C. Elizabeth Shaaban

C. Elizabeth Shaaban, PhD, MS, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, and serves as the Associate Director for Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement at the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC). Her interdisciplinary career spans population neuroscience, neuroimaging, and public health, with a focus on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), brain health equity, and the social determinants of cognitive aging.

Education

• 2021 – Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, Population Neuroscience of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders
• 2021 – MS, University of Pittsburgh, Neuroscience
• 2018 – PhD, University of Pittsburgh, Epidemiology
• 2010 – MPH, University of Pittsburgh, Behavioral and Community Health Sciences
• 2001 – BS, University of Pittsburgh, Psychology

Research Interests

Dr Shaaban’s work integrates advanced neuroimaging with large-scale epidemiologic studies to understand the vascular, metabolic, and social factors that shape cognitive aging. She has pioneered the use of ultra-high-field 7-Tesla MRI to quantify cerebral small-vessel disease and has developed novel metrics such as unhealthy white matter connectivity to capture early cerebrovascular injury in diverse populations. A second major strand of her research addresses brain health equity, examining how race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and life-course adversity intersect to influence dementia risk and resilience. She also leads initiatives to harmonize retrospective neuroimaging and clinical data across cohorts, creating open resources for the next generation of population neuroscientists.

Scientific Awards & Recognition

• 2023 – International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART) Diversity and Disparities PIA Publication of the Year Award
• 2022 – Alzheimer’s & Dementia Journal’s Top 10 % Most Downloaded Articles

Teaching & Mentorship

Dr Shaaban directs the course EPIDEM 2019: Introduction to Multimodal Neuroimaging and Applications in Population Neuroscience, and regularly guest-lectures on neuroimaging, sex/gender differences in dementia, and science communication. She mentors students and post-doctoral fellows in epidemiology, neuroscience, and public health, with a particular commitment to trainees from under-represented backgrounds.

Leadership & Service

As Associate Director of the ADRC Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Core, she oversees community-engaged research strategies designed to increase representation of minority and rural populations in ADRD studies. She co-chairs the ISTAART Diversity and Disparities Professional Interest Area Sex and Gender Special Interest Group and contributes to international guidelines on sex and gender considerations in dementia research.