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

  • Hreha, Kimberly, Rafael Samper-Ternent, Heather E. Whitson, L. P. Downer, Jessica S. West, and Brian Downer. “The Association of Vision and Hearing Impairment on Cognitive Function and Loneliness: Evidence From the Mexican Health and Aging Study.” J Aging Health 37, no. 5–6 (June 2025): 337–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/08982643241247583.
  • Mielke, Michelle M., Nicole R. Fowler, Heather E. Whitson, Heidi D. Klepin, Antoine R. Trammell, Ambar Kulshreshtha, Kyra S. O’Brien, Margaret Manchester, Marcel E. Salive, and Jeff Williamson. “Proceedings of the Alzheimer's Diagnosis in Older Adults With Chronic Conditions Network Inaugural Annual Conference.” J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 80, no. 6 (May 5, 2025). https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glaf052.
  • Devinney, Michael J., Andrew R. Spector, Mary C. Wright, Jake Thomas, Pallavi Avasarala, Eugene W. Moretti, Jennifer E. Dominguez, et al. “Erratum: The Role of Sleep Apnea in Postoperative Neurocognitive Disorders Among Older Noncardiac Surgery Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study.” Anesth Analg 140, no. 5 (May 1, 2025): e62. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0000000000007445.
  • Hreha, Kimberly, Nathan A. Boucher, Brian Mac Grory, April Martina Burch, Emmanuel Acheampong, and Heather E. Whitson. “Research Best Practices for Eye Stroke Vision Rehabilitation: A Qualitative Study.” Curr Eye Res 50, no. 5 (May 2025): 544–50. https://doi.org/10.1080/02713683.2025.2456788.
  • Reese, Melody, Mary Cooter Wright, Ken C. Roberts, Jeffrey N. Browndyke, Micheal Bennett, Leah Acker, Michael J. Devinney, et al. “Associations between anaesthetic dose-adjusted intraoperative EEG alpha power, processing speed, and postoperative delirium: analysis of data from three prospective studies.” Br J Anaesth, April 10, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bja.2024.12.041.