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Heather Elizabeth Whitson

Duke School of Medicine Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience
Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care
Duke Box 3003, Durham, NC 27710
Dept of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710

Selected Grants


Neural Mechanisms Underlying Attentional Resilience in the Aging Brain

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Duke/UNC ADAR Program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2029

Biopsy-based single cell assays for olfactory sensory changes in an Alzheimer's Disease cohort

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute on Aging · 2024 - 2028

Sickle Cell Disease Functional Assessment Validation and Exercise Pilot Intervention

ResearchAdvisor · Awarded by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute · 2023 - 2028

Advancing Geriatrics Infrastructure and Network Growth (AGING) Initiative

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Massachusetts Medical School · 2014 - 2028

Otolaryngology Surgeon- Scientist career Path (OSSP) program

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders · 2022 - 2027

Retinal Light Scattering Measurements as a Clinical Biomarker of Alzheimer's Disease

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute on Aging · 2022 - 2027

Research and Mentoring on Neurocognitive Disparities in Aging

ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Institute on Aging · 2023 - 2026

Caregiver-assisted pain coping skills training for dementia

ResearchCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2024 - 2026

Duke/UNC Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2026

Influence of Vision Impairments on Dementia in Stroke Survivors: A Longitudinal Analysis

ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2026

Duke Creating ADRD Researchers for the Next Generation - Stimulating Access to Research in Residency Program (CARiNG-StARR)"

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2020 - 2025

2023 Symposium and Novel Research Awards for Alzheimer's Disease

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Benter Foundation · 2023 - 2025

Behavior and Physiology in Aging

Inst. Training Prgm or CMECo Investigator · Awarded by National Institute on Aging · 2015 - 2025

The Role of the Aging Brain-Heart-Immune Axis in Postoperative Delirium

ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2025

Understanding Alzheimer's Disease in the Context of the Aging

ResearchSenior Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2019 - 2025

FAER GEMSSTAR Supplement (rolling deadline)

ResearchMentor · Awarded by Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research · 2023 - 2025

Duke CTSA (TL1) Year 5

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2018 - 2024

Physical Resiliencies: Indicators and Mechanisms in the Elderly Collaborative (PRIME Collaborative)

ResearchCo-Principal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2017 - 2024

AGS/AGING Learning, Educating, And, Researching National INitiative in Geriatrics (LEARNING) Collaborative

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by American Geriatrics Society · 2021 - 2024

The Association of Blood-brain Barrier Breakdown with Sleep Apnea and Postoperative Delirium

ResearchMentor · Awarded by Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research · 2021 - 2024

Proteomic Determination of Complement Activation in Postoperative Delirium

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of Washington · 2023 - 2024

The Association of Blood-Brain Barrier Breakdown with Sleep Apnea and Postoperative Delirium

ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2024

Characterizing frailty in older adults with sickle cell disease using a sickle cell frailty index (FI-SCD)

ResearchCollaborator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2023

NC Project CARE (Caregivers Alternatives to Running on Empty)

Public ServicePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by NC DHHS · 2022 - 2023

Neuro-inflammation in Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction: CSF and fMRI Studies

ResearchAdvisor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2017 - 2023

ADRC/NWD Project CARE

Public ServicePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by State of North Carolina · 2021 - 2022

Evidence to Impact: Accelerating Implementation of Aging Research

ConferenceCo Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2022 - 2022

A High-Performance 3T MRI for Brain Imaging

EquipmentMinor User · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2021 - 2022

IPA-Rick Sloane

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center · 2019 - 2021

IPA-Carl Pieper

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center · 2019 - 2021

Geriatrics Research: From Bench to Bedside

ConferencePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by American Geriatrics Society · 2016 - 2021

Cognitive Changes and Brain Connectivity in Age-Related Macular Degeneration

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2013 - 2019

The Significance of Perioperative Changes in CSF tau levels in the Elderly

ResearchMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2015 - 2018

A Compute Cluster for Brain Imaging and Analysis

EquipmentMinor User · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2016 - 2017

Novel Retinal Biomarkers for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Alzheimer's Association · 2013 - 2016

Behavior And Physiology In Aging

Inst. Training Prgm or CMEMentor · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 1999 - 2015

IPA - Heather Whitson

ResearchSenior Investigator · Awarded by Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center · 2011 - 2013

Developing Interventions to Improve Function in Seniors with Comorbid Conditions

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2008 - 2013

External Relationships


  • American Geriatrics Society
  • Driven Data
  • Orna Therapeutics
  • UpToDate, Inc
  • Wake Forest University School of Medicine
  • Yale University

This faculty member (or a member of their immediate family) has reported outside activities with the companies, institutions, or organizations listed above. This information is available to institutional leadership and, when appropriate, management plans are in place to address potential conflicts of interest.