Grants and Contributions

Aging is the predominant risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other dementias. Recently, DNA methylation has been used to estimate the brain age and the brain age acceleration (defined as the difference between its biological and chronological ages) has been linked to increased risk of AD and other dementias. It remains an open question whether the brain’s accelerated aging can be inferred from DNA methylation obtained from easily accessible tissues such as peripheral blood. The main objective of this project is to identify peripheral blood epigenetic biomarkers for brain age, AD and other dementias and develop a predictive machine learning model for evaluating disease risk. Such a predictor would enable us to identify those people at greatest risk of developing the disease earlier, when disease modifying therapies are deemed most effective, reducing the need for long-term care and increasing quality of life.

Older adults experience barriers to achieving full postoperative potential during conventional, unsupervised in-home therapy, underscoring the need for innovative rehabilitation tools after total joint replacement (TJR). Before developing a vision-based in-home AR rehabilitation system to address this need, we must first understand the patient, condition, and needs. We will explore user perceptions, contexts, and preferences for an in-home rehabilitation system PAGE 4 after TJR; and obtain recommendations on user-interface design of the system. Our findings will guide NRC and collaborators in developing and implementing a prototype system.

In this project, we aim to adapt an evidence-supported psychotherapeutic caregiver (CG) intervention called the CARERS program into a virtual reality (VR) simulation training platform. The project is co-led by a clinical research team with extensive expertise in dementia care and CG interventions and the NRC team with extensive expertise in health?care technological solution development and testing. We draw upon a large network of collaborators with clinical, simulation, implementation, knowledge mobilization (KMb), and healthcare technology expertise to collaborate with knowledge users (KUs), CGs and care stakeholders. The project goes through an evidence-based process of co-design, clinical content development, content validation, and VR development, followed by testing of the minimum viable product (MVP) while addressing implementation challenges.

The Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (CGS M) Program helps develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies.

The Canada Graduate Scholarships-Doctoral (CGS D) Program provides financial support to outstanding eligible students pursuing doctoral studies in a Canadian university. These prestigious scholarships aim to develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate a high standard of scholarly achievement in undergraduate and graduate studies.

The NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships-Doctoral Program (PGS D) provides financial support to high calibre scholars who are engaged in a doctoral program in the natural sciences or engineering.

The Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (CGS M) Program helps develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies.

The Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (CGS M) Program helps develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies.

The Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (CGS M) Program helps develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies.

The Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s (CGS M) Program helps develop research skills and assist in the training of highly qualified personnel by supporting students who demonstrate a high standard of achievement in undergraduate and early graduate studies.