February 16, 2018
Dr. Allison Sekuler, Vice President of Research and Sandra A. Rotman Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience at Baycrest Health Sciences, has been elected as a fellow to the oldest and most prestigious honorary society in Psychology, the Society of Experimental Psychologists.
This honour recognizes Dr. Sekuler’s contributions as a leading experimental psychologist in North America. The society, founded in 1904, boasts an exclusive membership of just 220 individuals.
As a trailblazer in the field of aging and vision science, cognitive neuroscience, learning and neuroplasticity, Dr. Sekuler’s research has brought a new understanding to how the brain processes what the eyes see, how vision changes across the lifespan and how learning improves perception and attention.
In one groundbreaking study, done in collaboration with Baycrest scientists Drs. Randy McIntosh and Cheryl Grady, Dr. Sekuler found that the areas of the brain responsible for memory and attention were activated in older adults completing a visual memory task. This area wasn’t used by younger adults to complete the same task.
“The older brain seems to rewire itself to boost its ability to see,” says Dr. Sekuler, who is also a psychology professor at the University of Toronto. “But if it uses the brain’s memory and attention regions for visual perception, those parts of the brain may be less able to do their usual job. That might be one reason older adults often have difficulty when they need to remember or pay attention to something.”
She has also made significant contributions to our understanding of how the brain recognizes faces, perceives objects, scenes, motion, and depth, and changes with experience and learning. Recently, Dr. Sekuler partnered with neurotechnology company, InteraXon, in an ambitious study to explore these brain changes and others using portable non-invasive brain imaging in more than 6,000 individuals.
By merging big data with neuroscience, Dr. Sekuler hopes to develop innovative training programs at Baycrest to help older adults see the world more efficiently and effectively, to improve their memory and attention, and to enhance their overall quality of life.
This award speaks to Dr. Sekuler’s extraordinary leadership in the field of psychology and research that will lead the way in putting a stop to the public health crisis brought on by dementia,” says Baycrest President and CEO Dr. William Reichman. “With Dr. Sekuler at the helm of our research arm, our scientists will play a leading role in helping older adults live healthy and age well.
Over the course of her career, Dr. Sekuler has been recognized for her contributions as the first Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, an Ontario Distinguished Scholar, and an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow.
She also co-founded FoVea, an international mentoring association for women in vision science, chairs the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Scholarships & Fellowships division, and sits on the NSERC Committee on Discovery Research.
She has also demonstrated a deep commitment to bridging the gap between research in the lab and what is understood by the general public. She has been featured frequently as a public lecturer and in the media, served as President of the Royal Canadian Institute for Science, launched several high profile public outreach programs at McMaster University, such as Science in the City and the MACafé Scientifique, created science-based social media platforms, and served as the sole scientist on the founding steering committee of the Science Media Centre of Canada.
With this award, Dr. Sekuler joins a number of leading Baycrest researchers who have been recognized for their contributions to the field, including RRI founder Dr. Donald Stuss, and Drs. Fergus Craik, Lynn Hasher, Morris Moscovitch, and Endel Tulving.
Dr. Sekuler will present on her research at the society’s upcoming annual 2018 meeting as a part of her induction in March.
About Baycrest Health Sciences
Now in its 100
th year, Baycrest Health Sciences is a global leader in geriatric residential living, healthcare, research, innovation and education, with a special focus on brain health and aging. Fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, Baycrest provides excellent care for older adults combined with an extensive clinical training program for the next generation of healthcare professionals and one of the world’s top research institutes in cognitive neuroscience, the Rotman Research Institute. Baycrest is home to the federally and provincially-funded Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation, a solution accelerator focused on driving innovation in the aging and brain health sector, and is the developer of Cogniciti – a free online memory assessment for Canadians 40+ who are concerned about their memory. Founded in 1918 as the Jewish Home for Aged, Baycrest continues to embrace the long-standing tradition of all great Jewish healthcare institutions to improve the well-being of people in their local communities and around the globe. For more information please visit:
www.baycrest.org
About Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute
The Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Health Sciences is a premier international centre for the study of human brain function. Through generous support from private donors and funding agencies, the institute is helping to illuminate the causes of cognitive decline in seniors, identify promising approaches to treatment, and lifestyle practices that will protect brain health longer in the lifespan.
For media inquiries:
Jonathan MacIndoe
Baycrest Health Sciences
416-785-2500 ext. 6579
jmacindoe@baycrest.org