Heather Elizabeth Whitson

Duke School of Medicine Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience

Dr. Whitson's research is focused on improving care options and resilience for people with multiple chronic conditions.  In particular, she has interest and expertise related to the link between age-related changes in the eye and brain (e.g., How does late-life vision loss impact the aging brain or cognitive outcomes?  Is Alzheimer's disease associated with distinctive changes in the retina, and could such changes help diagnose Alzheimer's disease early in its course?).  Dr. Whitson leads a collaborative Alzheimer's Disease initiative that brings together investigators from Duke University and the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, with a bold vision to transform dementia research and care across Eastern North Carolina. Dr. Whitson is also interested in improving health services to better meet the needs of medically complex patients.  Within the Duke Aging Center, she leads research efforts aimed at promoting resilience to late-life stressors (e.g., surgery, sensory loss, infection).  She has developed a novel rehabilitation model for people with co-existing vision and cognitive deficits, and she is part of a inter-disciplinary team seeking to improve peri-operative outcomes for frail or at-risk seniors who must undergo surgery.  As a co-leader of a national resilience collaborative, she seeks to better understand the biological and psychological factors that determine how well we "bounce back" after health stressors.  

Appointments and Affiliations

  • Duke School of Medicine Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience
  • Professor of Medicine
  • Professor in Neurology
  • Professor in Head & Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences
  • Professor in Ophthalmology
  • Director of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development

Contact Information

  • Office Location: Dept of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710

Education

  • M.D. Cornell University, 2000
  • M.H.S. Duke University, 2009
  • Duke University, 2003
  • Duke University, 2004
  • Duke University, 2006

In the News

Representative Publications

  • Kjaerulff, Isabella, Sloan A. Soyster Heinz, Matthew Fuller, Mary Cooter Wright, Jeanna Blitz, Jeffrey Browndyke, Joseph P. Mathew, Heather Whitson, and Leah C. Acker. “Mixed-methods Analysis of Preoperative Distress and Postoperative Outcomes in a Prospective, Observational Cohort of Older Adults.” Anesthesiology 144, no. 1 (January 1, 2026): 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000005780.
  • Hreha, Kimberly, Marissa C. Ashner, Sarah Peskoe, Brian Downer, Timothy Reistetter, Priya Palta, Lisa Wruck, Rebecca F. Gottesman, Beverly G. Windham, and Heather E. Whitson. “Prevalence of pre-stroke and stroke-related vision impairments and their association with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.” Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease : JAD, December 2025, 13872877251404018. https://doi.org/10.1177/13872877251404018.
  • Smith, Melody R., Kenneth C. Roberts, Jeffrey N. Browndyke, Mary Cooter Wright, Tyler H. Reekes, Michael J. Devinney, Harvey Jay Cohen, et al. “Developing Topics.” Alzheimers Dement 21 Suppl 7, no. Suppl 7 (December 2025): e108129. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz70861_108129.
  • Hreha, Kimberly, Marissa C. Ashner, Sarah Peskoe, Timothy Reistetter, Priya Palta, Lisa Wruck, Rebecca Gottesman, B Gwen Windham, and Heather E. Whitson. “Investigating stroke-related vision impairments and time to incident dementia diagnosis.” J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 34, no. 12 (December 2025): 108480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2025.108480.
  • Roberts, Kenneth C., Sloan A. Soyster Heinz, Sarah Peskoe, Nathaniel E. Brooke, Morgan A. Rosser, Hayden C. Kenny, Hannah Mekaru, et al. “Aging Brain-Heart-Immune Axis and Postoperative Delirium: A Prospective Observational Study of Preoperative Heart Rate Variability Using At-home Wearable Devices.” Anesthesiology 143, no. 5 (November 1, 2025): 1403–6. https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000005674.