The dissertation is composed of two main parts. The first half describes efforts to study amyloid peptides using macrocyclic peptide model systems, and the potential deleterious effects of uronium peptide coupling agents on human health. The second half focuses on my experience in chemistry teaching and the chemical education research I conducted.…

The number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive and terminal kind of dementia, continues to rise with an estimated 14 million Americans affected by 2050. Prior to an AD diagnosis, many individuals are diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and have similar, but less severe, symptoms as those with AD. A common…

Executive function (EF) decline is a consistent early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD) among adults with Down syndrome (DS), which means that baseline measures of EF for individuals with DS are vital to allow detection of meaningful decline. We developed a framework to extract measures of three core components of EF (memory updating, inhibitory,…

Background: Due to dementia-related communication difficulties, speech--language pathologists (SLPs) play a significant role in supporting individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Nevertheless, SLP practitioners may not have received adequate dementia training during their undergraduate programme and skills updating post-qualification.…

Objectives: Certain heart conditions and diseases are common in Down syndrome (DS; trisomy 21), but their role in early onset dementia that is prevalent in older adults with DS has not been evaluated. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a study of risk factors for low neurocognitive/behavioral scores obtained with a published dementia test…

This article considers how intergenerational arts can help support the resilience of people living with dementia. Theorising a moment of process from Magic Me's "Reflections of Stepney," it analyses how art facilitators help a child and care home resident to overcome the challenge of relating and create a performance together. It…

Purpose: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and the amnestic variant of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are neurodegenerative conditions characterized by a profound loss of functional communication abilities. Communicative impairment in AD and PPA is especially apparent in the domain of naming common objects and familiar faces. We evaluated the…

Background: The high prevalence of cognitive dysfunction is well documented in individuals with Down syndrome. However, only a few studies have focused on the effect of exercise on cognitive performance in this population. In particular, verbal fluency has been shown to be relevant to the early onset of Alzheimer's disease in individuals with Down…

Introduction: Having a diagnosis of Down syndrome (DS) is associated with intellectual disability (ID), pervasive developmental disorders and Alzheimer's dementia (AD). The association between these conditions has not been well evaluated. This paper looks to examine the current evidence pertaining to the relationship between dementia in people…

The impact of public participants in data analysis has been reported, but there is little research on public involvement of analysis of naturally occurring interactional data. Four video recordings of clinicians from out of hours primary care services visiting care home residents with dementia were analysed in data sessions involving 12 people…

Introduction: Diagnosing dementia in people with severe/profound intellectual (and multiple) disabilities (SPI(M)D) is complex. Whereas existing dementia screening instruments as a whole are unsuitable for this population, a number of individual items may apply. Therefore, this study aimed to identify applicable items in existing dementia…

The use of comics can be a powerful tool to expand educational outreach efforts for improving the health and well-being of people everywhere. Dr. Ian Williams coined the term "graphic medicine" to denote the use of comics in medical education and patient care ("Graphic Medicine"). Alzheimer's disease affects approximately five…

The vast majority of meta-analyses uses summary/aggregate data retrieved from published studies in contrast to meta-analysis of individual participant data (IPD). When the outcome is continuous and IPD are available, linear mixed modelling methods can be employed in a one-stage approach. This allows for flexible modelling of within-study…

We developed online training modules focused on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) designed to improve best care practices in long-term care settings, such as nursing homes, as a part of a federal grant focused on improving geriatric education for interprofessional (collaboration among different professions providing patient care)…

Research has shown that animal-assisted activities have specific benefits for older adults, such as decreasing loneliness (Banks & Banks, 2002; Banks, Willoughby, & Banks, 2008; Calvert, 1989) and depression (Grubbs, Artese, Schmitt, Cormier, & Panton, 2016; Le Roux & Kemp, 2009; Moretti et al., 2010) while increasing positive…