University of Southern California · Social ScienceGracner Lab
Tadeja Gracner · Los Angeles, California
Research Focus
Dr. Tadeja Gracner's lab at the University of Southern California researches how different educational experiences influence cognitive health in older adults. They particularly focus on the impacts of educational quality and content from certain historical periods, like the 1950s-60s, and how these relate to conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Through detailed analysis of past educational data, the lab aims to uncover significant effects that education can have on cognitive decline, considering factors like race and socioeconomic status.
educational investmentcognitive healthAlzheimer's diseaselongitudinal studiessocioeconomic statuscognitive agingnatural experimentsSTEM educationhealth outcomeseducation quality
Research Aims
4AIM 01Evaluate the causal effects of educational content on cognitive health.
AIM 02Document funding impacts from the National Defense Education Act.
AIM 03Identify mediating pathways between education and cognitive aging.
AIM 04Examine variation in impacts by demographic factors like race and socioeconomic status.
Skills the Lab Values
data analysisstatistical modelinglongitudinal data collectionquasi-experimental designsurvey researchdata linkingimpact assessmenteducational policy analysissocioeconomic research methodshealth data interpretation
Output against the department
Publications52bottom 16% of dept.65th of 77
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations554bottom 12% of dept.68th of 77
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.