Robert Turner II, PhD

Robert Turner II, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health Sciences and has an appointment in the Duke Aging Center at Duke University and the Duke Sports Sciences Institute.  He earned his Ph.D. in medical sociology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY). Robert is also a Faculty Collaborator at the Morey PTSD and TBI Neuroimaging Lab at Duke University. After attending James Madison University on an athletic scholarship, he played football professionally in the USFL, CFL, and NFL. He is the author of “Not For Long: The Life and Career of the NFL Athlete” (Oxford Press) and a content contributor for the LeBron James-produced HBO documentary film “Student Athlete.”  

Dr. Turner is the primary investigator (PI) for the NINDS-funded R01 grant, “The Contribution of Repetitive Head Impacts and Social Determinants of Health to Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias in Older Adult Black Men.” Additionally, he is the Principal Investigator (PI) for the NIA-funded Black Men’s Dementia Caregiver Study, Co-PI for an R13 grant entitled, Black Male Brain Reserve, Resilience & Alzheimer’s Disease: Life Course Perspectives,” and oversees the Men’s Brain Health Initiative (MBHI), which launched the Men’s Brain Health Directory in the summer of 2023. Robert also serves as a co-lead for the Duke-UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) Outreach, Recruitment, and Engagement (ORE) Core.