Ryan Powell

As the Associate Director for Social Science with the University of Wisconsin Center for Health Disparities Research (CHDR), Dr. Powell leads CHDR scientific initiatives and fosters collaborative research to understand the social determinants of health and related disparities. Dr. Powell oversees research development for the 22-site NIH the Neighborhoods Study—the largest study of its kind to evaluate how the social exposome impacts the biological processes underlying Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Ryan also leads NIA-funded research to study the impact of the occupational exposome on Alzheimer’s disease risk.

Dr. Powell is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology. Ryan is a social scientist with a PhD degree in health services research from the Boston University School of Public Health and a Master of Arts in experimental psychology from Wake Forest University. He is dedicated to promoting health equity by facilitating, guiding, and promoting interdisciplinary collaborative science that leads to new research discoveries and practical ways to target and disrupt the causes of health disparities.