Hernandez Aging and Cerebral Health Neuroscience (ACHN) Lab

Located in the Bevill Biomedical Research Building, Room 765, 769, and 775.

Join our diverse lab group in researching the neuroscience of cognitive aging and neurodegeneration!

Work with Dr. Abbi Hernandez or Dr. Caesar Hernandez in a collaborative environment.

Dr. Abbi Hernandez received her PhD in Medical Sciences with a concentration in Neuroscience from the University of Florida. Her research focuses on the role of peripheral health in aging and Alzheimer’s related cognitive and neuropathological decline. Her work investigates the Gut-Brain-Axis’s role in AD through studying and manipulating the gut microbiome in transgenic AD rats, as well as the role of metabolic function as a potential mediator of decline.

Dr. Caesar Hernandez also received his PhD in Medical Sciences with a concentration in Neuroscience from the University of Florida, and he is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care at The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Hernandez does neuroscience research, and his recently awarded K99/R00 career development grant will expand his current research project on the neurobiology of emotional affective disorders and cognition in rodent models of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Dr. Caesar Hernandez’s three main areas of focus include:

  1. Neuroinflammation in aging and neurodegenerative states
  2. Circuit and molecular mechanisms of cognitive and emotional affect decline in aging and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) with a focus on amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
  3. Diet and exercise as therapeutic intervention strategies in improving cognitive aging and neurodegeneration.