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Nicholas R

- Research Program Mentor

PhD at University of South Carolina

Expertise

Aging and aging-related diseases; epidemiology; Alzheimer's disease and related dementia; frailty; cognitive decline

Bio

Hello! I am Nicholas Resciniti, and I received my doctorate in Epidemiology from the University of South Carolina. My research interest generally includes understanding factors associated with physical and cognitive aging, with an emphasis on risk factors causing microbiome disruption (dysbiosis) and how those factors are associated with aging-related physical and cognitive dysfunction. Additionally, I love a collaborative environment where those involved in the project can share ideas and learn from each other. My personal interests are generally around sports! My favorite sports to play are hockey and volleyball, and my favorite sports to watch are football, hockey, and basketball. When I am not playing sports, I love to watch TV, with my favorite genre being psychological thrillers.

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Sleep Among Socio-Demographic Groups and the Association with Dementia

Poor sleep and sleep quality have been found to be associated with an increased risk of developing dementia; however, there is not much research exploring how sleep among different socio-demographic factors may be associated with dementia. This project will use data from NHANES - a free, publicly available, nationally-representative sample - to explore how reported sleep differed by socio-demographic factors and how that is associated with dementia.

Does Frailty Differ by Mental, Physical, and Socio-Demographic Factors?

Frailty phenotype is described as an aging-related syndrome of physiological decline (e.g., decreased strength, ability to walk, and get up). Those with frailty are at risk of adverse health outcomes. Therefore, understanding what factors increase the chances of developing frailty could be important to intervene and help to stop or delay the onset of frailty. To explore mental, physical, and socio-demographic factors that could be associated with frailty, we will use NHANES data to explore this.

Coding skills

SAS (5+ Years), R (1 Year)

Teaching experience

I have been a teaching assistant for both statistics and epidemiology courses. Additionally, I have guest lectured for several courses.

Credentials

Work experience

University of Southern California (2021 - Current)
Postdoctoral fellow
South Carolina Department of Public Health and Environmental Control (2020 - Current)
Epidemiologist - Lead Data Analyst

Education

University of Central Florida
BS Bachelor of Science (2015)
Health Sciences
University of Pittsburgh
MPH Master of Public Health (2016)
Infectious diseases and microbiology
University of South Carolina
PhD Doctor of Philosophy (2021)
Epidemiology

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