Works In Progress Seminar: Wenxin Zhang & Salome Kuchukhidze
Join us on Wednesday, November 11th for the Department of Epidemiology works-in-progress seminar series featuring Wenxin Zhang (advisor: Yuan Ma) and Salome Kuchukhidze (advisor: Jeff Imani-Eaton).
Wenxin Zhang
Title: Cardiovascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: The Flip Side
Abstract: Cardiovascular disease is a major contributor to cognitive impairment and dementia. Yet dementia develops over a long prodromal period, during which subtle vascular cognitive changes may emerge years before clinical onset of cardiovascular disease, long before dementia is diagnosed. Could detecting the early subclinical cognitive impairment signal cardiovascular vulnerability and open a window for earlier prevention of both cardiovascular and cognitive outcomes? In this talk, Dr. Zhang will present recent work examining the extent to which global and domain-specific cognitive function, assessed in mid-to-late adulthood, predicts incident cardiovascular disease beyond traditional risk factors across high-risk clinical cohorts and community-based general populations. The findings suggest that a brief processing-speed test may capture vascular vulnerability not reflected in conventional risk assessment and could help refine cardiovascular risk stratification in older adults.
Bio: Wenxin Zhang, MBBS, PhD, is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Zhang’s research lies at the intersection of cardiovascular and aging epidemiology, with the goal of advancing the prevention of cardiovascular disease and dementia and promoting healthy aging. With expertise in preventive medicine and population health, Dr. Zhang’s work focuses on identifying potentially modifiable factors and early markers that contribute to or predict the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cognitive decline, and dementia. His long-term goal is to inform clinical vascular risk management and develop scalable, population-based strategies to prevent cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, thereby extending healthspan and promoting healthy aging.
Salome Kuchukhidze
Title: Oral PrEP in South Africa: Evaluating the Impact on HIV Incidence During Pregnancy Using Routine Health Service Delivery Data
Bio: Salome Kuchukhidze is an epidemiologist whose work examines how interpersonal and structural marginalization shape HIV risk and health outcomes globally. Her research focuses on gender-based drivers of HIV vulnerability among women and children, and evaluates interventions designed to address these inequities. Currently, Dr. Kuchukhidze is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where her work leverages quasi-experimental methods to evaluate the impact of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis on HIV acquisition risk among pregnant and breastfeeding women in South Africa. Dr. Kuchukhidze holds a PhD in epidemiology from McGill University and an MPH from Boston University.
Speaker Information
Wenxin Zhang
Salome Kuchukhidze
Organizers
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ⓘ Harvard Chan School hosts a diverse array of speakers, invited to share both scholarly research and personal perspectives. They do not speak for the School, and hosting them does not imply endorsement of their views, organizations, or employers.