Caitlin Pope, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Graduate Center for Gerontology, College of Public Health

Dr. Pope obtained a PhD in Lifespan Developmental Psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2017 and subsequently completed a postdoc at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She joined the College of Public Health in August 2019 as an Assistant Professor and KIPRC as a faculty associate in March 2020. Dr. Pope is a former Dwight D. Eisenhower Graduate Fellow, a 2020 National Institute on Aging Butler-Williams Scholar, and a Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) Associate.

Dr. Pope’s research takes a lifespan approach to understanding the interaction of cognition, health, and environment on everyday functioning and safe mobility in adults aging with chronic illness and neurocognitive burden. The overall goal of her research is to prevent unintentional injuries, support and sustain functional independence, and promote successful aging through unique behavioral and cognitive solutions. Her research is multidisciplinary in nature, working with collaborators at the University of Kentucky Sanders Brown Center on Aging, Kentucky Transportation Center, the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program at the University of California San Diego, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Center for Translational Research on Aging and Mobility. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Safety Research, Accident Analysis & Prevention, and Journal of Aging and Health.