Baycrest

DR. RANDY MCINTOSH Senior Scientist, Rotman Research Institute Professor of Psychology, University of Toronto DR. JED MELTZER Canada Research Chair in Interventional Cognitive Neuroscience Neurorehabilitation Scientist, Rotman Research Institute Associate Professor of Psychology and Speech-Language Pathology, University of Toronto MARY AKUAMOAH-BOATENG Senior Research Agreements Specialist, Baycrest Detection Dr. Randy McIntosh has been awarded a new CIHR grant to develop an innovative model that can simulate changes in the brain to predict brain health. "The idea is to look at healthy aging so we can identify the critical features in brain structures and functions that change across the adult lifespan and are predictive of cognitive status," says Dr. McIntosh. The model will be based on brain imaging data from 700 healthy individuals ranging from 18 to 87 years of age, collected by the UK-based Cambridge Centre for Aging and Neuroscience, and will be created using the Virtual Brain. A unique, open-source modelling platform that captures intricate details of the brain's structure and function through the collection of imaging data, the Virtual Brain is the product of years of development by Dr. McIntosh and his international team of colleagues. The new model adds two innovative functions: showing how the healthy brain ages and predicting individuals' brain health, enabling earlier detection of disease. Says Dr. McIntosh, "Through groundbreaking initiatives like this, we can leverage the knowledge we create in the RRI to support real-world applications in the clinic and the community-at-large." Treatment Dr. Jed Meltzer is investigating the use of noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) to treat brain disorders. His lab's research to date has focused on stroke patients, but early results from one of their recent studies suggest that NIBS could be useful in treating dementia as well. They are also pioneering the use of new brain stimulation techniques. "Brain stimulation is a promising treatment for those with brain disorders, but we know little about the best techniques to use for specific conditions," says Dr. Meltzer. "This is because it's expensive and time-consuming to test different parameters, such as the duration or the amount of stimulation, so scientists continue to test treatments that have already been shown to work at least once before." To address this gap in knowledge, Dr. Meltzer and his lab are comparing stimulation techniques within individuals, measuring their effect on brain activity to more efficiently investigate potential treatments for dementia. This work is funded by the Ontario Brain Institute, Canadian Partnership for Stroke Recovery, and Heart and Stroke Foundation. Staff Feature Originally from Ghana, Mary Akuamoah- Boateng has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in health service administration. As Baycrest's Senior Research Agreements Specialist, she ensures that all agreements regarding Baycrest research are properly reviewed or drafted to meet the mission and vision of the RRI – to promote effective care and improve the quality of life of older adults through research. She is currently working on about 75 agreements related to the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA), the largest network of dementia researchers in Canada. Outside of Baycrest, Mary works with OnPoint Education, a foundation she started to help people in Ghana by changing their environment. Last Christmas, she went to a town in Ghana and brought a warm meal, water, and clothing to about 400 people there. "Seeing how happy and relieved they were… I can never get that joy anywhere else," says Mary. She is also the Secretary for the Elder Help-Peel Board of Directors in Brampton, which supports seniors living in their homes, and the youth leader for the Ghanaian Canadian Association of Ontario. 2019–2020 YEAR IN REVIEW 3

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