I have a background in behavioural neuroscience and currently hold a Research Assistant Professor position in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. The goal of my research is to help advance systems, methods, and tools for health assessment in aging and disease. I have specific interest in helping older adults maintain their capacity for safe, independent mobility through the course of aging. I have studied older adults on the continuum from severe disability (e.g., advanced dementia, severe Parkinson’s disease) to exceptional aging. My work is rooted in understanding central nervous system control of movement and using this information to optimize the assessment of balance and mobility. My current focus is on the use of wearable technologies for remote monitoring of daily health-related behaviours. Fundamentally, my work centers on the concept of ‘personalized’ medicine; that an individual’s unique pattern and combination of symptoms and behaviors in daily life must be understood to promote health. In addition, I aim to address the relative lack of attention in the field to information-sharing for older adults and clinical cohorts. To this end, I conduct research to co-develop reporting for wearables-derived information (health-related behaviors, disease symptoms). This work is grounded in participatory research with attention to guidelines/processes that support development of feedback.

AGE-WELL Funded Projects

• FUSE-for-Frailty: A Technology-based Solution to Empower Self-management of Daily Health-related Behaviors Linked to Frailty (AWCFN-CAT-2023-14)
• Monitoring My Mobility (M3): A mobility self-monitoring tool for older adults and their caregivers (AWCRP-2020-13)