Research summary
Age-related episodic memory decline can affect a person’s quality of life and be an early sign of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. But there are significant differences in how aging affects our thinking. As Canada Research Chair in Sex, Gender, and Diversity in Brain Health, Memory, and Aging, Dr. Maria Rajah is studying diverse individuals with varied levels of risk factors for Alzheimer’s.
She and her research team are trying to understand how biological sex, gender, lifestyle factors and social determinants of health interact with and affect memory and brain health across a person’s lifespan, with a focus on middle age. Ultimately, they hope to deliver more inclusive models of cognitive brain aging and enrich our understanding of brain health in midlife.