Dr. Hayes graduated from Skidmore College (Biology, Psychology) and completed his doctoral work in Clinical Psychology (Neuropsychology) at the University of Arizona. He completed an NRSA-funded cognitive neuroscience-clinical neuropsychology postdoctoral fellowship in the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University and the Bryan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Duke University Medical Center.  As a Department of Veterans Affairs Career Development Awardee, Dr. Hayes worked at the Boston University Memory Disorders Research Center and served as the Associate Director for the Neuroimaging Research for Veterans Center at VA Boston Healthcare System. At Ohio State, Dr. Hayes serves as the Director of The Buckeye Brain Aging Lab (B-BAL) and receives support from The Ohio State University Chronic Brain Injury Discovery Theme. Dr. Hayes works closely with  the OSU Center for Brain Health and Performance and the OSU Jameson Crane Center for Sports Medicine Institute. Using structural and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Dr. Hayes’ research examines 1) the relationships between physical activity, fitness, cognition and the brain,  2) the neural correlates of cognition, with an emphasis in memory, and 3) applies advanced MRI techniques to clinical populations with memory impairments (mild cognitive impairment, traumatic brain injury, medial temporal lobe amnesia).

Awards, Honors and Recognition

2024: Distinguished Teaching Award, The Ohio State University Department of Psychology
2017: Spivack Emerging Leader in the Neurosciences, Boston University School of Medicine
2010: Laird Cermak Award, Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society
2007 – 2009: Postdoctoral Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA)
2007 – 2009: National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program
2004: The Vivian Smith Advanced Studies Institute of the International Neuropsychological Society Summer Institute: The Human Frontal Lobes (declined)
2004: Student Travel Award, Organization of Human Brain Mapping 
2004: Summer Training on Aging Research Topics-Mental Health (START-MH) Fellowship, NIMH
2003: The Vivian Smith Advanced Studies Institute of the International Neuropsychological Society Summer Institute: Medial Temporal Lobes and Amnesia
2002: Graduate Research Fellowship: Honorable Mention, National Science Foundation 
2002: Imaging Fellowship, Prop. 301, University of Arizona 
2001: Pre-doctoral Research Grant, University of Arizona Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Institute
1998: Graduated cum laude with honors in Biology & Psychology, Skidmore College
1998: Awarded Best Senior Research Project, Skidmore Biology Department
1994 – 1998: Kettering-Williamson Scholarship Recipient, Skidmore College

Representative Publications:

Cloud. JA, Howe, IA, Kraemer, WJ, Volek, JS, Hayes, JP, Hayes, SM. (2026). Cardiorespiratory fitness is differentially associated with motor cortex laterality in middle-aged and older adults. Scientific Reports. DOI. 

Graham, J. H., Cloud, J. A., Kraemer, W. J., Hayes, J. P., Hayes, S. M. (2026). Differential relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and cortical thickness across the adult lifespan: A generalized additive model approach. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. 12:e70237. DOI.  

Patrick, Z., Mann, R., Hillman, C. H., Jung, M., Hayes, S. M., Miller, S. E., Undorf, M., Heffernan, K., & Loprinzi, P. (2026). The moderating effects of individual differences in baseline episodic memory on acute exercise benefits in memory. Memory & Cognition. DOI. 

Lee, A. J., Horn, O., Hayes, S. M., & Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative*. (2025). Hippocampal volume moderates the association between cerebrospinal fluid growth-associated protein 43 and episodic memory performance in older adults. Neuropsychology, Development, and Cognition. Section B, Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 32(6), 1110–1128. DOI.  

Kraemer, W. J., Chaudhry, N. F., Graham, J. H., Stauder, M. J., Onate, J. A., Fragala, M. S., Volek, J. S., & Hayes, S. M. (2025). Sex differences in upper-body strength, lean mass, and bone density across the adult lifespan: Insights into musculoskeletal aging and strength preservation. Journal of Applied Physiology, 139(4), 1000–1009. DOI.  

Decker, D. D., Patel, R., Cheavens, J., Hayes, S. M., Whitted, W., Lee, A. J., Buga, A., Robinson, B. T., Crabtree, C. D., Kackley, M. L., Stoner, J. T., Sapper, T. N., Chebbi, A., & Volek, J. S. (2025). A pilot study examining a ketogenic diet as an adjunct therapy in college students with major depressive disorder. Translational Psychiatry, 15(1), 322. DOI.   

Stauder, M., Horn, O., & Hayes, S. M. (2025). The role of age and physical fitness on the relationship between physical activity and executive function. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society: JINS, 31(7–8), 479–489. DOI.   

Lee, A. J., Howard, E., Saltiel, N., Hayes, J. P., & Hayes, S. M. (2025). Neuronal and glial dysfunction, white matter hyperintensities and cognition in ageing and Alzheimer’s disease. Brain Communications, 7(1), fcaf068. DOI.  

Culiver, A. M., Grooms, D. R., Caccese, J. B., Hayes, S. M., Schmitt, L. C., & Oñate, J. A. (2025). fMRI Activation in Sensorimotor Regions at 6 Weeks After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(4), 791-800. DOI.   

Cloud, J., Stark, J., Hasselbach, A. N., Hiersche, K. J., Salat, D. H., Juttukonda, M. R., & Hayes, S. M. (2024). Exercise-induced reductions in central command network cerebral blood flow assessed with arterial spin labeling MRI. Imaging Neuroscience, 2, imag–2–00386. DOI.   

Lee, A. J., Stark, J. H., Hayes, S. M., & Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. (2024). Baseline Frontoparietal Gray Matter Volume Predicts Executive Function Performance in Aging and Mild Cognitive Impairment at 24-Month Follow-Up. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease: JAD, 100(1), 357–374. DOI.  

Hayes, S. M. (2024). Establishing the feasibility of exercise breaks during university lectures. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 6, 1358564. DOI.   

Stauder, M., Hiersche, K. J., & Hayes, S. M. (2024). Examining cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between multidomain physical fitness metrics, education, and cognition in Black older adults. Neuropsychology, Development, and Cognition. Section B, Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 31(4), 646–660. DOI.   

Stark, J., Hiersche, K. J., Yu, J.-C., Hasselbach, A. N., Abdi, H., & Hayes, S. M. (2023). Partial Least Squares Regression Analysis of Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers, Modifiable Health Variables, and Cognitive Change in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease: JAD, 93(2), 633–651. DOI.