Elizabeth (Lissa) Riley received her undergraduate degree from MIT and her PhD from the Boston University School of Medicine. She trained at the Boston VA Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School as a Special Geriatric Fellow before coming to Cornell as a postdoctoral fellow with a National Institute on Aging National Research Service Award F32 fellowship. She is now a Research Associate. In 2024, she was named a National Institute on Aging Butler Williams Scholar.

Changes in the structure or function of neuromodulatory nuclei are directly and mechanistically associated with some of the costliest, most distressing, and least addressable human health problems, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, substance abuse, major depression and schizophrenia. In addition to their roles in disease, the brain’s modulatory neurotransmitters play both ancient and exapted roles in modern lives, modulating our abilities to focus, sleep, respond to stress, and manage rewarding or addicting stimuli. The common thread uniting Dr. Riley’s research interests is the role of these ancient, conserved neuromodulatory systems, and their support of complex cognitive functions in health and disease in humans. Dr. Riley uses structural and functional MRI, pupillometry, neurocognitive assessment, genetic analysis, measurement of many clinically relevant variables such as metabolic health, blood pressure, and blood sugar control, sensory testing, and a wide variety of sociodemographic measures to assess the function and health of neuromodulatory systems, particularly the locus coeruleus/norepinephrine (LC-NE) system, across the lifespan. Her work also now includes vagus nerve stimulation designed to directly tune and improve LC-NE functioning.

In addition to her interest in neuromodulators, Dr. Riley also feels strongly that the scientific mindset itself is a contributor to human thriving. She see the process of investigation as a profoundly hopeful human endeavor that should be shared whenever possible, and scientific literacy as crucial protection against confusion, exploitation and ill health. In order to share the process of investigation, Dr. Riley collaborates directly with communities, bringing participants to Cornell who might otherwise have no contact with research science throughout their lives, and delivering public lectures and workshops to all ages, from kindergarten through senior citizens. She shares all research results directly with participants.

Dr. Riley’s research program employs structural and functional MRI, pupillometry, neurocognitive assessment, genetic analysis, measurement of many clinically relevant variables such as metabolic health, blood pressure, and blood sugar control, sensory testing, and a wide variety of sociodemographic measures. She is currently running a clinical trial on the locus coeruleus, norepinephrine and cognitive aging.  Her studies recruit from both Ithaca and Syracuse and place a high priority on recruiting and retaining representative populations relevant to the study of cognitive aging.

Riley E B, Wager G, Rahman S N, De Rosa E, Anderson A K (2025) Vagal nerve stimulation alters task-evoked pupillary responses in older adults but not younger adults in a single-blind sham-controlled crossover trial. Biorxiv.

Riley E B, *Cicero N G, Swallow K M, Anderson A K, De Rosa E (2025) Blood oxygenation level-dependent responses in neuromodulatory nuclei and their associations with attention and memory across age groups. Neurobiology of Aging 155:24–34

Gonzalez M, Laser R, Carrillo S C, Deng X, Riley E B et al. (2025) Science democratization for rigor, relevance, and resilience. Developmental Psychobiology 67(5): e70075

Riley E B, *Cicero N G, Swallow K M, De Rosa E, Anderson A K (2025) Age-related differences in locus coeruleus intensity across a demographically diverse sample. Neurobiology of Aging 150:122–131

^*Cicero N G*, ^Riley E B, Swallow K M, De Rosa E, Anderson A K (2025) Attention-dependent coupling with forebrain and brainstem neuromodulatory nuclei changes across the lifespan. GeroScience ^co-first author

*Mabry S A and Riley E B (2024) Your black and blue brain regions and the story they tell about brain disease. Frontiers for Young Minds 12:1371251

Brangman S A, Royal K, Dillenbeck C, McNamara S, Smith N, De Rosa E, Anderson A K, Riley E B (2023) Community research liaison role in increasing participation of African Americans in cognitive research: a case study. Alzheimer’s & Dementia 19:e062941

Riley E B, Turker H, Wang D, Swallow K M, Anderson A K, De Rosa E (2023) Nonlinear changes in pupillary orienting responses across the lifespan. GeroScience 46:1017–1033

Turker H, Riley E B, Luh W, Colcombe S, Swallow K M (2021) Estimates of locus coeruleus function with fMRI are influenced by localization approaches and use of multi-echo data. NeuroImage 236:118047

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Affiliations

Cornell Community Neuroscience Initiative

Neuro Climate Working Group

Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance

Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (Professional Interest Area: Neuromodulatory Subcortical Systems)

Society for Neuroscience

2015, PhD, Neuroscience, Boston University School of Medicine
2008, SB, Biological engineering, MIT
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