My research program blends the fields of cerebrovascular biology and neuroscience to understand novel vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia. We are focused specifically on the unique and relatively unstudied vasculature supplying the ischemia-prone hippocampus. The overall goal of my research is to understand the function of the hippocampal vasculature to develop strategies to protect the hippocampus from hypoxic/ischemic injury during pathological conditions to maintain neurocognitive health. We explore both pharmacological as well as more holistic interventions to improve neurovascular function and slow age-related memory decline. With combined expertise in cerebrovascular function, hippocampal neurophysiology, and cognition, we are able to integrate the areas of hippocampal neuronal and vascular function that are necessary to understand neurovascular mechanisms of cognitive decline associated with healthy aging and menopause, chronic hypertension and ischemic stroke.