Ian M. McDonough

Ian M. McDonough is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Binghamton University, where he leads the Memory, Aging, and Cognitive Control (MAC2) Research Laboratory. His research focuses on understanding how episodic memory and cognitive processes change across adulthood, with a particular emphasis on factors like lifestyle, health disparities, and environmental influences affecting brain health. He holds a BS from UCLA, MA and PhD from the University of Chicago, and completed postdoctoral training at the Center for Vital Longevity in Dallas.

His work employs advanced techniques such as neuroimaging (structural/functional MRI), neuropsychological assessments, and machine learning to study dementia biomarkers, cognitive reserve, and the bidirectional relationship between physical and brain health. Key areas include Alzheimer’s disease risk, health disparities in aging, and the impact of discrimination on memory decline in Black Americans.

McDonough has been recognized with awards including the 2021 Excellence in Advising Award and the 2017 Charles Barkley Health Disparities Research Investigator Award. His lab’s research spans topics like cognitive variability in neuropsychological testing, the role of education quality in cardiometabolic health, and the application of transcranial stimulation in language learning.

He advises graduate students and collaborates on projects ranging from memory training interventions to the neurobiology of aging. His lab’s findings contribute to understanding both healthy aging and neurodegenerative diseases, with implications for public health policy and clinical practice.