May 22, 2013
Senior scientist at Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute secures grants to continue research on Chemobrain
Toronto, May 22, 2013– A senior scientist with Baycrest Health Sciences’ Rotman Research Institute (RRI) has secured grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation to continue studies exploring the impact of lifestyle risk factors and chemotherapy treatment on cognitive health.
Dr. Gordon Winocur will carry out this research in his Behavioural Neuroscience Lab at Trent University, where he holds academic and research appointments.
Dr. Winocur has previously examined how drugs commonly used in chemotherapy may contribute to memory loss, poor attention and confused thought processes in patients. “The new funding will be used to expand his research to study the effect of risk factors (age, stress, poor diet) and protective factors (living in a healthy, stimulating environment) on cognitive impairment, and examine the impact of chemotherapy in an animal model that has cancer,” according to a press release issued today by Trent University.
“Older people who live alone, engage less with others and often don’t eat properly, accumulate risk factors that could interact with the adverse side effects of the drugs used in chemotherapy,” said Dr. Winocur, researcher and professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Trent. He is also a professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
At Baycrest’s RRI, Dr. Winocur’s research is concerned with cognitive changes associated with selective brain damage and normal aging in human and animal models. He also researches the effects of high dietary fat and insulin resistance on learning and memory, hippocampal neurogenesis and memory, and efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation strategies for older adults with cognitive impairment.
To interview Dr. Gordon Winocur about his cognitive research at Trent University and Baycrest’s Rotman Research Institute, please contact:
Kelly Connelly
Senior Media Officer
Baycrest Health Sciences
416-785-2432
kconnelly@baycrest.org