Katrina L Kezios, PhD
Assistant Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health
Biography
Katrina Kezios is a life course epidemiologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Boston University School of Public Health. She received her MPH and PhD in Epidemiology from Columbia University, where she completed an interdisciplinary NIEHS T32 predoctoral fellowship in Environmental Life Course Epidemiology.
Dr. Kezios’s research centers on the life course biosocial determinants of aging-related processes and outcomes, and she has worked on studies that collectively span the life course—from birth cohorts to aging cohorts. A primary focus of her applied work is understanding how chronic exposure to social and financial stressors harms cognition and impacts dementia risk. In much of this work, she employs novel methods to overcome challenges in life course research, leveraging her expertise in life course theory and methods, epidemiologic methods, and causal inference. She is currently the PI of an NIA funded study that uses data fusion methods to construct a longitudinal synthetic cohort to examine how life course financial wellbeing shapes cognitive aging.
Dr. Kezios also leads meta-research studies evaluating how core concepts and principles in epidemiologic training are reflected in research practice, a research area influenced by her experience teaching epidemiologic methods.
Education
- Columbia University, PhD Field of Study: Epidemiology
- Columbia University, MPH Field of Study: Epidemiology
- North Carolina State University, BS Field of Study: Biochemistry
Websites
Publications
- Published on 12/10/2025
Kezios KL, Liu J, Murchland AR, Zeki Al Hazzouri A, Aiello AE, Koenen K, Hayes-Larson E. Incident traumatic experiences and poor financial well-being: A double hit for cognitive decline? Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2025; 17(4):e70226. PMID: 41393809.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 12/1/2025
Nichols E, Bindas A, Atshan S, Chang H, Chiang YY, Claus Henn B, Hayes-Larson E, Keller KP, Kezios KL, Shih RA, Szpiro AA, Weiss J, Adar SD, Knapp DM, Lee J, Weuve J. Modeling approaches for estimating the effects of risk factors using longitudinal lifecourse exposure data in dementia research. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Dec; 21(12):e70971. PMID: 41319155.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/27/2025
Colvin CL, Moropoulos KN, Yu X, Elbejjani M, Glymour MM, Zeki Al Hazzouri A, Kezios KL. Cumulative poverty across early adulthood and midlife cognition: findings from the national longitudinal survey of youth. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2025 Nov 27. PMID: 41309211.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/22/2025
Yu X, Kezios KL, Lu P, Swift SL, Zeki Al Hazzouri A. Cumulative supplemental nutrition assistance program participation and memory aging among US older adults, 1996-2018. Prev Med. 2026 Jan; 202:108472. PMID: 41285226.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/5/2025
Teferi HM, Shelton RC, Conneely KN, De Vivo I, Factor-Litvak P, Kezios KL, Cirillo PM, Cohn BA, Link BG, Suglia SF. Allostatic load and biological aging among middle aged adults. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2026 Jan; 183:107661. PMID: 41223677.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/1/2025
Colvin CL, Swift SL, Yu X, Kezios KL, Al Hazzouri AZ. Investigating associations between long-term poverty exposure and premature mortality: evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 prospective cohort. Lancet Public Health. 2025 Nov; 10(11):e971-e978. PMID: 41162130.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/1/2025
Swift SL, Chen Z, Colvin C, Kezios K, Calonico S, Al Hazzouri AZ. Unsecured debt in early adulthood and premature mortality in adults in the USA: a longitudinal analysis of prospective national cohort data. Lancet Public Health. 2025 Nov; 10(11):e979-e987. PMID: 41162131.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/1/2025
Nichols E, Keller KP, Chang H, Chiang YY, Gross AL, Hayes-Larson E, Claus Henn B, Kezios KL, Meijer E, Shih RA, Szpiro AA, Weiss J, Weuve J, Adar SD, Lee J. Key research priorities in methodological approaches for measuring the exposome and studying its role in the development of dementia. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Nov; 21(11):e70928. PMID: 41273229.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/1/2025
Mani SS, Kezios KL, Delaporte M, Cho TC, Rojas-Saunero LP, Weuve J, Avila-Rieger J, Kobayashi LC. Later-life cognitive function at the intersection of gender and occupation across Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocols (HCAPs) in the United States, Chile, Mexico, India, and South Africa. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 Nov; 21(11):e70923. PMID: 41311298.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/30/2025
Mesa RA, Llabre MM, Lee DJ, Rundek T, Kezios KL, Al Hazzouri AZ, Elfassy T. Social determinants of health and biological age among diverse U.S. Adults, NHANES 2011-2018. BMC Public Health. 2025 Sep 30; 25(1):3215. PMID: 41029576.
Read At: PubMed
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