Childhood lead exposure harms cognition later in life Children who were exposed to lead in their drinking water have worse cognitive functioning more than 50 years later. New research from the University of Minnesota is the first to estimate the long-ter...

LCC members are leading the way, using longitudinal data to examine how environmental factors and pollution can impact our brain, even decades later. #EarthDay twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/childhood-le...

Advancing brain health equity with Indigenous peoples: A critical imperative Indigenous communities hold rich knowledges, cultural practices, and kinship networks that sustain cognitive resilience and nurture brain health across the life course. Yet these enduring strengths ...

How can Indigenous knowledge, cultural continuity, and community leadership inform dementia research and care? LCC member Cliff Whetung is part of a team looking at how we can advance brain health equity with Indigenous peoples. https://bit.ly/48IkgPJ

Neighborhood Disorder and Risk of Dementia: The Mediating Role of Cardiometabolic Risk Neighborhood environments are important social determinants of cognitive health, yet the potential mechanisms underlying neighborhood environments and…

Former pilot grant recipient Jiao Yu published a new paper - "Neighborhood Disorder and Risk of Dementia: The Mediating Role of Cardiometabolic Risk". Take a look: https://bit.ly/41vxiMN

Congratulations to LCC Member Marti DeLiema on being named a McKnight Presidential Fellow! And interdisciplinary gerontologist, she's best known for her work on avoiding financial abuse and fraud. https://bit.ly/4tbKItw

Kids Who Drink Water With Fluoride Do Not Have Lower IQs, First-of-Its-Kind Study Finds The research is the first to look at the long-term effects of exposure to fluoridated community water in childhood.

"There's just nothing, no connection between IQ or cognition in the short- or the long-term and fluoride exposure in childhood," says John Robert Warren. https://on.today.com/4ekq85q

U of M research counters claims that fluoride in water lowers IQs University of Minnesota researchers studied data on 10,000 Wisconsinites who graduated high school in 1957 and found that fluoride exposure had no bearing on their IQ as they aged. It counters researc...

New research from LCC members John Robert Warren and Gina Rumore counter claims that fluoride in water lowers IQs. Read the write up from the Star Tribune: www.startribune.com/university-of-minnesota-...

Professor Manka Nkimbeng Receives 2026 Community-Engaged Scholar Award for Early Career Faculty - School of Public Health - University of Minnesota The Community-Engaged Scholar Awards serve to highlight the breadth and impact of publicly engaged scholarship across the University.

Congratulations to LCC Member Manka Nkimbeng on receiving the Early-Career Community-Engaged Scholar Award! https://bit.ly/4cF4jMC

Scams are constantly evolving, becoming more sophisticated, and might be supercharged by AI. The Freakonomics podcast talked to LCC Member Marti DeLiema to better understand the changing dynamics of scams. freakonomics.com/podcast/heres-why-you-ar...

When older adults with Alzheimer's and related dementias receive help with housing, does that impact their healthcare use and access? LCC member Andrew Fenelon wanted to find out. Read about what he found in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2025.11.007

Fluoride in drinking water has no effect on IQ or brain function, long-term study shows The new research is the first to measure community water fluoridation exposure during childhood and any potential impact on cognition up to age 80.

New research from members John Robert Warren and Gina Rumore published in PNAS shows no link between community water fluoridation and brain function. https://nbcnews.to/4cHTWru

Highly anticipated new research from LCC members John Robert Warren and Gina Rumore finds no link between community water fluoridation and IQ and brain cognition. https://bit.ly/4c8fttf

Caitlin Carroll is one of two researchers working on a pilot project at the LCC to study how the construction of medical schools impacts the geographic distribution of doctors - and health outcomes. Learn more about our pilot projects: https://lcc.umn.edu/pilot-grant

Don't be a fool - today (4/1) is the last day to to apply for our summer data training workshop! It's the perfect chance to learn about linking historical US census data - and you can request travel support. Check it out at https://lcc.umn.edu/DIRC-workshop

TOMORROW (Apr 1) is the last day to apply for the @ipums.bsky.social summer data training workshop. This is a perfect chance to jump start a research project that requires linking with historical US census data. You can also request travel support. lcc.umn.edu/DIRC-workshop

Thriving in place: Multidimensional neighborhood typologies and cognitive function among U.S. older adults in the Health and Retirement Study Background Neighborhood physical, social, and service environments are increasingly recognized as important contextual factors related to cognitive health; however, few studies have examined how these...

🧠 New paper out in @plosone.org ! Where you live matters for your brain health.

📍 It's not just about poverty. It's about the full picture of your environment.

doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Congratulations to Professor Elizabeth Wrigley-Field on being named the 2026 College of Liberal Arts Dean's Medalist! https://bit.ly/4sMu8zT

Dig deep into data and explore novel linkages for life course research with us at the Data-Intensive Research Conference workshop on July 20-21st. Apply by April! https://lcc.umn.edu/DIRC-workshop

Housing Assistance and Health Care Access Among Older Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: Evidence from Multisource Linked Survey-Administrative Data To examine health care access among older adults, with specific attention to the importance of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) housing assistance participation and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) diagnosis. ...

A new study from LCC Member Andrew Fenelon finds older adults with ADRD receiving housing assistance tend to maintain a usual source of care, but experience cost-related barriers. https://bit.ly/4r7uEqI

Dr. Oz pushes AI avatars as a fix for rural health care. Not so fast, critics say Dr. Mehmet Oz, who heads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is advancing a $50 billion plan to modernize rural health care.

"I don't like the idea of rural populations being treated as guinea pigs," LCC member Carrie Henning-Smith said. "If this is where we're testing AI in health care, there's a lot that could go wrong." https://n.pr/47mSlnM

The GSA Conference abstract submission due date is TOMORROW (March 5). ⏰ Hope to see you there! #GSA2026 https://www.gsa2026.org/abstracts

Congratulations to LCC member Manka Nkimbeng on receiving the Early Career Community-Engaged Scholar Award!
m-engage.umn.edu/news-stories...

Remember to get those abstract submissions in for the 2026 Data-Intensive Research Conference hosted in Minneapolis in July! The deadline is TODAY (February 2nd). lcc.umn.edu/DIRC-proposals

Cmte on Rules - Subcommittee on the Federal Impact on Minnesotans and Economic Stability - 01/15/26 YouTube video by Minnesota Senate Media Services

LCC Member Caitlin Carrol testified before the Minnesota Senate on rural healthcare. Carrol was recently awarded one of our pilot grants to study the long term impact of medical school construction on the geographic distribution of physicians and health outcomes. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SliG...

Congratulations to Elizabeth Wrigley Field (@wrigleyfield.bsky.social) on receiving the MidCareer Faculty Research Award from the College of Liberal Arts for "How Demography Constrains and Enables Ideational Persistence and Change." cla.umn.edu/research-cre...

24 University of Minnesota researchers among most cited in the world in 2025 In 2025, 24 University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers are listed in the Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers list, representing the top one percent of researchers in their field by numbe...

Did you know LCC Member Robert Krueger is one of the most cited researchers in the world? Check out the full list of most cited UMN researchers: brief.umn.edu/awards-recog...

One of our pilot grant recipients has a new article out! Check it out 👇

Housing Assistance and Health Care Access Among Older Adults with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: Evidence from Multisource Linked Survey-Administrative Data To examine health care access among older adults, with specific attention to the importance of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD…

New research out from LCC Member Andy Fenelon looking at the relationship between HUD housing assistance and health care access among older adults with and without ADRD. Great collob with folks at SUNSHINE @umaryland.edu www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

“We don’t have enough supply,” says Carrie Henning-Smith, [a member of the LCC]. “It can be hard for older adults — especially rural older adults with limited incomes — to find affordable and accessible housing.” states.aarp.org/minnesota/so...

“If you don’t have coverage, it doesn’t mean that you’re not going to get sick,” said Lynn Blewett, a health policy professor at the University of Minnesota when talking to @startribune.com about people losing health coverage due to a lack of affordability. www.startribune.com/where-the-he...

Massive Study Finds No Link Between Fluoride in Tap Water and Lower Child IQ Researchers tracked thousands of Americans for decades, finding no links between ingesting recommended levels of fluoride and lower cognitive skills

"Researchers tracked thousands of Americans for decades, finding no links between ingesting recommended levels of fluoride and lower cognitive skills" - More coverage of Rob Warren and Gina Rumore's research in @sciam.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/mass...