Magdalena Ioana Tolea, PhD

Magdalena Ioana Tolea, PhD

Research Asst. Professor
Email: mit38@med.miami.edu  

Department of Neurology
Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami

 

Dr. Magdalena Tolea received her Doctorate in Gerontology, Master of Science in Epidemiology, and Master of Arts in Sociology from University of Maryland. Following her doctoral training, Dr. Tolea completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Epidemiology of Aging at the National Institute on Aging where she developed a research interest in physical functional aging with a focus on psychosocial determinants of physical dysfunction in older adults. As research assistant professor of Neurology at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine (UMMSOM), her research focuses on the intersect between physical dysfunction and cognitive impairment, more specifically on sarcopenia and its role as a potential predictor of cognitive decline and dementia in later life. She also serves as the Associate Director for Research at the Comprehensive Center for Brain Health in the Department of Neurology at the UMMSOM.

Dr. Tolea’s research is supported by funding from the 1FL ADRC (AlzSTARS Program) to investigate contributions of sarcopenia to cognitive decline and dementia in preclinical multicultural populations and the Florida Department of Health to develop community and primary care provider dementia educational interventions in underserved areas. Dr. Tolea’s long-term research goal is to develop lifestyle interventions to reduce risk of dementia by addressing modifiable functionality-related risk factors including sarcopenia, sarcopenic-obesity, and frailty and to identify best approaches to mitigation of racial, ethnic, and rural disparities in dementia screening, diagnosis, and care.