Canadian scientists and trainees are translating research into practical brain health solutions through an innovative Fellowship program

Seeing Beyond Cognition: Bridging Vision Science and Art Therapy in Dementia Care

Art therapy can offer meaningful communication and connection opportunities for people living with dementia, particularly when verbal communication becomes difficult. However, changes in vision and the brain's ability to process visual information may make it harder to engage with art materials and therapeutic activities. This project will develop an educational workshop and an illustrated, accessible digital toolkit to help art therapists better understand these challenges and explore practical ways to adapt art materials and therapeutic environments to individual needs.

The project aims to increase art therapists' awareness and understanding of visual and visual-processing difficulties in dementia and equip them with practical strategies for adapting therapeutic environments and materials. By supporting more individualized approaches, the project seeks to expand opportunities for communication, choice, and meaningful therapeutic engagement, including for people living with advanced dementia.

CSC Fellowship support will enable the development and delivery of an evidence-informed educational workshop and accompanying visual toolkit. These resources will translate research on vision, visual processing, and dementia into practical knowledge that art therapists can apply in their clinical work.

Virtual Gym

Virtual Gym uses virtual reality games to make physical and cognitive training more engaging and accessible for older persons, supporting healthy aging and independence. The project will bring Virtual Gym research into community settings through interactive workshops that help older persons improve their digital health literacy and become more confident in using digital health technologies. The project will work closely with older persons to co-design a simple, easy-to-understand game performance report and infographics that explain their results and provide meaningful feedback. In addition, training will be provided to volunteer peer coaches to help other older persons learn to use Virtual Gym safely and confidently. This peer-support approach aims to encourage continued use of the technology and make it more sustainable in community-based settings.

The project will help older persons better understand digital health solutions, in particular, Virtual Gym and feel more confident trying them, while peer mentors gain practical tools to support its safe use. The materials will be tested and improved with feedback from approximately 20 older adults. The resources will be introduced at two community-based sites, helping organizations offer accessible digital health activities and making the research useful beyond the laboratory.

The CSC Fellowship is providing funding to develop and share these resources, training in knowledge mobilization, access to expert guidance and learning opportunities, and connections with people and organizations working in aging and brain health. CABHI will also help disseminate the completed materials with wider audiences.

Beyond the Meal, a short documentary film, will highlight the experiences and challenges of family caregivers and people living with dementia as they navigate the mealtime journey. By highlighting challenges and experiences related to swallowing, nutrition, hydration, relationships, and social connection, the film aims to raise awareness, amplify their voices, and encourage more compassionate, person-centred approaches to mealtime support in dementia care.

The project aims to amplify the voices and lived experiences of people living with dementia and caregivers, helping ensure their perspectives are represented in conversations about dementia care. It will encourage healthcare professionals and care organizations to reflect on how they can better support meaningful, inclusive, and person-centred mealtime experiences.

The CSC Fellowship will support the dissemination and knowledge mobilization of Beyond the Meal, as well as provide guidance and connections to relevant resources, including potential recruitment assistance and other supports to help move the project forward and maximize the reach and impact of the film.

Voices Beyond Functionality: Black Older Adults’ Stories and Recommendations for Culturally Responsive Social Robots

Voices Beyond Functionality: Black Older Adults’ Stories and Recommendations for Culturally Responsive Social Robots aims to make social robots more culturally appropriate for Black older persons living with mild cognitive impairment. The project will bring together Black older persons, their caregivers, and other key stakeholders to explore how a social robot, GraceBot can better reflect and respond to the cultural backgrounds, values, experiences, and preferences of Black older persons. Through hands-on interactions with GraceBot, participants will share their experiences and suggest ways the robot could be improved to better meet their cultural needs. Their stories and recommendations will be packaged into short video clips and infographics.

The project's main goal is to ensure that the voices and experiences of Black older persons and their caregivers directly inform how social robots are designed and improved. The videos and infographics will provide GraceBot's engineers and designers with practical recommendations for making the robot more culturally appropriate for Black older persons living with mild cognitive impairment.

The CSC Fellowship will provide training on how to turn research findings into accessible, engaging, and practical resources.