The overarching aim of the Brain and Body Lab is to identify ways to prevent dementia, and improve the well-being of those living with dementia.
Our focus is on harnessing the benefits of physical activity alone or in combination with other healthy lifestyle behaviours such as diet and cognitive training. We aim to generate new knowledge and translate knowledge into practice through partnerships with people living with dementia, care partners, and community stakeholders.
Within our overarching aim, we include several research goals:
- To understand the influence of exercise and other modifiable risk factors on cognition and dementia risk
- To develop strategies to promote well-being of people living with dementia through healthy lifestyle (exercise, diet, social inclusion)
- To improve inclusion of people living with mild cognitive impairment/dementia in community programs related to health & well-being
We engage people living with dementia, care partners, health care professionals, and community partners to make sure our research is relevant to the groups we aim to help, and to make sure our solutions are appropriate for translation to practice.
You can reach us by phone or email:
Bobby Neudorf
Research Coordinator
bobby.neudorf@uwaterloo.ca
Laura Middleton
Principle Investigator
laura.middleton@uwaterloo.ca
(519) 888-4567 x 33045
Our research takes place at two sites:
Centre for Community, Clinical, and Applied Research Excellence
University of Waterloo
Toby Jenkins Applied Health Research Building, Room 1103
340 Hagey Blvd.
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6R6
Brain and Body Lab
University of Waterloo
Expansion building, Room 2692
200 University Ave W
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1
Learn more about the research currently taking place in our lab!
News
DREAM resources launched
The Dementia Resources for Eating, Activity, and Meaningful Inclusion (DREAM) Research Team, assembled in 2020, is led by Professors Laura Middleton and Heather Keller at the University of Waterloo. The DREAM Team, which also includes researchers from the University of British Columbia, works with persons living with dementia, care partners, and diverse healthcare professionals and service providers to support the inclusion of persons living with dementia in exercise and nutrition. The DREAM Team has developed an evidence-based toolkit comprised of resources, learning modules, and videos designed to inform service providers and persons living with dementia and their care partners themselves on rights and inclusion, dementia-friendly mealtimes/exercise, and more. The learning modules have been designed to equip service providers with the skills and understanding they need to interact with, include, and accommodate for persons living with dementia. The overarching goal of DREAM is to promote inclusive exercise and nutrition care for Canadians living with dementia and to overcome the stigma of dementia. We hope the project increases the number, quality, and variety of physical activity, healthy eating, and wellness opportunities that meet the needs and preferences of this population.
Please visit the DREAM website for more information.