Dr. Cristina Molina-Hidalgo

Cristina Molina-Hidalgo, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Neuroscience Department at AdventHealth Orlando. Dr. Molina-Hidalgo received her Ph.D. with honors in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Granada (Spain), followed by postdoctoral training in neuroscience techniques and exercise interventions at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Molina-Hidalgo has a research career that spans several years in the physical activity and brain health fields. She has participated in many national and international studies focusing on the effects of physical activity and exercise interventions on cognitive and brain health across various settings and populations. Dr. Molina-Hidalgo is an early career scientist who uses functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the effect of aging and lifestyle behaviors on brain health. She focuses specifically on memory and executive functions, which are the domains most affected by aging and neuropathology. Her current research at AdventHealth specifically investigates how uniquely objective and subjective stress markers can predict brain health, such as hippocampal volume and dysfunction and memory performance. Under the guidance of Kirk Erickson, Ph.D., Dr. Molina-Hidalgo is leading and exploring these relationships in multiple NIH-granted projects led by Dr. Erickson, such as IGNITE. IGNITE is a multi-site Phase III randomized clinical trial examining the impact of exercise on neurocognitive function in lat