2022 Trainee Synapse Challenge Funded Projects

Congratulations to all recipients!

**Note: Projects are in order as they were ranked by the review committee (e.g., 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)

Achieving Health Equity by Addressing Risk and Resilience Factors in Dementia (1st)

• Trainee Applicants: Noelia Calvo (WSGD Program) and Kristina Coulter (Team 17)
• CCNA Supervisors: Gillian Einstein (WSGD Program) and Natalie Phillips (Team 17)

Could Canada Reduce Dementia by 40% by 2040? Potential Modifiable Risk Factors for Low Cognition and Dementia in Canada (2nd)

• Trainee Applicants: Surim Son (Team 12) and Samrat Sheoran (Team 8)
• CCNA Supervisors: Manuel Montero-Odasso (Team 12) and Richard Camicioli (Team 8)

Validating a novel blood-based biomarker of microglia activation in human patients with cognitive impairment (3rd)

• Trainee Applicants: Sarah Myers (Team 7), Munira Sultana (Team 12), and Elnaz Farahani (Team 7)
• CCNA Supervisors: Manuel Montero-Odasso (Team 12) and Shawn Whitehead (Team 7)

 VRx@Home: A Virtual Reality At-Home Intervention for Facilitating Communication Between Persons Living with Dementia and their Care Partners (4th)

• Trainee Applicants: Raheleh Saryazdi (Team 17) and Adriana Sagrak (Team 17)
• CCNA Supervisors: Jennifer Campos (Team 17) and Marie Y. Savundranayagam (Team 17)

A Data-Driven Approach to Identify Clusters of Alzheimer’s and Vascular Dementia Patients Using Electronic Health Records, Brain Imaging, Frailty Index, and Polygenic Risk Score (5th)

• Trainee Applicants: Jack Quach (Team 14), Aditya Nar (Team 14), Selena Maxwell (Team 14), and Mahboubeh Motaghi (Team 9)
• CCNA Supervisors: Olga Theou (Team 14) and Simon Duchesne (Team 9)

Many thanks to the 2022 Trainee Synapse Challenge Review Committee Members:

• Neil Cashman, Team 3, University of British Columbia
• Gillian Einstein, Women, Sex, Gender and Dementia Program, University of Toronto
• Rosanne Aleong, Executive Director of Research, Innovation, and Translation at the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care