Junyeon Won, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Neurology at UT Southwestern and the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine (IEEM) at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas, won first place in the oral abstract competition at the 2025 North American Artery (NAA) Conference held in June at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. His presentation was titled “Associations of High Blood Pressure with Brain Neural Network Functional Connectivity Assessed Using Functional MRI in Healthy Young Adults.”

Dr. Won’s research examines how high blood pressure affects the brain’s functional networks, which are key indicators of brain health.

“Our findings show that high blood pressure is linked to disruptions in these networks, indicating a negative impact on brain health even in young adults,” he said. “Understanding how high blood pressure impacts brain health early in life is critical for preventing cognitive decline and dementia later on. Early detection of brain changes linked to blood pressure could lead to more effective strategies for protecting brain health across the lifespan.”

Dr. Won plans to expand this research by studying the impacts of high blood pressure on brain health in midlife, which is a critical time window for preventing late-life dementia.

“My long-term career goal is to become a leading expert in dementia prevention by focusing on vascular health and brain imaging. I aim to develop effective, evidence-based prevention strategies that can be applied across the adult lifespan to promote lifelong brain health,” he said.

Dr. Won earned his bachelor’s degree from Pusan National University in South Korea and a Ph.D. in kinesiology and exercise science from the University of Maryland. He joined UT Southwestern in 2022 under the mentorship of Rong Zhang, Ph.D., Professor of Neurology, Biomedical Engineering, and Internal Medicine and Director of the Cerebrovascular Laboratory at the IEEM.