Vonetta Jones Dotson
Student Trainee

Phone: (352) 265-0490
Email: vonettaj@yahoo.com

 


Education

  • Ph.D., Psychology, Gerontology Certificate, University of Florida, expected May 2006
  • M.S., Psychology, University of Florida, May 2002
  • B.A., Psychology, St. Mary’s University, May 1999

Research Interests

Vonetta’s primary research interest is in the effect of aging on mood and cognition. Particularly, she is interested in how changes in the aging brain contribute to the cognitive decline and increased prevalence of depressive symptoms observed in older adults. Her research has two directions:

  • Investigating cognition, specifically executive function, in late-life depression using both behavioral and electrophysiological (event-related potentials) measures. This work is particularly concerned with investigating whether the combined effect of aging and depression leads to greater cognitive decline (either additive or synergistic) than the decline caused by aging alone or depression alone.
  • Biologically based classification of depression. This work is concerned with using the literature on neural changes in late-life depression to inform biological models of depression. This may provide a more appropriate method of classifying depression than the current diagnostic system that is based on behavioral symptoms.

Student Profile

Vonetta graduated summa cum laude from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX in 1999. Her clinical and research interest in aging began when she entered the Clinical and Health Psychology graduate program at UF in 2000. She completed a master’s thesis on aphasia rehabilitation for stroke patients and is involved in an ongoing research project on ethnic differences in stroke recovery and caregiver burden at the Gainesville VA. She is involved in ongoing clinical training in psychotherapy and neuropsychological assessment of older adults. She is currently working on her Graduate Gerontology Certificate.

Vonetta is funded through a Graduate Minority Fellowship in the Clinical and Health Psychology department. She is currently applying for funding through the NIH Minority Dissertation Fellowship in Aging.

Currently, Vonetta’s work includes: (1) beginning a dissertation on the combined effect of aging and depression on executive functioning using an event-related potentials paradigm, (2) conducting a meta-analysis on the Stroop effect in depression, and (3) collecting data for a multi-center project on ethnic differences in stroke recovery and caregiver burden.