Research

Our mission

To promote brain health and help people reduce their risk of dementia.

We conduct research in three domains:

(1) Early detection of cognitive decline: Helping people understand their risk for dementia by conducting cognitive screenings in community settings.

(2) Primary prevention of cognitive decline: Helping people at risk for dementia due to cardiometabolic disease (obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes) reduce their risk through lifestyle interventions (such as improving physical activity, diet, and sleep quality).

(3) Secondary prevention of cognitive decline: Helping people at heightened risk for dementia due to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) compensate for memory loss via cognitive rehabilitation and lifestyle interventions.

Early detection of cognitive decline is a crucial part of the healthcare pathway for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD). Identifying impairment in its earliest stages can help us know what underlying cause of cognitive decline may be and whether it can be treated. Treatment options can include (a) pharmacological treatments, such as medications that target specific brain diseases or that help alleviate symptoms of cognitive decline; or (b) non-pharmacological treatments, such as lifestyle interventions that promote brain health by addressing cardiometabolic disease, or cognitive rehabilitation programs to help people compensate for memory loss.