Franchesca Arias, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
On This Page
About Franchesca Arias
Dr. Franchesca Arias is originally from Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic. Dr. Arias is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida and an AlzSTARS Scholar with the 1Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. She completed her Ph.D. at Fordham University with a specialization in clinical neuropsychology. At Fordham University, Dr. Arias worked under Dr. Monica Rivera Mindt’s mentorship to examine cognition and health disparities in adults from socioeconomically and ethnoracially underrepresented groups with opioid use disorders. Subsequently, Dr. Arias completed her clinical internship and an NIA-funded T32 postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Florida (UF). During her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Arias received specialty training in perioperative cognition. Subsequently, she worked with Dr. Sharon Inouye at the Aging Brain Center of the Hebrew SeniorLife, exploring the contribution of social determinants of health on cognitive changes in older adults.
Teaching Profile
Courses Taught
-
CLP6943 – Core Practicum in Clinical Psychology
College of Public Health and Health Professions
-
CLP3911 – Introduction to Clinical Research
College of Public Health and Health Professions
-
CLP6945 – Advanced Practicum in Neuropsychology
College of Public Health and Health Professions
-
CLP6971 – Research for Master’s Thesis
College of Public Health and Health Professions
-
HSC4970 – Public Health and Health Professions Senior Honors Thesis
College of Public Health and Health Professions
-
CLP7980 – Research for Doctoral Dissertation
College of Public Health and Health Professions
-
CLP7934 – Special Topics In Clinical Psychology
College of Public Health and Health Professions
-
CLP7979 – Advanced Research
College of Public Health and Health Professions
Teaching Philosophy
Teaching is one of the most rewarding dimensions of working in higher education. It is through this dynamic process of polishing ideas to present them in a succinct and comprehensive manner that teachers develop into educators who have expertise in the material at hand. Moreover, stimulating emerging scholars is instrumental to the development of any field and one of our responsibilities as social scientists. As an instructor, Dr. Arias strives to challenge, empower, and promote self-awareness among her students. Informed by the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) set forth by Lev Vygotsky, Dr. Arias believes that students learn best when they are challenged within the context of a collaborative environment. In class, she begins by getting to know her students and their aspirations and encouraging them to identify members of the class whom they believe complement them. Gradually, the classroom transitions into a place where students are challenged to be more outspoken and to complete projects and activities that take them out of their comfort zone. Dr. Arias often asks her students to identify the interpersonal, social, and economic factors that shape their own experiences. Throughout the semester, she models skills that she considers instrumental to learning: curiosity, open-mindedness, and a commitment to engaging with the material critically. Ultimately, her goal is to promote mastery of the material presented in class while acknowledging and respecting individuality. That is, the concept of mastery should be adapted as each student has a different developmental trajectory. Another cornerstone of her approach to teaching is her desire to empower students. She firmly believes that taking ownership of one’s education is conducive to learning. Therefore, she encourages her students to be active agents in their academic experience, creating new training opportunities, evaluating how each step of the process contributes to the overall learning experience, and identifying extracurricular opportunities that complement their classroom experience.
Clinical Profile
Dr. Arias is a bicultural and bilingual (English and Spanish) Clinical Neuropsychologist who provides neuropsychological services to patients with diverse cognitive and behavioral conditions at the Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases. Dr. Arias spearheads the cross-cultural neuropsychological efforts in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at UF. She evaluates patients 21 and older in English and Spanish. In addition, she evaluates monolingual, English-speaking patients, with suspected neurodegenerative conditions (such as Alzheimer’s Disease). Thus, referrals from Neurology, Oncology, Geriatric Medicine, and Primary care will be accepted.
Specialties
- Clinical Health Psychology
Areas of Interest
- Alzheimer Disease
- Delirium
- Memory Loss
- Neurocognitive Disorder
- Stroke
Research Profile
Dr. Arias’ research interests center around the intersection between cognitive aging, contextual and socioeconomic factors, and medical conditions in older adults. Specifically, her work explores social determinants of health and their role in propelling or interfering with, healthy cognitive aging in patients from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Dr. Arias has received funding from the Alzheimer’s Association (2019-AARFD-644816) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA; Diversity Supplement to Grant No. P01AG031720; PI: Inouye) to identify contextual-level factors that increase the vulnerability for acute and long-term cognitive decline to explore social determinants of health in the context of acute changes in cognition in older adults presenting for major, non-cardiac, surgery.
Publications
Academic Articles
Presentations
-
The Impact of Built Environment on Cognitive Aging
National / Invited. [Continuing Education]. Yale School of Medicine,
-
Midwest Neuropsychology Group Annual Meeting- Sailing into the future of neuropsychology: Insights from the National Neuropsychology Network
National / Invited. [Symposium]. Midwest Neuropsychology Group, Milwaukee
-
Recruitment of Diverse Samples in TeleNP Research
National / Invited. [Lecture]. 1FLADRC; SCN Div 40 APA, Seattle, WA
-
Lessons Learned from TeleNP Practices in the USA: Opportunities for Remote Assessments Outside the USA
International / Invited. [Symposium]. None, El Jadida University
Grants
-
PRECEDE II Presurgical Cognitive Evaluation Via Digital Clockface Drawing Focusing on Disparities
Active
- Role:
- Co-Investigator
- Funding:
- NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
-
National Neuropsychology Network (NNN)
Active
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding:
- UNIV OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES via NATL INST OF HLTH NIMH
-
Impact of Novel Rehabilitative Approaches for Dysphagia in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
- Role:
- Principal Investigator
- Funding:
- UNIV OF WISCONSIN MADISON via NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
-
Defining Targets for Tic Detection and Suppression in Tourette Syndrome Deep Brain Stimulation
Active
- Role:
- Project Manager
- Funding:
- NATL INST OF HLTH NINDS
Contact Details
- Business:
- (352) 273-9794
- Business:
- farias2@ufl.edu
- Business Mailing:
-
PO Box 100165
GAINESVILLE FL 32610 - Business Street:
-
1225 CENTER DR
GAINESVILLE FL 32610