Rui Wang receives research funding from Vetenskapsrådet

Seeking an efficiently conducted but practical assessment linked to cognitive aging, preclinical dementia, and dementia subtypes is essential for dementia prevention, intervention, and care.

With the support of the starting grant from the Vetenskapsrådet, Rui Wang has received 6 million SEK for a project titled "What can gait features tell us about cognitive aging and dementia? A multidisciplinary approach towards precision medicine".

Link between gait and cognition

This project aims to understand the link between gait and cognition across the different phases of dementia, the possible mechanisms, and standard prevention directions for both.

– Gait assessment seems a feasible tool to aid diagnostic and predictive approaches in dementia. Yet, the diverse characteristics of older individuals hinder its application in a clinical setting, says Rui Wang, Associate Professor at The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences.

Findings from this project have the potential to improve the early screening tool for dementia, detect at-risk individuals in the preclinical stage of dementia, and initiate prevention strategies to minimize declines in both cognitive and motor function in aging.