Ganesh M. Babulal

Dr. Ganesh Babulal is a Professor in the departments of Neurology and Quantitative Health Sciences at the Mayo Clinic and Director of two laboratories, the DRIVES Project and ARCHES. He is also a research associate at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.

Dr. Babulal’s research seeks to understand the relationship between cognition and mental health and its impact on instrumental activities of daily living, such as driving, in healthy older adults and those with chronic neurological diseases. It intentionally focuses on healthy aging, protective factors that support brain health, and risk factors for dementia among older adults. The overarching research program among older adults has investigated and connected biomarkers and complex functional outcomes like driving, mental health, and health disparities as risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia while also identifying points of intervention, especially for minoritized populations.

He has published eight book chapters and more than 170 peer-reviewed scientific articles in high-impact journals, including Neurology, Journal of the American Medical Association, Alzheimer’s and Dementia, Annals of Neurology, Sleep, and the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer’s Association, and BrightFocus Foundation. He serves as an ad hoc reviewer for over 50 journals, serves on the editorial board of 6 journals, and, as the principal investigator alone, has secured over $29.8 million in extramural funding since 2014.

Dr. Babulal holds dual bachelor's degrees (Biology; English), dual master's degrees (Occupational Therapy; Clinical Investigation), and dual doctorates (OTD, PhD in Health Sciences).