Alexis Bender

Dr. Alexis Bender is a medical sociologist and social gerontologist with a primary appointment in the Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology. Dr. Bender is a mixed methodologist with extensive training and experience in cross-sectional and longitudinal research methods.

Her research focuses on aging with co-occurring physical and mental health comorbidities with an emphasis on relationships over the life course, including patient-provider interactions, social and intimate relationships, and the interface of paid and unpaid care. Her current career development award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) aims to understand the intertwining relationship among aging, HIV, methamphetamine use, social support, and cognition over time.

Dr. Bender is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the Southern Gerontological Society, the past chair of the Disability and Society Section of the American Sociological Association, and an alumnus of the UCSD Sustained Training in Aging & HIV Research (STAHR) Program (R25MH108389). She also co-directs the Emory NIH Center for AIDS (CFAR) Research HIV and Aging Research Cluster and the national NIH Inter-CFAR HIV and Aging Working Group.