Rebecca F. Gottesman

Dr. Rebecca F. Gottesman serves as Chief of the Stroke Branch and Chief of the Stroke, Cognition and Neuroepidemiology Section within the Division of Intramural Research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), part of the National Institutes of Health. She joined NINDS in May 2021 after extensive research contributions at Johns Hopkins University where she established expertise in vascular cognitive outcomes.

Her research program centers on three interconnected domains:

• Vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID), investigating midlife vascular risk factors through the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study
• Post-stroke cognitive impairment and dementia (PSCID), leading the multi-site DISCOVERY study across 30 US clinical centers
• Cerebral small vessel disease mechanisms using neuroimaging and cognitive assessments

Recent publications (2019-2021) demonstrate consistent focus on vascular-brain interactions, with growing emphasis on proteomics and health disparities research. Her work frequently examines sex and racial differences in cognitive outcomes following vascular events.

Dr. Gottesman maintains active leadership in major epidemiological infrastructure:

• Principal investigator for DISCOVERY study (30-site US stroke cognition cohort)
• Key investigator in ARIC study and its neuroimaging sub-studies (ARIC-PET)
• Regular contributor to multi-cohort analyses including REGARDS and pooled aging studies

Her clinical expertise bridges vascular neurology and population health, leveraging dual training in neurology (Columbia MD) and epidemiology (Johns Hopkins PhD) with board certification in both Neurology and Vascular Neurology.