Nicole M. Gatto, PhD, MPH
“I am motivated to drive high-quality, impactful research that will contribute to improving health and preventing disease and disability in diverse populations.”
Nicole M. Gatto, PhD, MPH
Principal Collaborative Scientist, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Associate Professor, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Adjunct Research Assistant Professor, Dept. of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Adjunct Professor, Loma Linda University, School of Public Health
Biography
Nicole Gatto is a principal collaborative scientist at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI), where she predominantly works on the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) Study, focusing on the epidemiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Nicole’s research aims to increase our understanding of chronic diseases including neurodegenerative disorders, cardiovascular disease, and cancers. She has studied a broad range of risk and preventive factors including environmental, occupational, lifestyle, physiological, and genetic factors. She has led several funded epidemiologic studies, effectively utilizing data from cross-sectional, case-control, cohort, and experimental studies and applying different analytical approaches in her research.
Nicole earned her Master of Public Health from the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA and her PhD in epidemiology from the Department of Preventive Medicine at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. Subsequently, she completed a 3-year post-doctoral fellowship at UCLA in environmental neuroepidemiology as well as a 1-year internship in communicable disease control and prevention at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. She holds certifications in public health, SAS, geographical information science, clinical trials, and college teaching.
Nicole has affiliate faculty appointments at the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, University of Southern California, and University of California, Riverside. She is a member of several professional societies, including the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Public Health Association. She serves as a reviewer for prominent public health journals, including Environmental Health Perspectives, Journal of the Neurological Sciences, and Public Health Nutrition.
In 2014, Nicole was a recipient of the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, California’s highest environmental honor. In 2020, Nicole was named a Fulbright Scholar and, during 2021, she taught and conducted research at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik. Nicole is also a three-time Fulbright Specialist completing research and teaching projects in the countries of Mongolia, Colombia, and Kazakhstan between 2018 and 2025.
Nicole is inspired by the work of Wangari Maathai, who founded the Green Belt movement in Kenya, and Alice Waters, who created the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California.
Areas of research focus
Recent Publications
Gray SL, Yu O, Gatto NM, Marcum ZA, Latimer CS, Postupna N, Su YR, Barthold D, van Dalen JW, Richard E, Keene CD, Shaw PA, McEvoy LK, Larson EB, Crane PK Angiotensin II-Stimulating Antihypertensive Medications and Dementia-Related Neuropathology 2026 Feb 2;9(2):e2559113. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.59113. Epub 2026-02-02. PubMed
Gabitto MI, Travaglini KJ, Rachleff VM, Kaplan ES, Long B, Ariza J, Ding Y, Mahoney JT, Dee N, Goldy J, Melief EJ, Agrawal A, Kana O, Zhen X, Barlow ST, Brouner K, Campos J, Campos J, Carr AJ, Casper T, Chakrabarty R, Clark M, Cool J, Dalley R, Darvas M, Ding SL, Dolbeare T, Egdorf T, Esposito L, Ferrer R, Fleckenstein LE, Gala R, Gary A, Gelfand E, Gloe J, Guilford N, Guzman J, Hirschstein D, Ho W, Hupp M, Jarsky T, Johansen N, Kalmbach BE, Keene LM, Khawand S, Kilgore MD, Kirkland A, Kunst M, Lee BR, Leytze M, Mac Donald CL, Malone J, Maltzer Z, Martin N, McCue R, McMillen D, Mena G, Meyerdierks E, Meyers KP, Mollenkopf T, Montine M, Nolan AL, Nyhus JK, Olsen PA, Pacleb M, Pagan CM, Peña N, Pham T, Pom CA, Postupna N, Rimorin C, Ruiz A, Saldi GA, Schantz AM, Shapovalova NV, Sorensen SA, Staats B, Sullivan M, Sunkin SM, Thompson C, Tieu M, Ting JT, Torkelson A, Tran T, Valera Cuevas NJ, Walling-Bell S, Wang MQ, Waters J, Wilson AM, Xiao M, Haynor D, Gatto NM, Jayadev S, Mufti S, Ng L, Mukherjee S, Crane PK, Latimer CS, Levi BP, Smith KA, Close JL, Miller JA, Hodge RD, Larson EB, Grabowski TJ, Hawrylycz M, Keene CD, Lein ES Integrated multimodal cell atlas of Alzheimer's disease 2024 Dec;27(12):2366-2383. doi: 10.1038/s41593-024-01774-5. Epub 2024-10-14. PubMed
Gatto NM, Renz A, Tom SE, Lyons M, Macuiba JA, Dodd TS, Lind BK, Gray SL, Meyers K, Larson EB, Nelson JC, McEvoy LK, Sankaran S, Key D, Litondo JA, Crane PK The Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) Medical Records Abstraction Project: A Resource for Research on Biological, Psychosocial and Behavioral Factors on the Aging Brain and Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias 2024 Oct 28;14(11). doi: 10.3390/brainsci14111075. Epub 2024-10-28. PubMed
Hawrylycz M, Kaplan ES, Travaglini KJ, Gabitto MI, Miller JA, Ng L, Close JL, Hodge RD, Long B, Mollenkopf T, Mufti S, Gatto NM, Larson EB, Crane PK, Grabowski TJ, Keene CD, Lein ES SEA-AD is a multimodal cellular atlas and resource for Alzheimer's disease 2024 Oct;4(10):1331-1334. doi: 10.1038/s43587-024-00719-8. PubMed
Gibbons LE, Mobley T, Mayeda ER, Lee CS, Gatto NM, LaCroix AZ, McEvoy LK, Crane PK, Hayes-Larson E How Generalizable Are Findings from a Community-Based Prospective Cohort Study? Extending Estimates from the Adult Changes in Thought Study to Its Source Population 2024 Jan;100(1):163-174. doi: 10.3233/JAD-240247. PubMed
Research
Autopsy study links BP drugs to possible brain benefits
Research supports theory that some blood pressure medications may provide extra protection against dementia.
News
ACT Research Symposium meets virtually to discuss brain aging science
This year’s symposium was a virtual event drawing over 130 attendees.
Research
Study links sitting for longer stretches to risk of blood clots in older women
Taking more breaks from sitting could potentially lower the risk.
Research
ACT Study contributes to understanding Alzheimer’s disease in brain cells
Mapping the disease at the cellular level identifies possible new treatment targets.
Learn About the ACT Study
Understanding brain aging
For over 30 years, the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) Study has been advancing our understanding of cognition, aging, and better ways to delay and prevent Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Land Acknowledgment
Our Seattle offices sit on the occupied land of the Duwamish and by the shared waters of the Coast Salish people, who have been here thousands of years and remain. Learn about practicing land acknowledgment.