Carlos Mendes de Leon is a Research Professor in the Department of Oncology at Georgetown University School of Medicine and a social epidemiologist with a primary interest in the major health changes and health disparities in late life. Dr. Mendes de Leon holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in clinical psychology from Radboud University, a Ph.D. in Preventive Medicine and Community Health from the University of Texas Medical Branch, and has completed post-doctoral training in the epidemiology of aging at Yale University School of Public Health.


His work focuses on a broad spectrum of social and psychological determinants that affect the development and progression of mental and physical health outcomes in older age, including cognitive impairment and dementia, functional limitations and disability, longevity, and quality of life. His current work includes two new international cohort studies of dementia and aging in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), one in Lebanon and one in Nepal. These studies, both supported by an R01 grant from the National Institute on Aging, are part of a broader network of population studies of aging around the globe, known as the HRS International Family of Studies. The studies have a primary focus on the role of stressful life conditions throughout the life course in dementia risk in later life, with a particular emphasis on prolonged exposure to civil-war violence in Lebanon and international labor migration in Nepal. 


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