Dr. Daugherty directs the Healthy Brain Aging Laboratory, which studies health factors and behaviors that shape changes in brain structures and functions across the lifespan. She is particularly interested in metabolic and vascular health and studies risk (e.g., hypertension, metabolic syndrome) and protective (e.g., aerobic exercise) factors. 

Towards this end, her studies include measures of brain structure from MRI, cognitive ability, blood serum biomarkers, genetics, and lifestyle behaviors. She works with adults of all ages, and in collaboration with other laboratories at the Wayne State University Institute of Gerontology, she studies the breadth of the human lifespan from childhood to late adulthood.

Wayne State University Institute of Gerontology Profile