Assistant Professor Anna Marseglia at Karolinska Institutet receives Forte project grant - almost SEK 5 million - to a project about gender differences in social health, resilience and cognition across the life course (the interplay of biological and sociocultural aspects).
– I am still a bit in shock, but profoundly honored and excited about this incredible news, she says.
She defended her thesis in SWEAH 2018 and now she will lead a project for three years (2025-2027). It will be conducted by a multidisciplinary research team, bringing together expertise in geriatric epidemiology, psychology, medical sociology, neuroscience, and engineering.
– Our aim is to explore how social health (SH) influences both cognitive function and the biological mechanisms of resilience – brain maintenance (BM) and cognitive reserve (CR) – across the lifespan, with a particular focus on factors relevant to women’s health, says Anna Marseglia.
This will be achieved through three research lines, using a novel framework developed by the European SHARED consortium:
- Investigate the impact of SH from mid- to late-life on cognition before dementia manifests, considering the roles of multimorbidity and stress.
- Examine how SH contributes to preserving brain integrity (BM) and/or cognition in the presence of neuropathological changes (CR).
- Understand the role of sex differences in the SH-resilience relationship, focusing on sex-specific biological (e.g., hormonal) and socio-cultural factors.
– We will use data from the Swedish Betula project and the UK Biobank, and employ our in-house artificial intelligence algorithm to generate biological measures of BM and CR, predicting brain age from neuroimaging.
It will challenge me personally. I hope to be a fair and supportive “boss”.
Anna Marseglia is particularly excited about this project for several reasons.
– First, it aligns with my passion for dementia prevention and understanding sex-related differences, and it builds naturally on the work I began during my postdoc as part of the SHARED consortium. Second, the project will foster new collaborations and strengthen existing, enjoyable partnerships with both Swedish and international teams, such as those at KI, Umeå University, Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and in USA. Plus, it will keep me closer to SWEAH! Third, it will challenge me personally, as I’ll be hiring staff for the first time, and I hope to be a fair and supportive “boss”, she continues and soon advertising for a postdoc position for example.
Most importantly, in the long term, she hopes findings will help clinicians and public health professionals develop tailored interventions to reduce dementia risk for both women and men. By focusing on specific aspects of social health, the team aim to enhance cognition before dementia symptoms emerge, across key life stages.
New project about alcohol problems
Postdoc Wossenseged Jemberie, Umeå University, defended his thesis in SWEAH 2023 and now receives Forte establishment grant SEK 3,7 million to a project about recovery-oriented care system for older people with alcohol problems.
– It was such a pleasant surprise to receive the good news. A colleague of mine sent me an update regarding another project where I am a co-applicant, so when colleagues sent their congratulations, I initially thought it was about that project, says Wossenseged Jemberie.
It wasn’t until another friend specifically congratulated him on the starting grant that he checked Forte's website.
– Such a wonderful feeling! I truly appreciate this type of grant, which allows early career investigators to participate in other research and teaching activities as well. I am grateful for my Department of Social Work, who agreed to host me and support my academic career development.
The project title is 'Towards Recovery Oriented Systems of Care for Older Persons with Alcohol Problem (ROSC -OPAP): Studies of Interventions Across the Care Continuum' and is for a three-year period.
It aims to address significant knowledge gaps regarding the interventions received by older people with alcohol problems (OPAP) across the care continuum. Given the challenges in care coordination, user participation, and follow-up, there are concerns that OPAP may not receive care interventions that fully meet their needs. Through the framework of Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC), the project aims to identify and evaluate interventions provided by social and healthcare services. It also assesses the effectiveness of these interventions, treatment satisfaction and other user-reported experiences and outcomes.
What will you do in the project?
– Throughout the project, I will collaborate with researchers and practitioners in Sweden, Denmark and the US, who supported my starting grant application. I will also work closely with user groups who will actively contribute during all phases of the project.
Also new project about cognitive health
Assistant Professor Kuan-Yu Pan at Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, did his dissertation in 2019 affiliated with SWEAH. Also he receives a project grant of up to SEK 5 million. He will lead the project "SPARK: Studies of occupational exposure to particles and cognitive health". During the postdoc years his research did not focus on ageing.
– However, ageing research and dementia prevention have always been close to my heart. With the funded project I am finding my way back, says Kuan-Yu Pan.
In the project his team will use both register-based and population-based data to investigate a broad spectrum of occupational particle exposures in relation to the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia, as well as neuropathological changes in the brain.
– I will work with a multidisciplinary team that has expertise in occupational, geriatric and environmental epidemiology, psychology, and public health. I feel incredibly honored to receive the Forte grant. At the same time, I am a bit nervous because I have not had much experience in managing a project like this. I know there will be challenges, but I also really look forward to getting started.