Jon Hakun, PhD

Dr. Hakun's work is focused on better understanding how our ability to control our thoughts and behavior influences developmental trajectories of cognitive and brain health over the adult lifespan. His work involves multi-modal brain imaging and design of new ambulatory frameworks for integrating mobile technology (EMA, ultra-brief cognitive assessment, passive sensing) into research spanning multiple timescales (from within-day to decades). A second focus of his research is the application of ambulatory tools as digital biomarkers of cognitive and brain health across a wide range of clinical populations (e.g. Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, cancer and cancer treatment, mild traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative disease). When asked why he wanted to be involved with the Roybal Center: "A major aim of my work is to generate a better understanding of how neurocognitive aging shapes behavior in everyday life with a particular emphasis on dimensions of self-regulation. We have several active projects in our lab designed to examine how variation in cognitive executive control modifies self-regulatory capacity and goal-directed behavior, including work on mechanistic targets to promote long-term adherence to health promoting behavior."