Dawn J Mechanic-Hamilton, Ph.D., ABPP-CN
Associate Professor of Neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Clinical Director, Neuropsychological Services and Cognitive Fitness Program, Penn Memory Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Clinical Core Co-Lead, UPenn Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
AD/ADRD Pilot Core Co-Lead, PennAITech Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory for Healthy Aging
Neuropsychology Division Chief, Neurology Department
Department: Neurology
Contact information
Penn Memory Center
Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, 2 South
3400 Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, 2 South
3400 Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 215-662-4516
Email:
dawn.mechanic@uphs.upenn.edu
dawn.mechanic@uphs.upenn.edu
Education:
B.A. (Psychobiology)
Wellesley College, 1998.
M.S. (Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology Concentration)
Drexel University, 2008.
Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology Concentration)
Drexel University, 2010.
B.A. (Psychobiology)
Wellesley College, 1998.
M.S. (Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology Concentration)
Drexel University, 2008.
Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology, Neuropsychology Concentration)
Drexel University, 2010.
Post-Graduate Training
Predoctoral Intern in Clinical Neuropsychology, Brown University Clinical Psychology Training Consortium, 2009-2010.
Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuropsychology, University of Pennsylvania, Psychiatry Department, Neuropsychiatry Division, 2010-2012.
Predoctoral Intern in Clinical Neuropsychology, Brown University Clinical Psychology Training Consortium, 2009-2010.
Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuropsychology, University of Pennsylvania, Psychiatry Department, Neuropsychiatry Division, 2010-2012.
Certifications
American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN), 2016.
Permanent linkAmerican Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABCN), 2016.
Selected Publications
Stites SD, Midgett S, Patel N, Halberstadter K, Schumann R, Streitz ML, Shi Y, Morris JC, Flatt J, Glover CM, Mechanic-Hamilton D: Recognizing Structural and Social Determinants of Health in the Diagnosis and Care of Dementia. Dementia (London) 25(2): 237-265, February 2026.Brown CA, Mundada NS, Cousins KAQ, Sadeghpour N, Lyu X, McGrew E, Korecka M, Chen-Plotkin A, Xie L, Wisse LEM, Detre JA, McMillan CT, Lee EB, Nasrallah IM, Das SR, Mechanic-Hamilton D, Yushkevich PA, Shaw LM, Wolk DA; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.: Evaluation of Copathology and Clinical Trajectories in Individuals With Tau-Clinical Mismatch. JAMA Neurol 83: 126-136, Feb 2026.
Brown CA, Mundada NS, Cousins KAQ, Sadeghpour N, Lyu X, McGrew E, Korecka M, Chen-Plotkin A, Xie L, Wisse LEM, Detre JA, McMillan CT, Lee EB, Nasrallah IM, Das SR, Mechanic-Hamilton D, Yushkevich PA, Shaw LM, Wolk DA; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.: Evaluation of Copathology and Clinical Trajectories in Individuals With Tau-Clinical Mismatch. JAMA Neurology 83(2): 126-136, February 2026.
Li Y, Xie L, Khandelwal P, Wisse LEM, Brown CA, Prabhakaran K, Tisdall MD, Mechanic-Hamilton D, Detre JA, Das SR, Wolk DA, Yushkevich PA: Automatic Segmentation of Medial Temporal Lobe Subregions in Multi-Scanner, Multi-Modality Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Variable Quality. Hippocampus 35(6), November 2025.
Sachs BC, Latham LA, Isom S, Clark LR, Craft S, Duff K, Espeland MA, Farias ST, Gaussoin SA, Goldstein FC, Hampstead BM, Jayadev S, Jicha GA, Kukull WA, Leng XI, Mechanic-Hamilton D, Neugroschl J, Papp KV, Saykin AJ, Sewell MC, Rapp SR: Multi-site video-based assessment with the NACC UDS-Version 3 battery: Design and participant experience in the V-Cog study. Alzheimer's & Dementia 21(10), October 2025.
Kim B, Blam K, Elser H, Xie SX, Van Deerlin VM, Penning TM, Weintraub D, Irwin DJ, Massimo LM, McMillan CT, Mechanic-Hamilton D, Wolk DA, Lee EB: Ambient Air Pollution and the Severity of Alzheimer Disease Neuropathology. JAMA Neurology 82: 1153-1161, September 2025.
Brown CA, Mundada NS, Cousins KAQ, Sadeghpour N, Lyu X, McGrew E, Korecka M, Chen-Plotkin A, Xie L, Wisse LEM, Detre JA, McMillan CT, Lee EB, Nasrallah IM, Das SR, Mechanic-Hamilton D, Yushkevich PA, Shaw LM; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; Wolk DA.: Tau-Clinical Mismatch Identifies Individuals with Co-Pathology and Predicts Clinical Trajectory. medRxiv Jul 2025.
Stites SD, Kuz C, Halberstadter K, Humphreys V, Cousins KAQ, Mechanic-Hamilton D: Societal Gender Norms and Their Influence on Late Life Cognition. Neurodegener Dis June 2025.
Sanderson-Cimino M, Gross AL, Gaynor LS, Paolillo EW, Saloner R, Albert MS, Apostolova FG, Boersema B, Boxer AL, Boeve BF, Casaletto KB, Hallgarth SR, Diaz VE, Clark LR, Maillard P, Eloyan A, Farias ST, Gonzales MM, Hammers DB, Joie R, Cobigo Y, Wolf A, Hampstead BM, Mechanic-Hamilton D, Miller BL, Rabinovici GD, Ringman JM, Rosen HJ, Ryman SG, Prestopnik JL, Salmon DP, Smith GE, DeCarli C, Rajan KB, Jin LW, Hinman J, Johnson DK, Harvey D, Fornage M, Kramer JH, Staffaroni AM.: Development and validation of a harmonized memory score for multicenter Alzheimer's disease and related dementia research. medRxiv Apr 2025.
Halberstadter K, Humphreys V, Rovere R, Liebenberg E, Mechanic-Hamilton D: Technology Behaviors and Sentiments Among Cognitively Normal Older Adults using the Mobile Cognitive App Performance Platform. 53rd Annual Meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society February 2025.