Elizabeth K. Rhodus

Dr. Elizabeth K. Rhodus is an Assistant Professor at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the Department of Behavioral Science, University of Kentucky. Her work focuses on patient-centered interventions to promote aging in place for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD), emphasizing rural health equity and sensory processing abnormalities. She leads the Engaged Aging Lab and holds primary faculty status at the Center for Health Equity Transformation. Dr. Rhodus’ research integrates environmental adaptations, telehealth, and caregiver support, with a focus on underserved Appalachian populations.

Education: PhD in Gerontology (University of Kentucky, 2019), MS in Occupational Therapy, and OTR/L licensure. Her postdoctoral training at UK’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (2021) further strengthened her expertise in clinical and translational dementia research.

Research Interests: Non-pharmacological interventions for ADRD, sensory processing assessment, telehealth accessibility, and reducing health disparities in rural communities. She designs context-aware interventions using wearable technology and machine learning to monitor stress and cognitive decline.

Grants and Awards: Over $1.1M in grant funding, including an NIH/NIA K23 career development award. Her work emphasizes community-academic partnerships to improve clinical trial recruitment and dementia screening.

Labs/Teams: Engaged Aging Lab (founded by Dr. Rhodus), Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center’s Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement Core.