul B. Beeson fellowship (premier NIA career development award)
• Chair of the NIA Neuroscience (NIA-N) Grant Review Committee
• Editor-in-Chief of The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences
• Co-Leader of the USC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Research and Education Core
• Founding Governance Member of the Global Council on Brain Health (AARP/ageUK)
• Scientific Advisory Board for Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)

Advising and Grants: Dr. Han mentors graduate students and postdocs, including Laura Fenton (Gold Family Fellowship, NIH-funded dissertation), Gali Weissberger (T32 fellowship), and Annie Nguyen (K01 Career Development Award). His research is supported by NIH grants [RF1AG068166, T32AG000037], the Elder Justice Foundation, and private foundations like the Cathay Bank Foundation.