As we celebrate Black History Month and head into Women’s History Month, one thing is clear: progress in Alzheimer’s research has never happened without bold, intentional leadership. And today, some of the most powerful forces reshaping the future of brain health are Black women scientists.

Two leaders whose impact stands out are Lisa L. Barnes and Jennifer J. Manly. Their work has transformed the conversation around brain health, particularly in Black communities that face a disproportionately higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease yet have historically been underrepresented in research.

Dr. Barnes, the Alla V. and Solomon Jesmer Professor of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine at Rush University and a senior leader at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, has spent her career studying the communities most affected by the disease. For too long, major studies excluded older Black adults, leaving researchers to draw conclusions about Alzheimer’s risk and progression from an incomplete picture. Dr. Barnes built her career around changing that reality.

She has led major longitudinal studies that intentionally recruit older Black adults through church-based and community-embedded models, building the trust necessary for sustained participation. By weaving together decades of cognitive data with measures of education history, cardiovascular health, psychosocial stressors, and postmortem neuropathology, her research highlights how social and environmental factors intersect with biology in shaping Alzheimer’s risk and outcomes.

Dr. Manly, a professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University, has focused on transforming how we assess cognitive health in the first place. For decades, cognitive test scores were treated as straightforward biological readouts. Dr. Manly challenged that assumption.


Her research shows that systemic inequities—including differences in educational quality, limited access to literacy, socioeconomic barriers, and lifelong exposure to structural racism—directly influence how people perform on cognitive assessments and how dementia is diagnosed. In doing so, she has reshaped fundamental thinking about how this science works. Her widely cited scholarship has redefined how assessments are developed, how clinicians interpret results, and how researchers account for structural context. She has helped build a field that understands advancing brain health requires both scientific rigor and structural honesty.

The urgency of their work cannot be overstated. Black Americans remain disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease while continuing to be underrepresented in clinical research. Black women often carry the heaviest burden, facing higher risk while also serving as primary caregivers.

By centering equity, community partnership, and structural awareness, Dr. Barnes and Dr. Manly are helping close that gap.  They remind us that advancing Alzheimer’s research requires more than breakthrough treatments or new technologies. It requires confronting inequity and ensuring that every community has a voice in shaping scientific discovery.

This Black History Month and Women’s History Month, we celebrate not only their individual achievements, but the movement they represent. Black women have long led in public health, advocacy, and community care, and they continue to shape the future of brain health for us all.