People

Faculty Profile

Dougherty, Ryan

  • Ryan Dougherty
  • Ryan Dougherty
  • Assistant Professor
  • Office Hours:

    By Appointment
  • Area: Physical activity / Cognition
  • End Degree: PhD, Kinesiology, Neuroscience
  • Office: Loree Classroom Building 110 (Douglass Campus)
  • Specialization: Energy expenditure, physical activity, cognition, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias

Educational/Research Interests

Dr. Dougherty’s research focuses on identifying specific aspects of physical activity and the underlying physiological mechanisms relevant to dementia risk. His research integrates a variety of techniques, combining laboratory measures of physical activity and energy expenditure with state-of-the-art neuroimaging methods. The overarching goal of his research program is to identify the neurological pathways through which physical activity and exercise help preserve cognitive health in later life, and as a result, make evidence-based contributions towards treatments to delay age- and disease-related cognitive decline.

Awards/Achievements

2024     American College of Sports Medicine National New Investigator Award

2023     National Institute on Aging Career Development Awardee (K01)

2021     Gerontological Society of America Health Sciences Research Award

2020     National Institute on Aging Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (T32)

2020     American College of Sports Medicine Charles M. Tipton National Student Research Award

2018     National Institute on Aging Predoctoral Research Fellowship (F31)

Selected Publications

For a full publication record click here.

  1. Dougherty RJ, Wang H, Gross AL, Schrack JA, Agrawal Y, Davatzikos C, Yurun C, Simonsick EM, Ferrucci L, Resnick SM, Tian Q (2024). Shared and distinct associations of manual dexterity and gross motor function with brain atrophy. Journal of Gerontology: Series A. 79(3).
  2. Dougherty RJ, Wanigatunga AA, An Y, Tian Q, Simonsick EM, Albert MS, Resnick SM, Schrack JA (2023). Walking energetics and white matter hyperintensities in mid-to-late adulthood. Alzheimer’s and Dementia DADM, 15(4), e12501.
  3. Dougherty RJ, Liu F, Etzkorn L, Wanigatunga AA, Knuth N, Schrack JA, Ferrucci L (2022). Validation of accelerometer placement to capture energy expenditure using doubly labeled water. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 47(10), 1045-1049.
  4. Dougherty RJ, Hoang TH, Launer LJ, Jacobs DR, Sidney S, Yaffe K (2022). Long-term television viewing patterns and gray matter brain volume in midlife. Brain Imaging and Behavior 16(2), 637-644.
  5. Dougherty RJ, Liu F, Yang A, Wanigatunga AA, Tian Q, Davatzikos C, Simonsick EM, Ferrucci L, Resnick SM, Schrack JA (2022). Energetic cost of walking and Brain Atrophy in Mid-to-Late Life. Journal of Gerontology: Series A, 77(10), 2068-2076.
  6. Dougherty RJ, Lose SR, Gaitan JM, Mergen BM, Chin NA, Okonkwo OC, Cook DB (2022). Five-year changes in objectively measured cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, and sedentary time in adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 47(2), 206-209.
  7. Dougherty RJ, Ramachandran J, Liu F, Yang A, Wanigatunga AA, Tian Q, Bilgel M, Simonsick EM, Ferrucci L, Resnick SM, Schrack JA (2021). Association of walking energetics with amyloid-ß status: Findings from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Alzheimer's & Dementia: DADM, 13(1), e12228.
  8. Dougherty RJ, Jonaitis EM, Gaitan JM, Lose SR, Mergen BM, Johnson SC, Okonkwo OC, Cook DB (2021). Cardiorespiratory fitness mitigates brain atrophy and cognitive decline in adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia: DADM, 13(1), e12212.
  9. Dougherty RJ, Moonen K, Yaffe K, Sidney S, Davatzikos C, Habes M, Launer LJ (2020). Smoking mediates the relationship between SES and brain volume: The CARDIA Study. PLoS ONE, 15(9) e0239548.
  10. Dougherty RJ, Boots EA, Lindheimer JB, Stegner AJ, Van Riper S, Edwards DF, Gallagher CL, Carlsson CM, Rowley HA, Bendlin BB, Asthana S, Herman BP, Sager MA, Johnson SC, Okonkwo OC, Cook DB (2020). Fitness, independent of physical activity, is associated with cerebral blood flow in adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Brain Imaging and Behavior, 14(4), 1154-1163.
  11. Dougherty RJ, Lindheimer JB, Stegner AJ, Van Riper S, Okonkwo OC, Cook DB (2018). An Objective Method to Accurately Measure Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Older Adults Who Cannot Satisfy Widely Used Oxygen Consumption Criteria. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 61(2), 601-611.
  12. Dougherty RJ, Schultz SA, Boots EA, Ellingson LD, Meyer JD, Van Riper S, Stegner AJ, Edwards DF, Oh JM, Einerson J, Korcarz CE, Koscik RL, Dowling MN, Gallagher CL, Carlsson CM, Rowley HA, Bendlin BB, Asthana S, Hermann BP, Sager MA, Stein JH, Johnson SC, Okonkwo OC, Cook DB (2017). Relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness, hippocampal volume, and episodic memory in a population at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Brain and Behavior, 7(3), e00625.
  13. Dougherty RJ, Schultz SA, Kirby TK, Boots EA, Oh JM, Edwards DF, Gallagher CL, Carlsson CM, Bendlin BB, Asthana S, Sager MA, Hermann BP, Christian BT, Johnson SC, Cook DB, Okonkwo OC (2017). Moderate physical activity is associated with cerebral glucose metabolism in adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 58(4) 1089-1097.
  14. Dougherty RJ, Ellingson LD, Schultz SA, Boots EA, Meyer JD, Lindheimer JB, Van Riper S, Stegner AJ, Edwards D, Oh JM, Koscik RL, Dowling MN, Gallagher CL, Carlsson CM, Rowley HA, Bendlin BB, Asthana S, Hermann BP, Sager MA, Johnson SC, Okonkwo OC, Cook DB (2016). Meeting physical activity recommendations may be protective against temporal lobe atrophy in older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia: DADM, 4, 14-17.