Auriel A. Willette has garnered numerous prestigious honors throughout his distinguished career. In 2023, he was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society as a faculty member. He was recognized as a top expert in Alzheimer’s disease by Expertscape in 2022 and was named a top 0.50% author out of 182,647. His work has also been featured in the Chief Editor’s top 10 picks for 2021 in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Willette’s research was awarded third place in the Wine Spectator Most Recognized Article for 2020. He received the Marquis Who’s Who in America Award in 2020 and the Publons Global Peer Review Award in 2019 for being in the top 1% in Neuroscience & Behavior. Additionally, he was honored with the Iowa State University Early Achievement in Research Award in 2019 and the Alzheimer’s Association Howie Dean Award in 2018. His achievements include the Leland Wilson Lectureship at the University of Northern Iowa in 2017 and the Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. He has been recognized as an outstanding reviewer by ADA and Elsevier and has received numerous awards including the Presidential High Impact Hire at Iowa State University in 2015 and the Nathan Shock New Investigator Award in 2010. His early honors include the Ford Foundation Fellowship, the Golden Key Honor Society, and the Ronald E. McNair Scholar award.
Professional Profile:
Scopus
Summary of Suitability for Best Researcher Award:
Auriel A. Willette, PhD, stands out as a top candidate for the Research for Best Researcher Award due to his extensive and impactful contributions across multiple research domains. With a solid educational foundation in Biological Psychology and Neuroscience, he is currently an Associate Professor at Rutgers University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa.
🎓Education:
Auriel A. Willette earned his PhD in Biological Psychology with an emphasis on Psychoneuroimmunology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in May 2010, achieving a perfect GPA of 4.0. He also holds a Master of Science in Biological
🏛️Current Positions:
Auriel A. Willette is currently serving as an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, a position he has held since 2023. In addition, he holds the role of Adjunct Assistant Professor (Courtesy) in the Department of Neurology at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, where he has been active since 2016.
Research Experience:
Auriel A. Willette has held several key positions throughout his career. From 2020 to 2023, he served as Chief Operating Officer at IAC Tracker Inc. in Ames, IA, where he led a team of data scientists and managed human resources and project logistics. Prior to this role, he was the Co-Director and Imaging Core Lead for the Big Data Brain Initiative at Iowa State University, overseeing a multi-university effort to identify novel biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease from 2016 to 2023. As an Assistant Professor at Iowa State University from 2015 to 2023, he developed coursework, secured grant funding, and mentored students in both the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and the Department of Psychology.Earlier in his career, Willette was an IRTA Post-Doctoral Fellow at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, MD, from 2012 to 2015, where he researched the effects of endocannabinoids and calorie restriction on brain function and neuroinflammation. He also served as an NIH NRSA Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Wisconsin – Madison from 2010 to 2012, investigating the relationship between metabolic and immunologic biomarkers and brain behavior outcomes. During his PhD studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison from 2004 to 2010, he researched the effects of endotoxins and calorie restriction on immunity and brain structure.
🏆Honors:
Auriel A. Willette has received numerous prestigious honors throughout his career. In 2023, he was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society as a faculty member. He was recognized as a top expert in Alzheimer’s disease by Expertscape in 2022, and his work was featured in the Chief Editor’s top 10 picks for 2021 in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. His research earned third place in the Wine Spectator Most Recognized Article for 2020 and he received the Marquis Who’s Who in America Award in 2020. In 2019, he was honored with the Publons Global Peer Review Award for being in the top 1% in Neuroscience & Behavior and the Iowa State University Early Achievement in Research Award. He also received the Alzheimer’s Association Howie Dean Award in 2018. His achievements include delivering the Leland Wilson Lectureship at the University of Northern Iowa in 2017 and being awarded the Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achievement Award the same year. He has been recognized as an outstanding reviewer by the ADA and Elsevier and received the Presidential High Impact Hire Award at Iowa State University in 2015. His early career honors include the Nathan Shock New Investigator Award in 2010, as well as the Ford Foundation Fellowship, Golden Key Honor Society, and Ronald E. McNair Scholar award.
Publication Top Notes:
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Vitamin B6, B12, and Folate’s Influence on Neural Networks in the UK Biobank Cohort
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A Machine Learning Approach for Potential Super-Agers Identification Using Neuronal Functional Connectivity Networks
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Genetic Factors of Alzheimer’s Disease Modulate How Diet is Associated with Long-Term Cognitive Trajectories: A UK Biobank Study
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Genetic Factors of Alzheimer’s Disease Modulate How Diet is Associated with Long-Term Cognitive Trajectories: A UK Biobank Study
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Mind the Heart: Cardiovascular Health and Infection Burden on Brain Outcomes