Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

The brain is one of the most metabolically active organs in the body and recent evidence suggests a link between metabolic dysfunction and neurodegenerative diseases (ND) such as Alzheimer's Disease. The metabolic system of the brain is an excellent target for therapies including physical exercise to promote brain health and improve memory in aging populations. This study will improve the fundamental understanding of how chemicals in the brain change during ND and how cognitive enrichment and physical exercise mitigate these changes. It will also reveal if these changes are sex dependent. The research will be performed using advanced magnetic resonance techniques and a new mouse model that reproduces the clinical features of ND with a stereotypical pattern of progression, memory impairment, and brain injury. Previous studies using mice have been unable to model these features of ND. This work will result in the discovery of biomarkers for the early detection of chemical brain abnormalities that lead to ND. These could lead to the development of simple routine diagnostic tests. We will also learn more about the benefits of environmental enrichment as a treatment intervention for ND.