Trainee
Postdoctoral Researcher, Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, University of Toronto
Annalise LaPlume (née D’Souza)
I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest (affiliated with the University of Toronto). I study the aging of cognitive abilities (attention, memory) over the lifespan, by developing statistical models of large-scale online datasets (over 40,000 people, ages 10-90). I also study interindividual differences in aging (diversity), to explore how health and environmental factors alter a person’s lifespan trajectory (e.g., education, hypertension, smoking, exercise). I am particularly fascinated by the finding that healthy lifestyle activities can result in brain processing differences that provide resistance against disease-related change in Alzheimer’s disease (cognitive reserve). Building on my PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience and a graduate diploma in Quantitative Methods, my research has shaped a niche at the intersection of statistical modelling, digital technologies, and lifespan cognition.