USC Photo
 

Nancy Pedersen


Research Professor of Psychology

Contact Information
Office: SGM 501
Phone: (213)740-2203
E-mail: nancy.pedersen@ki.se

 

Education

  • Ph.D. Behavior Genetics, University of Colorado, 4/1980
  • Ph.D. (Honorary) , University of Jönköping, 2004

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests
My current research efforts are focused on the etiology of chronic diseases of the elderly including dementia, Parkinson’s disease, late onset depression as well as other diseases with neuropsychiatric components in midlife such as chronic fatigue. I am also interested in genetic influences on cognitive aging and the phenomenon known as terminal decline. Key to my research is the study of comorbidity and the extent to which there are pleiotropic and epistatic effects explaining these cormorbidities and associations.

Publications

Journal Article
  • Gatz, M. J., Reynolds, C. A., Fratiglioni, L., Johansson, B., Mortimer, J. A., Berg, S., Fiske, A. E., Pedersen, N. L. (2006). The role of genes and environments for explaining Alzheimer’s disease. Archives of General Psychiatry/American Medical Association. Vol. 63, pp. 168-174.
  • Gatz, M. J., Mortimer, J. A., Fratiglioni, L., Johansson, B., Berg, S., Reynolds, C. A., Pedersen, N. L. (2006). Potentially modifiable risk factors for dementia in identical twins. Alzheimer's & Dementia/Elsevier. Vol. 2, pp. 110-117..
  • Kato, K., Sullivan, P. F., Evengard, B., Pedersen, N. L. (2006). Premorbid predictors of Chronic Fatigue. Archives of General Psychiatry. Vol. 63, pp. 1267-1272.

Honors and Awards

  • Distinguished Career Contribution to Gerontology; BSS Section of Gerontological Society of America, Fall 2007   
  • James Shields Award for Outstanding Twin Research, Spring 2007