215-662-4516
dawn.mechanic@uphs.upenn.edu
Dr. Dawn Mechanic-Hamilton joined the Penn Memory Center in 2012. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurology, Chief of the Division of Neuropsychology, and Director of Cognitive Fitness Programs and Neuropsychological Services at the Penn Memory Center. She Co-Leads the Clinical Core in Penn’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Co-Leads the ADRD Pilot Core for the Penn AI and Technology Collaboratory for Healthy Aging (PennAITech). She is Associate Director and Neuropsychology Track Lead for the Penn Psychology Internship Training Program and supervises pre- and postdoctoral clinical neuropsychology trainees.
Dr. Mechanic-Hamilton earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology with a concentration in neuropsychology from Drexel University. She completed her internship at Brown University and postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Mechanic-Hamilton’s research focuses on cognitive assessment and behavioral intervention in AD/ADRD. Her lab is developing and testing a suite of digital cognitive tasks aimed at improving early detection of cognitive decline in those at risk for AD/ADRD. She also works with a team to collect data on Social and Structural Determinants of Health to better understand how life course experiences influence cognitive aging. Her intervention work is multidisciplinary and collaborative and includes developing group based behavioral interventions for individuals living with cognitive impairment and app-based intervention for increasing goal-directed behavior.