Andrea Mejia Kurasz graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a B.A. and M.A in psychology. During this time, she worked under the mentorship of Dr. Tony Puente where she gained research and clinical experiences in cross-cultural neuropsychology and neuropsychological assessment. In Fall 2017, she entered the Clinical and Health Psychology program at the University of Florida pursuing neuropsychology as her major area of concentration. Her research interests include functional, cognitive, and psychosocial outcomes of behavioral interventions that delay and/or prevent cognitive decline. She is also interested in risk and resilience factors of cognitive aging, particularly among Hispanic/Latinx populations. Andrea is a past recipient of a 1Florida ADRC Pilot Award (2018; PI: Dr. Melissa Armstrong) and a Mentorship/Collaboration Award from the Scientific Research Network on Decision Neuroscience and Aging (2019). Currently, she is a predoctoral NIA T32 fellow in the Research Training in Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Cognition in Aging, MCI, and Alzheimer’s Disease program.
Peer-reviewed publications
Armstrong, M.J., Gamez, N., Alliance, S., Majid, T., Taylor, A., Kurasz, A.M.,… & Smith, G. (in press). Research priorities of caregivers and individuals with dementia with Lewy bodies: an interview study. PLOS ONE
Kurasz, A.M., Smith, G. E., McFarland, M., & Armstrong, M. J. (preprint). Ethnoracial differences in Lewy body diseases with cognitive impairment. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease
Kurasz, A.M, DeFeis, B., Locke, Dona E.C., De Wit, L., Amofa Sr, P., Smith, G., & Chandler, M (in press).Psychometric Properties of a Memory-Related Self-Efficacy Scale in Mild Cognitive Impairment. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
De Wit, L., Marsiske, M., O’Shea, D.M., Kessels, R.P.C., Mejia, A., DeFeis, B., Schaefer, N., & Smith, G.E. (in press). Procedural learning in individuals with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s dementia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuropsychology Review.
Amofa Sr, P., DeFeis, B., De Wit, L., O’Shea, D., Mejia, A., Chandler, M., … & Smith, G. (2019) Functional ability is associated with higher adherence to behavioral interventions in Mild Cognitive Impairment. The Clinical Neuropsychologist.
De Wit, L., Chandler, M., Amofa, P., DeFeis, B., Mejia, A., O’Shea, D., … & Smith, G. E. (2019). Memory Support System training in mild cognitive impairment: Predictors of learning and adherence. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 1-13.
Langer, K., O’Shea, D. M., De, L. W., DeFeis, B., Mejia, A., Amofa, P., … & Dean, P. M. (2019). Self-Efficacy Mediates the Association Between Physical Function and Perceived Quality of Life in Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of Alzheimer’s disease: JAD, 68(4), 1511-1519.
Mejia, A. M., Smith, G. E., Wicklund, M., & Armstrong, M. J. (2019). Shared decision making in mild cognitive impairment. Neurology: Clinical Practice, 9(2), 160-164.
Puente, A.E., Mejia, A.M., & Kuwabara, H.C. (2017). A complex case of tri-lingual, tri-cultural, biracial and multiple medical comorbidities. Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology, 3(2), 156-169.
Encyclopedia entries
Puente, A. E., Kuwabara, H., & Mejia, A. (in press). Monolingualism, bilingualism, multilingualism. In B. J. Carducci (Editor-in-Chief) & J. S. Mio & R. E. Riggio (Vol. Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell encyclopedia of personality and individual differences: Vol. IV. Clinical, applied, and cross-cultural research. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Puente, A. E., Hernandez, M., & Mejia, A. (2018). The effect of culture and ethnicity on intelligence tests. In E. Braaten (Ed.), Sage Encyclopedia of Intellectual and Developmental Disorders. New York, NY: Springer.