Marcia I. Pescador Jimenez, PhD, MS, MS
Associate Professor, Epidemiology - Boston University School of Public Health
Biography
Marcia Pescador Jimenez, PhD is an Associate Professor at the Epidemiology Department at Boston University. Marcia received her PhD in epidemiology from the Brown University School of Public Health and completed an NHLBI T32 postdoctoral fellowship in cardiovascular disease and environmental epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She is formally trained as a cardiovascular, environmental and aging epidemiologist with a multidisciplinary research portfolio in the epidemiology of aging, specifically geographic contextual risk factors and racial/ethnic disparities.
Her early work evaluated the relationship between greenspace and hypertension among adults. More recently, she has extended this to examine the relationship between greenspace and cognitive development among children and mediation analysis between greenspace and cognitive function. Her current work focuses on novel metrics of greenspace and the urban environment using Deep Learning Algorithms and Google Street View images. She has extensive experience working with several cohort studies, including, the New England Family Study, Project Viva, the Nurses Health Studies, and the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. She is currently funded through a K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Institute on Aging which aims to quantify the role of built and natural environment on cognitive functioning and Alzheimer's disease risk, evaluating racial/ethnic disparities.
Education
- Brown University, PhD Field of Study: Epidemiology
- Northeastern University, MS Field of Study: Sociology
- Katholieke Univ Leuven, MS Field of Study: Statistics
- Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, BS Field of Study: Actuarial Science
Websites
Classes Taught
- SPHEP850
Publications
- Published on 6/4/2026
Pescador Jimenez M, Chivardi M, Coull BA, Hystad P, Diez-Roux AV, Kaufman JD, James P. Street view-based exposure to greenspace and mortality: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Environ Int. 2026 Jul; 213:110339. PMID: 42248000.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 1/20/2026
James P, Suel E, Lin PD, Hart JE, Rimm EB, Laden F, Hystad P, Hankey S, Larkin A, Zhang W, Klompmaker J, Coull B, Yi L, Pescador Jimenez M. Assessing greenspace and cardiovascular disease risk through deep learning analysis of street-view imagery in the US-based nationwide Nurses' Health Study. Environ Epidemiol. 2026 Feb; 10(1):e442. PMID: 41567830.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 11/13/2025
Jenson TE, Lin PD, James P, Hystad P, Diez-Roux AV, Coull B, Besser L, Suel E, Weuve J, Pescador Jimenez M. Street-view greenspace distribution across racial/ethnic, neighborhood income, and individual education subgroups. Environ Epidemiol. 2025 Dec; 9(6):e441. PMID: 41268185.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 10/17/2025
Rubenstein E, Tewolde S, Michals A, Fortea J, Jimenez MP, Skotko BG, Tripodis Y, Weuve J, Rosellini AJ. Novel predictors of Alzheimer's disease in Down syndrome identified using machine learning. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Dec; 108(3):1166-1176. PMID: 41105592.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/27/2025
Yuan Z, Kerckhoffs J, Lin PD, Suel E, Li H, Yi L, Jimenez MP, James P, de Hoogh K, Hoek G, Vermeulen R. Advancing Air Pollution Exposure Models with Open-Vocabulary Object Detection and Semantic Segmentation of Street-View Images. Environ Sci Technol. 2025 Oct 07; 59(39):21237-21247. PMID: 41014621.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 9/17/2025
Flesaker M, Kraal AZ, Avila-Rieger JF, Glymour MM, Gradus JL, Briceño EM, Manly JJ, Kobayashi LC, Pescador Jimenez M. Cognitive data harmonization across two racially diverse cohorts in the United States. Alzheimers Dement Behav Socioecon Aging. 2025 Sep 17; 1(3). PMID: 40988999.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 7/6/2025
Yi L, Hart JE, Wilt G, Hu CR, Jimenez MP, Lin PD, Suel E, Hystad P, Hankey S, Zhang W, Chavarro JE, Laden F, James P. GPS-based street-view greenspace exposure and wearable assessed physical activity in a prospective cohort of US women. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2025 Jul 06; 22(1):92. PMID: 40619433.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 4/4/2025
Yi L, Hart JE, Roscoe C, Mehta UV, Pescador Jimenez M, Lin PD, Suel E, Hystad P, Hankey S, Zhang W, Okereke OI, Laden F, James P. Greenspace and depression incidence in the US-based nationwide Nurses' Health Study II: A deep learning analysis of street-view imagery. Environ Int. 2025 Apr; 198:109429. PMID: 40209395.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 4/1/2025
Tewolde S, Rosenberg SB, Estrada JAG, Jimenez MP, Scott A, Higgins A, Rubenstein E. Epidemiology of Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementia Among Medicare and Medicaid Enrolled Autistic Adults, 2011-2019. Autism Res. 2025 May; 18(5):1077-1086. PMID: 40166852.
Read At: PubMed
- Published on 4/1/2025
Martin GK, Rojas-Rueda D, Fong KC, Jimenez MP, Kinney PL, Canales R, Anenberg SC. A health impact assessment of progress towards urban nature targets in the 96 C40 cities. Lancet Planet Health. 2025 Apr; 9(4):e284-e293. PMID: 40252675.
Read At: PubMed
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News & In the Media
- Published on June 4, 2026
- Published on April 19, 2026
- Published on January 23, 2026
- Published on November 21, 2025
- Published on March 9, 2025
- Published on November 1, 2024
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Published on September 27, 2024
Professor Receives $29M NIH Grant to Study Dementia Risk Factors, Prevention, and Treatment
- Published on August 1, 2024
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Published on July 20, 2024
Surprising Mental Health Benefits of Living near Green Spaces
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Published on July 17, 2024
Living in Greener Neighborhoods during Midlife May Slow Cognitive Decline
- Published on July 12, 2024
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Published on April 16, 2024
Walks in Green Parks Mean Stronger Immune Systems and Better Mental Health
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Published on April 12, 2024
Depression May Lead to Faster Cognitive Decline among Black, Latino Adults
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Published on May 19, 2023
Green Space Exposure May Play Modest Role in the Ability to Conceive
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Published on November 1, 2022
Stepping Up: Reducing the Adverse Health Impacts and Inequalities of Climate Change
- Published on May 23, 2022
- Published on May 23, 2022
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Published on May 10, 2022
Green Spaces Can Reduce the Risk of Dementia in Middle-Aged Women. This Is Why
- Published on May 5, 2022
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Published on May 4, 2022
Living near Greenery Could Give You a Brain Boost—and Reduce Dementia Risk
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Published on May 2, 2022
Living in a ‘Greener’ Neighborhood Could Boost Cognitive Function
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Published on May 2, 2022
Understanding Environment, Climate as Social Determinants of Health
- Published on April 29, 2022
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Published on April 28, 2022
Living in Areas with More Greenery May Boost Cognitive Function
- Published on April 27, 2022
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Published on April 27, 2022
Living in Areas with More Greenery May Boost Cognitive Function: Study
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Published on April 27, 2022
Why Living near Trees Can Help Reduce Depression and Shave a Year off Mental Decline
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Published on April 27, 2022
Residential Exposure to Greenspace May Improve Overall Cognitive Function
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Published on April 8, 2022
Professor Receives $700K NIH Grant to Examine Link between Green Space and Dementias