- Ph.D., Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- M.A., Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
- B.A. Psychology and Biology (with High Distinction) University of Virginia
- Fellowship, Psychiatry, University of Vermont
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Areas of expertise
cognitive neuroscience of menopause, cognitive aging, psychopharmacology, functional neuroimaging, aging and mental health, professional development.
BIO
Dr. Dumas joined the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry as a Research Assistant Professor in 2006 and is now a tenured Professor since 2022. Dr. Dumas has developed a research program that examines the neurobiology underlying age-related cognitive dysfunction as well as the role of hormones on brain functioning across the life span. Since 2015, she has received three R01s, a subcontract R01, and an R56 from the National Institutes on Aging (NIA)/NIH to support this research program. She has also received two investigator-initiated grants to study the effects of choline on brain functioning in postmenopausal women and has a patent pending for this work. She continues to publish this work in specialty journals in her field and is a co-investigator on NIH grants on neuroscience and scientific and professional mentoring topics. Dr. Dumas’ teaching focuses on mentoring opportunities that serve to train the next generation of scientists. Here at UVM, she is a highly sought-after mentor for undergraduate students who are interested in gaining research experience in a human neuroscience laboratory. Nationally, she is a Principal Investigator for an R25 with a colleague at Weill Cornell Medical College and a mentor to another R25 awarded to the University of Pittsburgh where she mentors early career faculty investigators in geriatric mental health. She has a national reputation for mentoring as she has chaired an NIH study section evaluating graduate student and postdoc fellowship grants applications in cognitive, sensory, and motor neurosciences. Dr. Dumas contributes service to the Department of Psychiatry as the Director of Psychiatry Grand Rounds and as the Vice Chair for Faculty. At the LCOM she has been a member of the Faculty Standards Committee for 10 years and served as Chair in 2019-2020. Dr. Dumas is the Research Director at the UVM MRI Center for Biomedical Imaging. Her national service includes being elected by her peers in Geriatric Psychiatry to two three-year terms on the Board of Directors of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) as well as being selected for a 6-year term as the Vice Chair and then Chair for the Research Committee at the AAGP. Dr. Dumas is a Distinguished Fellow of the AAGP in recognition of this service.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- Outstanding Achievement in Medicine and Science Award, Celebration of Gender Equity in Science and Medicine, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, 2025
- Distinguished Fellow, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2020
- Top Poster Nominee from the Society for Biological Psychiatry, 2011 for “Estradiol reversal of anticholinergic brain activation in postmenopausal women”. One of 47 selected out of 600 to be considered for the Top Poster Award for Clinical/Translational Research, 2011
- Scholar in the Advanced Research Institute for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2010-2011
- Distinguished Member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, 2009
- American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Young Investigator Memorial Travel Award, 2008
- Barry Lebowitz Early Career Scientist Award, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2008
- Summer Research Institute for Geriatric Psychiatry, Scholar, 2006
- Institute on Aging at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Small Research Grant, 1998
- Frank W. Finger Undergraduate Award, University of Virginia, Department of Psychology, 1996
Bio
Dr. Dumas joined the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry as a Research Assistant Professor in 2006 and is now a tenured Professor since 2022. Dr. Dumas has developed a research program that examines the neurobiology underlying age-related cognitive dysfunction as well as the role of hormones on brain functioning across the life span. Since 2015, she has received three R01s, a subcontract R01, and an R56 from the National Institutes on Aging (NIA)/NIH to support this research program. She has also received two investigator-initiated grants to study the effects of choline on brain functioning in postmenopausal women and has a patent pending for this work. She continues to publish this work in specialty journals in her field and is a co-investigator on NIH grants on neuroscience and scientific and professional mentoring topics. Dr. Dumas’ teaching focuses on mentoring opportunities that serve to train the next generation of scientists. Here at UVM, she is a highly sought-after mentor for undergraduate students who are interested in gaining research experience in a human neuroscience laboratory. Nationally, she is a Principal Investigator for an R25 with a colleague at Weill Cornell Medical College and a mentor to another R25 awarded to the University of Pittsburgh where she mentors early career faculty investigators in geriatric mental health. She has a national reputation for mentoring as she has chaired an NIH study section evaluating graduate student and postdoc fellowship grants applications in cognitive, sensory, and motor neurosciences. Dr. Dumas contributes service to the Department of Psychiatry as the Director of Psychiatry Grand Rounds and as the Vice Chair for Faculty. At the LCOM she has been a member of the Faculty Standards Committee for 10 years and served as Chair in 2019-2020. Dr. Dumas is the Research Director at the UVM MRI Center for Biomedical Imaging. Her national service includes being elected by her peers in Geriatric Psychiatry to two three-year terms on the Board of Directors of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP) as well as being selected for a 6-year term as the Vice Chair and then Chair for the Research Committee at the AAGP. Dr. Dumas is a Distinguished Fellow of the AAGP in recognition of this service.
Publications
Awards and Achievements
- Outstanding Achievement in Medicine and Science Award, Celebration of Gender Equity in Science and Medicine, Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont, 2025
- Distinguished Fellow, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2020
- Top Poster Nominee from the Society for Biological Psychiatry, 2011 for “Estradiol reversal of anticholinergic brain activation in postmenopausal women”. One of 47 selected out of 600 to be considered for the Top Poster Award for Clinical/Translational Research, 2011
- Scholar in the Advanced Research Institute for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2010-2011
- Distinguished Member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, 2009
- American College of Neuropsychopharmacology Young Investigator Memorial Travel Award, 2008
- Barry Lebowitz Early Career Scientist Award, American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2008
- Summer Research Institute for Geriatric Psychiatry, Scholar, 2006
- Institute on Aging at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Small Research Grant, 1998
- Frank W. Finger Undergraduate Award, University of Virginia, Department of Psychology, 1996
Select Publications
- Russell, JK, Conley, AC, Boyd, BD, Begnoche, JP, Schlossberg, R, Stranick, Rosenberg, AJ, Acosta, LMY, Martin, D, Neal, Y, Kanel, P, Albin, RL, Rafi, MS, Dumas, J, & Newhouse, PA. (2025). Brain cholinergic terminal density utilizing [F18]-fluoroethoxybenzovesamicol PET in adults with Down’s syndrome: Relationship to amyloid PET and cognitive performance. Alzheimer’s Dement. 21(4): e70134. doi: 10.1002/alz.70134
- Testo, A.A.*, Roundy, G.*, & Dumas, J.A. (2025). Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer’s Disease. Current Topics in Behavioral Neuroscience, 69: 181-195. doi: 10.1007/7854_2024_527. 3
- Kien, C.L & Dumas, J.A. (2025). How the dietary saturated/monounsaturated fatty acid ratio modulates brain function in older adults. Nutrients, 17(11): 1987 doi: 10.3390/nu17111897. 4
- Albert, K., Boyd, B., McDonald, B., Dumas, J., Saykin, A., Taylor, W., & Newhouse, P. (2025). Associations between subjective cognitive concern, brain network connectivity, and cognitive performance in cognitively normal older adults. Aging Brain, 9, 100155. 5
- Dumas, J.A., Testo, A., Senft Miller, A., Ozahl, A., Potts, C., Zhang, J., Aboukhatwa, M., Boyd, J.T. (2026). Oral Choline Reduced Working Memory-Related Brain Activation in Postmenopausal Women: A Pilot Study. Nutrients, Jan 30;18(3):459. doi: 10.3390/nu18030459.