Research Summary

Dr. Elena Portacolone is a Professor of Sociology in the Institute for Health & Aging and a Pepper Center Scholar at the Division of Geriatric Medicine at UCSF. She is also affiliated with the Philip Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, and the Global Health Sciences Institute, both at UCSF. Her research aims at developing equitable policies and programs for older adults living alone with cognitive impairment in the United States, and worldwide. Dr. Portacolone is also evaluating national interventions to increase the representation of communities of color in clinical trials on dementia.

Dr. Portacolone completed her undergraduate degree in political sciences (international major) at the University of Turin, Italy. After working in the corporate sector in the United Kingdom, she completed an MPH degree at School of Public Health at UC Berkeley, an MBA degree at the Haas Business at UC Berkeley, and a PhD in Sociology in the Department of Social and Behavioral Science at UCSF. Dr. Portacolone is an alumna of the Butler-Williams program at the National Institute on Aging and of the Health Disparities Institute at the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Dr. Portacolone has led investigations that focus on the role of living alone as a social determinant of health, barriers and facilitators to services and supports for older adults living alone with dementia, increasing engagement of communities of color in dementia research, suicide, and social isolation. The majority of study participants in her studies belong to communities of color and often live alone. She has received extensive training in cognitive impairment, ethics, and advanced qualitative methods, and mixed methods. Dr. Portacolone founded the international network on living alone with cognitive impairment with the aim of promoting research on this topic.

Research Funding

  • July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027 - Bridging Research and Policy to Support Older Adults Living Alone With Pancreatic Cancer , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: UCSF RAP, Sponsor Award ID: unknown
  • September 15, 2020 - May 31, 2025 - Access and use of long-term services and supports for older adults living alone with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias from four racial/ethnic groups , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH/NIA, Sponsor Award ID: R01 AG069147
  • June 1, 2021 - March 31, 2025 - Leveraging the national infrastructure of trusted organizations to increase representation of Latinos in dementia research , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R24AG071456
  • December 1, 2018 - December 31, 2021 - Scalable Strategies to Recruit African Americans into Dementia Research , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: Alzheimer's Association, Sponsor Award ID: 2018-AARG-589788
  • September 1, 2018 - April 30, 2021 - Identifying Scalable and Culturally Relevant Strategies for Recruitment of African Americans with Cognitive Impairment into Dementia Research , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: National Institute on Aging, Sponsor Award ID: R03 AG060354
  • September 30, 2018 - August 31, 2020 - Access and use of long-term services and supports for older adults living alone with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias from four racial/ethnic groups , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: R56AG062165
  • June 28, 2019 - June 30, 2020 - Strategies to Increase Recruitment of Latino Americans in Dementia Research , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: California Department of Public Health, Sponsor Award ID: ADRA 18-10612
  • August 15, 2015 - April 30, 2020 - Living Alone in Older Age with Cognitive Impairment , Principal Investigator . Sponsor: NIH, Sponsor Award ID: K01AG049102

Education

Ph.D., 2011 - Sociology, University of California, San Francisco
Master, 2004 - Business Administration (MBA), University of California, Berkeley
Master, 2004 - Public Health (MPH), University of California, Berkeley
Laurea, 1995 - Political Sciences, Universita’ degli Studi di Torino

Honors & Awards

  • 2022Dale Schenk Alzheimer’s Association Research Roundtable Grant Award, Alzheimer’s Association
  • 2017National Institute on Aging Loan Repayment Program
  • 2010Silver Jubilee Fellowship, American Association University Women, Washington, DC
  • 2010Carroll Estes Fellowship, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
  • 2010Anselm Strauss Fellowship, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
  • 2009White Fellowship, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
  • 2009Soroptimist Fellowship, Philadelphia, PA
  • 2009Virginia Olesen Fellowship, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
  • 2007Lynn Adamson Memorial Scholarship, Women Health Care Executives, Oakland, CA
  • 2007Andrew Scholarship Fund, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
  • 2005-2010Graduate Dean’s Health Science Award, UCSF, San Francisco, CA
  • 2003David Starkweather Fellowship in Health Service Management, UCB, Berkeley, CA

Selected Publications

  1. Ikeuchi T, Ikegami N, Awata S, Amano T, Portacolone E. T. Gerontologist. Aug 12 2026;doi:10.1093/geront/gnag180. The Copernican revolution of caring for older adults living alone with dementia: Lessons from Japan. The Gerontologist. 2026. View on PubMed
  2. Ikeuchi T, Ikegami N, Awata S, Amano T, Portacolone E. The Copernican revolution of caring for older adults living alone with dementia: lessons from Japan. Gerontologist. 2026 Aug 05; 66(9). View on PubMed
  3. Growdon ME, Harrison KL, Steinman MA, Hunt LJ, Stone RI, Tran T, Johnson JK, Portacolone E. Medication Management Among Older Adults Living Alone With Cognitive Impairment. JAMA Intern Med. 2026 07 01; 186(7):838-849. View on PubMed
  4. Okoye SM, Patil AP, Portacolone E, Gordon K, Gitlin LN. Housing characteristics of older adults with cognitive impairment. Alzheimers Dement. 2025 10; 21(10):e70841. View on PubMed
  5. Elena Portacolone. AI researchers need deep thinking to truly address social isolation. Generations. 2025. View on PubMed
  6. Allison TA, Johnson JK, Stewart AL, Portacolone E, Simpson M, McSpadden S, Sherman S, Nápoles AM. Facilitators and Barriers to Sustainment of a Community Choir Program to Promote Health Among Diverse Older Adults: A Multi-site Study. Int J Community Music. 2025 Mar; 18(1):9-30. View on PubMed
  7. Polack S, Bell G, Silarova B, Hebditch M, Tingle A, Sommerlad A, Portacolone E, Sykes K, Tabet N. Non-Pharmacological Interventions for People With Dementia Who Live Alone: A Systematic Review. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2025 03; 40(3):e70059. View on PubMed
  8. Velez Ortiz D, Ransom N, Rivera E, Johnson JK, Keiser S, Tran T, Torres J, Portacolone E. Specific cultural traits of the precarity of older Latinos living alone with cognitive impairment in the San Francisco Bay Area. Aging Ment Health. 2025 03; 29(3):532-541. View on PubMed
  9. Growdon ME, Jing B, Yaffe K, Karliner LS, Possin KL, Portacolone E, Boscardin WJ, Harrison KL, Steinman MA. High-risk medication use among older adults with cognitive impairment living alone in the United States. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 Dec; 72(12):3719-3729. View on PubMed
  10. Portacolone E, Cohen AB. Living Alone With Dementia: A Reality Check. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2024 11; 32(11):1322-1324. View on PubMed
  11. Yang Y, Lee AR, Portacolone E, Rapp T, Torres JM. State home- and community-based services spending and unmet care needs by living arrangements and cognitive impairment status. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2024 Nov; 72(11):3598-3600. View on PubMed
  12. Michalowsky B, Blotenberg I, Platen M, Teipel S, Kilimann I, Portacolone E, Bohlken J, Rädke A, Buchholz M, Scharf A, Muehlichen F, Xie F, Thyrian JR, Hoffmann W. Clinical Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness of Collaborative Dementia Care: A Secondary Analysis of a Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 07 01; 7(7):e2419282. View on PubMed
  13. Costanza A, Amerio A, Aguglia A, Magnani L, Alexander J, Maiorano A, Richard-Lepouriel H, Portacolone E, Berardelli I, Pompili M, Serafini G, Amore M, Nguyen KD. A Prospective Multicenter Longitudinal Analysis of Suicidal Ideation among Long-COVID-19 Patients. Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Jan 23; 12(3). View on PubMed
  14. Portacolone E, Feddoes DE. Should Artificial Intelligence Play a Role in Cultivating Social Connections Among Older Adults? AMA J Ethics. 2023 11 01; 25(11):E818-824. View on PubMed
  15. Portacolone, E &
    Feddoes, DE. Should artificial intelligence play a role in cultivating social connections among older adults?. AMA J Ethics. 2023; 11(25):818-824. View on PubMed
  16. Portacolone E, Nguyen TT, Bowers BJ, Johnson JK, Kotwal AA, Stone RI, Keiser S, Tran T, Rivera E, Martinez P, Yang Y, Torres JM, Covinsky KE. Perceptions of the Role of Living Alone in Providing Services to Patients With Cognitive Impairment. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Aug 01; 6(8):e2329913. View on PubMed
  17. Aranda MP, Marquez DX, Gallagher-Thompson D, Pérez A, Rojas JC, Hill CV, Reyes Y, Dilworth-Anderson P, Portacolone E. A call to address structural barriers to Hispanic/Latino representation in clinical trials on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: A micro-meso-macro perspective. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). 2023 Apr-Jun; 9(2):e12389. View on PubMed
  18. Harris OO, Perry TE, Johnson JK, Lichtenberg P, Washington T, Kitt B, Shaw M, Keiser S, Tran T, Vest L, Maloof M, Portacolone E. Understanding the concept of trust and other factors related to COVID-19 vaccine intentions among Black/African American older adults prior to vaccine development. SSM Qual Res Health. 2023 Jun; 3:100230. View on PubMed
  19. Perez A, Johnson JK, Marquez DX, Keiser S, Martinez P, Guerrero J, Tran T, Portacolone E. Factors related to COVID-19 vaccine intention in Latino communities. PLoS One. 2022; 17(11):e0272627. View on PubMed
  20. Portacolone E, Byers AL, Halpern J, Barnes DE. Addressing Suicide Risk in Patients Living With Dementia During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond. Gerontologist. 2022 08 12; 62(7):956-963. View on PubMed

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