Contacts

Research Interests: Bobby completed his Kinesiology degree from the University of Waterloo in 2019 and immediately began working in the Brain and Body Lab. He is an avid marathon runner and golfer, so he loves engaging in research that assesses the impact of physical activity on cognition and overall quality of life. In the lab, Bobby enjoys interacting with participants, specifically conducting the pre- and post-program assessments for the LEAD 2.0 Trial.  

Current Studies: Bobby is our resident ‘Jack-of-All-Trades’ and he is actively involved in many ongoing studies in the lab. He is in the final stages of wrapping up an evaluation of the Alzheimer Society of Ontario’s Minds in Motion program. Positive results of this study have supported the adoption of the virtual Minds in Motion program locally and throughout other regions of Ontario. Currently, the majority of Bobby’s time is spent being the project manager of the LEAD 2.0 Trial, which investigates the feasibility of a 6-month virtual exercise and lifestyle program seeking to improve cognitive function. Participants in this study are asked to participate in 3 sessions per week (totalling 4 hours), consisting of two virtual group sessions and one independent session. If you’d like more information about this study, email Bobby at lead.trial@uwaterloo.ca. 

Research Interests: Lauren is a doctoral candidate in the Aging, Health and Well-Being program conducting research to understand how we can better use physical activity to promote healthy cognitive aging and to help people live well with dementia. To do this, Lauren uses a variety of approaches, from epidemiological analyses of national cohort studies to person-centered, qualitative research engaging persons with lived experience of dementia. Findings from these research initiatives will help enable people in later life to take an active role in aging well.

Current studies:

• COVID-19 health beliefs across the lifespan. Lauren is currently analyzing the data recently collected from this online survey
• The DELIGHT Initiative: Co-designing Dementia Lifestyle Interventions for Getting Healthy Together
• The DICE Project: Dementia-Inclusive Choices for Exercise
• Understanding physical activity behaviours and barriers in Canada's aging population
• Physical activity experiences, perceptions, and beliefs of persons with young-onset dementia

Research Interests: Tara completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Victoria, where she obtained my B.Sc. in biology and psychology. She most recently completed her MSc in Kinesiology at McMaster University. Through her studies and life experience, she has become interested in understanding how different lifestyle activities, such as sleep and exercise, promote healthy aging. Her MSc research examined how sleep and physical activity interact together in older adults to promote optimal cognitive aging. Tara's Alzheimer's Society funded research aims to understand how sleep and physical activity relate to dementia risk. Her research also investigates what factors promote sleep in persons living with dementia, to help improve their quality of life and well-being. Additionally, Tara is interested in how sleep is associated with university student's health and well-being. She wants to identify student groups who may need support addressing their sleep needs, and create programs to help these groups.

Current studies: Tara is recruiting for a pilot study aimed at testing the feasibility of a sleep-promoting program for persons living with dementia.

Research Interests: Sam worked for several years as a physical therapist before returning to academic in order to keep up with emerging knowledge in the field of geriatric exercise and well-being. She knew she could translate her clinical experience and expertise into practical research innovations. Sam is interested in exploring the impact of exercise on older adult’s physical and mental well-being. In particular, her research focuses on using technological innovations (such as virtual reality [VR] and exergames) to promote exercise engagement among older adults with cognitive impairments and mood disorders. She hopes to encourage older adults to stay physically active and engage in exercise regularly to benefit their physical and psychological health and build social connections. 

Current Studies: In addition to assiting in clinical assessments and SYNERGIC exercise interventions, Sam is involved in designing, developing, and evaluating a set of VR exergames that are tailored to the unique needs and abilities of persons living with dementia to encourage physical activity participation and improve quality of life in dementia, and explore what facilitates/limits their engagement in VR exergames. In this project, she is collaborating with experts in assistive technologies, the Games Institute, VR technologists, exercise professionals, and persons living with dementia. Sam is also working toward recruitment for a study examining barriers, facilitators, and the role of technology in promoting and maintaining home-based physical activity participation for older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. She hopes to inform adaptability of future home-based exercise programing to prepare exercise professionals and older adults for other unexpected situations such as inclement weather or a pandemic.

Research Interests: Kish has completed her Master's and undergraduate studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. In her Master’s she conducted a clinical trial to delay the progression of Parkinson’s disease. For her Ph.D., she is interested in understanding how sensory and cognitive deficits in Parkinson’s disease contribute to gait impairment. She then wants to explore whether physical activity interventions can alleviate these symptoms. Understanding and treating gait impairments will help reduce falls, improve independence and the overall quality of life of people living with Parkinson’s.

Current Studies: She is excited to be working with the Brain and Body lab. She is looking forward to planning her studies.

Research Interests: Neha completed her Masters in Public Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and her research interests focused on health inequities, mental health and health policy. She is a current part-time PhD student in the Brain and Body lab, where her research interests are in dementia policies, participatory research and inequities in dementia care and outcomes. 

Current Studies: Dementia Capable Communities

Research Interests: Tamara is interested in understanding how to help individuals optimize their health, quality of life, and well-being. She completed her undergraduate degree in Kinesiology with a minor in Rehabilitation Sciences, and wants to use her research to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. She is interested in understanding how to make physical activity and healthy living a priority across populations, and how to increase accessibility to exercise programs for older adult populations through knowledge translation and community education.

Current Studies: Tamara is putting together an independant project that will focus on exercise and mental health, specifically focusing on those who older adults who participated in regular exercise programs provided by CCCARE and UW Fitness prior to the COVID-19 shutdown. She is also helping run a new exercise and cogntive function study that hopes to begin recruitment as soon as possible. Tamara will use these research opportunites to help form her thesis topic, which she will propose sometime in Winter 2021.

Background: Maral holds a BSc in Anesthesiology and gained clinical experience in a hospital setting. She's a former professional gymnast and gymnastics coach, which ignited her interest in Kinesiology. She is a master's student, excited to work with the Brain and Body lab, and is looking forward to planning her studies.

Research Interests: Jessica has been passionate about exercise for as long as she can remember, and has been able to share her passion over the last few years when teaching Muay Thai at UWaterloo. Having completed two undergrad degrees at Waterloo (Science with minor in Biology/Psychology; Kinesiology with minor in Rehab Sciences) and after taking courses regarding aging and physical activity, she became more interested in cognitive function and aging.

Current Studies: Jessica is currently doing her PhD studies in the Sensorimotor Control and Learning Lab (SCiLL). She is still with the Brain and Body lab as a research assistant helping out with the DELIGHT program.