About Us

The Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) Training & Capacity Building Program (T&CB) is responsible for the interconnected Training, Empowerment, Mentorship, Professional development and Operational support (TEMPO) of trainees affiliated with the CCNA. The Training Program connects new and future researchers in the CCNA’s core strategic research priorities: Prevention, Treatment and Quality of Life for persons living with age-related neurodegenerative conditions. T&CB Program activities are made possible through our partnerships with CCNA investigators, partner organizations, post-secondary institutions and trainees.

 

The Training & Capacity Building Program Team

Dr. Manuel Montero-Odasso
Program Lead (April 2021 - Present)

Manuel Montero-Odasso is a Professor in the Departments of Medicine, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Western Ontario and Director of the “Gait & Brain Lab” at Parkwood Institute, London, Ontario. He is a geriatrician and clinician-scientist at the Lawson Health Research Institute and serves as team leader at the CCNA and team co-leader at the Ontario Neurodegenerative Research Initiative (ONDRI).

He leads the Gait and Brain Health Program with the goal of understanding mechanisms and potential treatments of mobility and cognitive decline in older individuals. He focuses on gait performance and has established the use of “motor biomarkers” like slowing gait and dual-task gait to predict frailty, falls, and dementia in older people. He has initiated clinical trials applying the novel approach of “improving cognition to improve mobility” using pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches such as physical exercise, cognitive training and non-invasive brain stimulation. As team leader in CCNA (Canada Research Dementia Strategy) he is focusing in multi-domain clinical trials, including the SYNERGIC Trial (www.synergictrial.com), to delay dementia in older adults at risk (MCI spectrum) using physical exercises combined with cognitive training, and nutritional interventions (Vitamin D).

Amanda Duncan
Program Lead

Amanda graduated with an MA in Anthropology from the University of Alberta with a focus on medicine and health. She conducted an ethnographic study investigating the integration of traditional Tibetan and Western medical systems in Bhutan. Prior to joining the CCNA in 2015, Amanda worked as a Research Coordinator for the Centre for Research on Inner City Health at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

Program Co-Lead (Coming Soon)

 

Past T&CB Program Leads

Dr. Colleen J. Maxwell
CCNA Phase II Lead (2019-2021)

The T&CB Program would like to thank Dr. Colleen Maxwell for her leadership of the T&CB Program for Years 1 & 2 of CCNA Phase II. Colleen oversaw the development of a new and highly innovative period of growth for the Training Program. Among Colleen’s major accomplishment as Program Lead are the Trainee Symposium on “Rethinking Traditional Mentorship,” the launch of the Interdisciplinary Trainee Research Innovation Challenge (ITRIC) Program, and the establishment of key collaborative initiatives with the CCNA Indigenous Cognitive Health (ICH) Program. This included the 2020 T&CB-ICH Indigenous Dementia Research Award.

Dr. David Hogan
CCNA Phase I Lead (2015-2019)

The T&CB Program would like to thank Dr. David Hogan for his tremendous dedication to and leadership of the T&CB Program during Phase 1. David oversaw the development of educational resources for trainees including a social media guide and a series of five training videos on how to conduct interviews with print and television journalists. He was invaluable to the planning process for the CCNA Science Day and Partners Forum and sought to empower trainees within the CCNA by having them participate in the Conference Program Planning Committee.

 

Partner Acknowledgement

T&CB Program would like to acknowledge our funding partners, the Alzheimer Society of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research including the Institute of Indigenous Peoples’ Health, and the Canadian Nurses Foundation.