Astrid M. Suchy-Dicey, PhD
Appointment Pending, Medicine
Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
amsuchyd@bu.edu
Education:
BA, History, Biology, Smith College
MS, Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health
PhD, Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health
Research interests:
Astrid M. Suchy-Dicey, PhD, is a neuroepidemiologist with special interest in health disparities affecting Indigenous, minoritized, and rural Peoples. Much of her work focuses on evaluation of presentation and risk for vascular and Alzheimer’s dementias, but with additional consideration of cognitive aging from a strengths-based perspective. She leads multiple programs focused on cultural factors, identity, social support, and bilingualism in cognitive resilience; stress and maladaptive factors in association with cognitive aging and dementia; and life-course of neuropathologic and biomarker changes in American Indians. She has deep expertise working within a community-based participatory framework, and also leads large, multi-institutional scientific collaborations. She leads the Strong Heart Study Neurology working group, supports the Neurocognitive working group for the Collaborative Cohort of Cohorts for COVID-19 Research (C4R) study, and serves as MPI for the renewal CHARGE Cross-Cohort Consortium. She has served on multiple ethical and scientific review boards, including Institutional Review Board and NIH Study Section. She has post-graduate training in neurobiology, neuropsychology, machine learning, and public health genetics.
Active studies:
- Resilience, cultural alignment, social support, and brain aging in the Strong Heart Study
9/1/21 – 8/31/25 (NCE)
Principal Investigator
National Institute on Aging
R01AG070822
- Psychological Factors, Community, and Brain Aging in American Indians
9/1/22-8/31/27
Principal Investigator
National Institute on Aging
RF1AG071677 – R01AG071677
- Bilingualism as a protective factor of ADRD in American Indian adults
4/1/23 – 2/1/28
Principal Investigator
National Institute on Aging
R01AG080398
- Urban Native Elders Risk and Protective Factors for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias
9/1/19 – 5/31/24 (NCE; renewal in review)
Co-investigator
National Institute on Aging
R01064493
- University of Washington Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center
6/1/20 – 3/31/30
Co-Lead, Data Statistics Methods Core; Co-investigator
National Institute on Aging
P30AG066509
- Bayesian Statistical Learning for Robust and Generalizable Causal Inferences in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Research
02/15/23 – 01/31/28
Co-investigator
National Institute on Aging
R01AG077518
- Strong Heart Study Oklahoma Field Center (OK FC)
2/14/19-2/14/26
Co-investigator
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
75N92019D00028
Selected research publications:
- Suchy-Dicey AM, Longstreth WT Jr, Buchwald DS, Rhoads K, Grabowski TJ. Cognitive reserve is associated with education, social determinants, and cognitive outcomes among older American Indians in the Strong Heart Study. Commun Psychol. 2025 Jan 28;3(1):14.
- Suchy-Dicey AM, Vo TT, Oziel K, Buchwald DS, Rhoads K, French BF. Psychometric Reliability, Validity, and Generalizability of MoCA in American Indian Adults: The Strong Heart Study. Assessment. 2025 Jun;32(4):608-621.
- Suchy-Dicey AM, Vo TT, Oziel K, Buchwald DS, Nelson LA, Verney SP, French BF. Psychometric reliability, validity, and generalizability of 3MSE scores among American Indian adults: the Strong Heart Study. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2024 PMID: 38263740.
- Suchy-Dicey AM, Vo TT, Oziel K, King R, Barbosa-Leiker C, Rhoads K, Verney S, Buchwald DS, French BF. Psychometric Properties of Controlled Oral Word Association (COWA) Test and Associations With Education and Bilingualism in American Indian Adults: The Strong Heart Study. Assessment. 2024 PMID: 37338127.
- Suchy-Dicey AM, Domoto-Reilly K, Nelson L, Jayadev S, Buchwald DS, Grabowski TJ, Rhoads K. Epidemiology and prevalence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in American Indians: Data from the Strong Heart Study. Alzheimers Dement. 2024 Jun;20(6):4174-4184.Fonseca LM, Finlay MG, Chaytor NS, Morimoto NG, Buchwald D, Van Dongen HPA, Quan SF, Suchy-Dicey A. Mid-life sleep is associated with cognitive performance later in life in aging American Indians: data from the Strong Heart Study. Front Aging Neurosci. 2024 PMID: 38903901.
- Suchy-Dicey A, Su Y, Buchwald DS, Manson SM, Reiman EM. Volume atrophy in medial temporal cortex and verbal memory scores in American Indians: Data from the Strong Heart Study. Alzheimers Dement. 2023 Jun;19(6):2298-2306.
- Mascarenhas Fonseca L, Sage Chaytor N, Olufadi Y, Buchwald D, Galvin JE, Schmitter-Edgecombe M, Suchy-Dicey A. Intraindividual Cognitive Variability and Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Aging American Indians: Data from the Strong Heart Study. J Alzheimers Dis. 2023. PMID: 36641671.
- Suchy-Dicey A, Su Y, Buchwald DS, Manson SM, Reiman EM. Volume atrophy in medial temporal cortex and verbal memory scores in American Indians: Data from the Strong Heart Study. Alzheimers Dement. 2023. Epub 2022 Dec 1. PMID: 36453775.
- Suchy-Dicey A, Howard BH, Longstreth WT Jr, Reiman E, Buchwald D. APOE genotype, hippocampus, and cognitive markers of Alzheimer’s disease in American Indians. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2022; 1-9.
- Suchy-Dicey A, O’Leary M, Cole SA, Traore A, Verney S, Howard B, Buchwald D, Whitney P. Psychological and social support associations with mortality and cardiovascular disease in middle-aged American Indians: the Strong Heart Study. SPPE. 2022.
- Suchy-Dicey AM, Oziel K, Sawyer C, Olufadi Y, Ali T, Fretts AM, Umans JG, Shibata DK, Longstreth WT Jr, Rhoads K, Buchwald DS, Grabowski TJ. Educational and Clinical Associations With Longitudinal Cognitive Function and Brain Imaging in American Indians: The Strong Heart Study. Neurology. 2022;99(24).
- Suchy-Dicey A, Muller C, Shibata D, Howard BV, Cole SA, Longstreth WT Jr, Devereux RB, Buchwald. Comparing Vascular Brain Injury and Stroke by Cranial Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Physician- Adjudication, and Self-Report: the Strong Heart Study. Neuroepidemiology. 2021;55(5):398-406.
- Suchy-Dicey A, Shibata D, Cholerton B, Nelson L, Calhoun D, Ali T, Montine TJ, Longstreth WT, Buchwald D, Verney SP. Cognitive Correlates of MRI-defined Cerebral Vascular Injury and Atrophy in Elderly American Indians: The Strong Heart Study. J International Neuropsychological Society. 2020 Mar;26(3):263-275.
- Suchy-Dicey A, Noonan C, Burduli E, Mateen FJ, Longstreth WT Jr, Buchwald D, Navas-Acien A. Urinary arsenic and cadmium associations with findings from cranial MRI in American Indians: data from the Strong Heart Study. Env Health Persp. 2020 Dec;128(12).
- Suchy-Dicey A, Verney SP, Nelson LA, Barbosa-Leiker C, Howard BA, Crane PK, Buchwald DS. Depression Symptoms and Cognitive Test Performance in Older American Indians: The Strong Heart Study. Journal American Geriatrics Society. 2020 Aug;68(8):1739-1747.
- Suchy-Dicey AM, Shibata DK, Madhyastha TM, Grabowski TJ, Longstreth WT Jr, Buchwald DS. Findings of Vascular Brain Injury and Structural Loss from Cranial Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Elderly American Indians: The Strong Heart Study. Neuroepidemiology. 2017;48(1-2):39-47. PMID: 28259877.