Description of Research Expertise

Shana D. Stites, PsyD, MA, MS, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania. As a clinical psychologist and researcher with the Penn Project on Precision Medicine for the Brain (P3MB), Dr. Stites’ research focuses on advancing diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease dementia. The goal is to understand ways to promote quality of life and psychological wellbeing. This includes understanding the impacts of the disease on individuals who may be directly affected by
pathology as well as their family members. As part of this work, Dr. Stites has a special focus on better understanding how aspects of identity, such as age, gender, and race, operate as determinants in the disease experience. Understanding these features of the disease experience may offer insights into disease-mechanisms and into development of
interventions that help limit burdens of the disease.

Dr. Stites is a graduate of the National Institute on Aging’s (NIA’s) Butler-Williams Scholars Program, has a master’s of arts in sociology from Lehigh University, and earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from Chestnut Hill College with a concentration in psychological assessment and special focus on the role of multicultural diversity in clinical practice and representation in research. Dr. Stites clinical training includes completion of a doctoral internship at Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA and post-doctoral training in the Penn Memory Center and Department of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.

Selected Publications

Stites SD, Kuz C, Van Geen C, Scavilla R, Xie D, Kable J, Barber S.: A Model of Subjective Cognition in Older Adults: Correspondence of cognitive complaints with wellbeing, mood symptoms, and cognitive performance. Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA : 2024.

Stites SD, Humphreys V, Kuz C, Schumann R, Halberstadter K, Mechanic-Hamilton D.: What Happens Next? Repeated Administration of a Social and Structural Determinants of Health Questionnaire in an Alzheimer's Disease Research Center Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA : 2024.

Karlawish J, Peterson A, Kleid M, Harkins K, Largent EA, Stites SD, Coykendall C, & Clapp JT.: Caregiver Accounts of Lucid Episodes in Persons with Advanced Dementia The Gerontologist 64 (6): 2024.

SD. Stites & B. Velocci: Sex, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and More: Sexual diversity in Alzheimer's Research Needs a New Lens to Achieve Inclusive Research and Generalizable Results Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions : 2024.

Patel N, Halberstadter K, Schumann R, Mechanic-Hamilton D, Stites SD.: Experiences of Discrimination in Older Adults Enrolled in an Alzheimer's Disease Research Cohort University of Pennsylvania Department of Medicine 2024 Research Day : 2024.

Stites SD, Halberstadter K, Houston JJ, Schumann R, Mechanic-Hamilton D.: Bad Questions: Addressing Non-Response and Respondent Feedback in a Social and Structural Determinants of Health (SSDoH) Questionnaire University of Pennsylvania Department of Medicine 2024 Research Day : 2024.

Stites SD, Lee BN, Largent EA, Harkins K, Sankar P, Krieger A, Brown RT.: Double-Edged Sword: A Positive Brain Scan Result Heightens Confidence in an Alzheimer's Diagnosis but also Leads to Higher Stigma among Older Adults in a Vignette-Based Experiment Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences : 2024.

Stites SD, Kuz C, Cannon T, Humphreys V, Adams M, Mechanic-Hamilton D.: How do Individual's Social Hierarchies Correspond to Cognitive Outcomes? Population Aging Research Center 2024 Aging Retreat : 2024.

Stites SD, Kuz C, Van Green C, Scavilla B, Kable J, Barber, S.: Characterization of Subjective Cognition in Typical Older Adults: What's the Role of Sex and Gender? Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) Annual Meeting, Bergen, Norway : 2024.

Stites SD, Cannon T, Kuz C, Harkins K, Krieger A, Sankar P, Perez A: Differences in Alzheimer’s Disease Stigma Between Self-Identifying Latino and non-Latino American Adults Latinos and Alzheimer's Symposium, San Diego, CA, USA and Virtual : 2024.

Academic Contact Information

Ralston House, Suite 214
3615 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19104