Interests
Lorina Naci, PhD
Associate Professor of Psychology
Working to develop biomarkers that enable early diagnosis and treatment in mid-life.
Current Work
Lorina's group develops novel and clinically applicable neural markers of healthy and disordered cognition in healthy aging and patient populations. Collaborating with Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh universities, they are developing early biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in asymptomatic individuals, 20-30 years prior to potential diagnosis. This could lead to early detection, treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s dementia.
Personal Hero
Mahatma Gandhi
Words of Strength
Think big, word hard, achieve
Vision
As exposure to several modifiable risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) begins many decades before AD onset, interventions must be implemented in mid-life. However, the brain-based indicators of the disease process in mid-life are poorly understood.
Strategy
Through multi-centre international collaborations, Lorina's group is helping to develop biomarkers that enable early diagnosis and treatment in mid-life, a necessary preliminary step to all future interventions at the earliest stages of AD.
Motivation
Lorina's multidisciplinary work enriches the GBHI learning environment with education in public-health approaches, clinical assessment, policy, interventions, public and patient involvement methodologies. Fellow activities include scientific discovery, policy and ethics, clinical practice, working with vulnerable populations and knowledge dissemination.
Education & Experience
Lorina is Associate Professor and group leader at the School of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin. She received her PhD from the University of Cambridge as a Cooke Fellow. In 2017, she received the L’Oréal – UNESCO International Rising Talent Award. Her work focuses on developing novel biomarkers of healthy and disordered cognition in the ageing and patient populations. Concurrently, she explores the medico–ethical and societal implications of these applications. She is funded by the Wellcome Trust, the Irish Research Council, and Enterprise Ireland, among others. Her work has been published in high-impact scientific journals and covered widely in the international media, including the CBC, BBC, Science, Nature, the New Scientist and the Times.
Awards & Honors
Featured Publications
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