Michelle Voss is a professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Iowa. Her research focuses on how the brain changes with age and how lifestyle choices, especially physical exercise, can support brain health. 

Voss was recruited to Iowa through the Aging Mind and Brain Initiative, a campus wide effort designed to address aging and memory loss through interdisciplinary collaboration.  The initiative created space for research that crossed departmental boundaries and allowed Voss to build partnerships across psychology, health sciences, radiology, neurosurgery, and medicine. 

In her early years at Iowa, Voss focused on building the research infrastructure needed to study how exercise affects the brain. That work included developing research protocols, establishing lab procedures, and forming collaborations with colleagues in the Departments of Radiology and Health, Sport, and Human Physiology. 

Her research spans cognitive aging - including speed, memory, and executive function - and brain network neuroscience, with a central focus on how physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness influence brain systems that support cognition. Another major focus of her work examines whether computerized cognitive training programs can slow age-related cognitive decline and improve cognitive performance in everyday life.  

Voss’ work challenges the assumption that cognitive decline is inevitable, and instead highlights the role of modifiable behaviors in supporting long-term brain health. The mission of her Health, Brain, and Cognition Lab is to determine how healthy brains lead to active lives.