Alexandria (Alex) is a graduate student at the University of Toronto in their Psychology Graduate Program specializing in the area of Perception, Cognition, and Cognitive Neuroscience. Broadly, her interests surround the aging brain with a focus on healthy aging and neurodegenerative disorders. She is particularly interested in the protective effects that lifestyle factors have on the aging brain such as exercise, sleep, and mental health as well as, she is interested in sex and gender differences in neurodegeneration.

Alex began her academic journey at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. During her third year of undergrad, she was chosen to study abroad at Maastricht University in The Netherlands. There, Alex conducted a group research project that looked at the relationship between boredom and self-harm in young adults, particularly university students.

For her final year of undergrad, she completed a research thesis project that looked at differences in the electrical brain signals between musicians and non-musicians when in noisy listening conditions using an electroencephalogram (EEG). Following undergrad, Alex was granted a Canadian federal award to work on a project at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Canada. This research endeavor looked at the relationship between attention, cognition, and screen-time in young children.

After a year of travel, Alex continued her academic journey by completing a Master of Arts in Psychology from the University of Toronto. Her master’s thesis explored risk factors involved in the development of mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Currently, as a Ph.D. student, Alex is working on multiple projects including the investigation of functional and structural changes that occur in neurodegeneration and healthy aging as well as looking at sex differences in an at-risk Alzheimer’s disease population.

In her spare time, Alex enjoys exercising, spending time with friends, and reading. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Alex as she is keen to make new connections within and outside of academia – with her wide range of past and present research focuses, Alex is open to collaborating on research projects that cover anything related to neuroscience.

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