Rio Tate

Rio’s dedication to service, developed during his time as an AC-130W crew chief in the Air Force, continues to shape his current doctoral studies. While earning his bachelor’s degree at Cannon Air Force Base, he embraced the importance of attention to detail and collaboration — values that now drive his research in cognitive aging and minority aging.

He is currently pursuing a PhD in Aging Studies at the University of South Florida, where he is committed to making research more inclusive by actively recruiting minority participants for studies like the Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training (PACT) study. Rio also serves as a Black Men’s Brain Health scholar.

Recently, Rio was honored with the prestigious McKnight Dissertation Fellowship, which supports doctoral candidates in completing their dissertations while addressing the underrepresentation of African American and Hispanic faculty at colleges and universities in Florida. This one-year fellowship underscores his dedication to academia and his role in increasing the pool of qualified individuals with PhDs in higher education.