MIRA & Labarge Co-Funded Trainees

MIRA & LABARGE CO-FUNDED TRAINEES

MIRA and the Labarge Centre for Mobilty in Aging (LCMA) work with internal, McMaster partners and external funders to support trainees whose research meets the mandates of MIRA/LCMA and our partners.

MIRA and the LCMA welcome the opportunity to co-fund research and trainees with partners who share the goal of supporting excellent interdisciplinary research on aging. For more information about co-funding opportunities, email mirainfo@mcmaster.ca

Ava Medhipour: Designing a virtually administered walking speed test for older adults

2022 MIRA/AGE-WELL EPIC PhD Award

Supervisor: Ayse Kuspinar, FHS

Remote health assessments using virtual technology can improve accessibility to healthcare services. Walking speed is a physical assessment that can accurately predict negative health outcomes including falls and hospitalization. This study will develop and evaluate the feasibility, reliability, and validity of a virtual walking speed test in older adults to improve the delivery of health services and support the regular monitoring of mobility.

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Rhagava YV Neelapala: Understanding Pain Phenotypes in Individuals with Early Knee Osteoarthritis

2022 MIRA IPRC PhD Scholarship

Supervisor: Lisa Carlesso, FHS
Mentor: Dylan Kobsar, SCI

Knee Osteoarthritis (KO) can result in uncontrolled chronic pain and functional limitation. Researchers have recommended early identification and treatment of KO and exploration of pain subgroups as strategies to minimise the long-term disease burden. Existing KO pain phenotypes are based on patients with established disease, largely having cross-sectional outcomes, and does not reflect possible impairments in people with early KOA. This project will explore two pain phenotype models using pain variables alone and pain and clinical variables in people with early KO. This study will be the first to compare and identify different models for pain phenotypes in those with early KO and will help inform the current debate about which approach (pain vs broad clinical) is better to use for phenotype creation and prediction of pain worsening two years later.

Isabel Rodrigues: Mapping how, where, and when sedentary behaviour occurs in older adults who are frail: A mixed methods longitudinal study

2022 AGE-WELL MIRA Postdoctoral Fellow

Supervisor: Alexandra Papaioannou, FHS

Older adults who are frail are more likely to be sedentary. Prolonged sedentary time is associated with declines in mobility and quality of life, and increased risk of falls, fractures, and mortality. There is little research about the context of sedentary behaviour, about when and where to intervene, and which specific sedentary behaviours should be targeted . Some cognitively engaging sedentary behaviours may benefit health, while time spent in more passive activities may be harmful. Thus, interventions should specifically target sedentary behaviours that are associated with adverse events.

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Hailey (Haixin) Wang: Remote monitoring of mobility and sleep patterns in older adults using context aware smart-home technology to predict abnormal aging in early Alzheimer’s onset

2022 AGE-WELL MIRA Master’s Scholarship

Supervisor: Qiyin Fang, ENG

​Kevin Zhao: TNF Impairs Macrophage Killing of Streptococcus pneumoniae

2022 MIRA Global Nexus PhD Scholarship

Supervisor: ​Dawn Bowdish, FHS
Mentor: Jose Moran-Mirabal, SCI

As people age, the levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) in their blood tend to increase. TNF is a major chemical messenger responsible for causing inflammation. Older adults with high levels of TNF in their blood are more likely to catch pneumonia. People with high blood TNF levels are also more likely to be admitted to the ICU or die after being hospitalised for pneumonia. TNF worsens the ability of immune cells called macrophages to destroy the bacteria that causes pneumonia. This purpose will explore how inflammation and TNF impair macrophage function. It will examine whetjer TNF can be targeted to improve older adults’ responses to infectionsand to understand whether higher levels of TNF in males explains their increased susceptibility to and death from pneumonia compared to females.

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Elise Wiley: Examining the intersection between sex-and gender- based considerations and exercise-based telerehabilitation in individuals with stroke: A pilot randomized controlled trial

2021 AGE-WELL ​Labarge Scholarship (PhD)

Supervisor: Ada Tang, Rehabilitation Science
People with stroke often report the need for ongoing therapy after leaving the hospital, especially for more rehabilitation to further improve leg function, walking and balance. Stroke also affects men and women differently. Research has shown that levels of disability, leg recovery and participation in stroke rehabilitation programs differs between men and women. The TeleRehabilitation with Aims to Improve Lower Extremity Recovery Post-Stroke (TRAIL) program is a four-week virtual program focused on exercises to improve leg recovery after stroke. This study will examine how TRAIL impacts walking, balance, and quality of life in people with stroke with different sexes and genders. Virtual rehabilitation, such as the TRAIL program, can be an avenue for more people to participate in therapy programs after stroke. This research will allow us to better understand how virtual rehabilitation can help men and women recover after stroke. 

Michael Zon: Remote monitoring of older adults with COPD for infection and fall detection using smart-home technology

2020 AGE-WELL MIRA SCHOLARSHIP (PHD LEVEL)

Supervisor: Qiyin Fang, Department of Engineering Physics                                      To meet the increasing medical needs of our aging population, remote monitoring systems will help caregivers automate many of their time-consuming tasks and help patients rapidly detect medical anomalies to facilitate faster diagnoses and better outcomes. This project will work on the development of smart-home technology that monitors mobility and vital signs in older women and men with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The end goal of this system will be to provide healthcare providers with real-time patient data, automatically detect medical abnormalities for them, and allow older adults to live in their own homes longer.

Maggie MacNeil: Evaluating impact of a community co-design process

2020 MIRA/CHEPA POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW

Funding collaborators: This post-doctoral fellowship is co-funded by the McMaster Centre for Health Economics & Policy Analysis and the Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging
Co-Supervisors: Julia Abelson, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact; Rebecca Ganann, School of Nursing
The goal of the EMBOLDEN study is to promote physical and community mobility among people 55 years of age and older living in neighbourhoods in Hamilton. A key feature of the EMBOLDEN study will be the collaborative approach to co-designing and testing the program, sharing results, and planning program spread to other communities. Older citizen partners, community stakeholders and a diverse interdisciplinary research team will inform the evaluation of the co-design component. Although co-design of community programs is becoming common, evaluating the impact of these processes is somewhat of an afterthought in the literature. This study will evaluate the impact of the co-design process as it unfolds in the EMBOLDEN study.

Julie Reid: How can we screen frailty to prevent falls in older adults?

2020 CFN INTERDISCIPLINARY FELLOWSHIP (PHD LEVEL)

The Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging provided matching funding for this Canadian Frailty
Network Interdisciplinary Fellowship
Supervisor: Marla Beauchamp, Rehabilitation Science
Every year in Canada, 20 to 30 per cent of adults over age 65 will fall. Among this age group, falls are the most common cause of injury and often result in hospitalizations. Frail, older adults often have more falls than adults without frailty; but falls can be prevented. Currently, there are several tests to assess both frailty and falls risk; however, which tests are easiest for adults to complete and which give us the most accurate information is unclear. In addition, it is unclear whether screening for frailty might assist in identifying adults at risk for falls. This study will evaluate two tests of frailty to determine if one is superior and determine whether these frailty tests correlate with tests of falls risk to accurately identify at-risk adults. Results will inform current practice on how to assess frailty and falls risk.

Erin Webb: Investigation of CARM1 in aging-induced skeletal muscle atrophy

2020 CFN INTERDISCIPLINARY FELLOWSHIP (MASTER’S LEVEL)

The Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging provided matching funding for this Canadian Frailty
Network Interdisciplinary Fellowship
Supervisor: Vladimir Ljubicic, Department of Kinesiology
Co-activator associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARM1) impacts the response to common physiological stimuli, such as exercise, fasting, and muscle disuse. The function of CARM1 in aging induced muscle atrophy is unclear. Preliminary data indicate that mice with CARM1 specifically deleted in skeletal muscle (mKO) have a significantly shorter lifespan than their normal, wild-type (WT) littermates. Furthermore, differences in body weight and muscle mass are observed between WT and  mKO animals. This study will investigate the role of CARM1 in aging-induced atrophy and dysfunction of skeletal muscle, termed sarcopenia, which may provide insight into novel therapeutic strategies to mitigate sarcopenia and frailty in older adults.

Shera Hosseini: The effectiveness of MIRA’s educational program around competency building and interest in older adult care among undergraduate students using a program logic model 

2020 MCMASTER EDUCATION RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND THEORY POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW

Funding collaborators: This post-doctoral fellowship is funded by the Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging and the McMaster Education Research, Innovation & Theory (MERIT) Program
Supervisor: Michelle Howard, Department of Family Medicine
Mentor: Jonathan Sherbino, Department of Medicine
Shera Hosseini will help evaluate the effectiveness of MIRA’s educational programs, particularly MacPAGE, in enhancing students’ interest in incorporating aging into their future career choices/work areas. She will also identify barriers to students’ interest in such educational programming. The long-term goal of this research is to build competency and enhance skills around communication and care for older adults, improve knowledge of aging-related issues, and address gaps in education related to these areas among undergraduate students who take part in the program. 

Aki-Juhani Kyröläinen: Linguistic markers of social well-being in late adulthood

2019 AGE-WELL/MIRA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP

Supervisor: Victor Kuperman, Department of Linguistics and Language
Close to 30 per cent of older Canadians are at risk for social isolation and loneliness, defined as either an entire lack or an impoverished quality of communication between a person and the outside world. Social isolation is harmful for physical and mental well-being, and often stigmatized either by the individual or the social group. Thus, it is difficult to identify individuals experiencing social isolation, let alone socially engage them. Prevention of social isolation and loneliness can lead to demonstrably better quality of life and reduced health costs among older adults. This project proposes the development of a software application to facilitate the non-invasive identification of older adults at risk of social isolation and/or loneliness and, simultaneously, promote social mobility and engagement.

Rasmi Kokash: Emerging issues in older adults’ digital inequality

2019 AGE-WELL/MIRA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP 

Supervisor: Goran Calic, DeGroote School of Business, Strategic Management 
Mentor: James Gillett, Department of Health, Aging & Society                              This study will address the emerging issue of digital inequality among older adults. This is largely imposed by privileges in societal positions and impacts on self-image and social support systems. This study will examine factors influencing older individuals’ decisions to learn and adopt technology supported skillsets and activities towards self-employment. Self employment is one avenue affecting elements of optimal aging, such as labour mobility, social reintegration, and better mental and physical health. Identifying factors that influence older adults’ decisions to become active learners of information and communication technology will lead to recommendations to policymakers and stakeholders regarding best policies and practices to promote equality among older adults.

Megan Racey: Physical activity and nutrition recommendations for older adults living with frailty

2019 CFN/MERST/LCMA POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

Funding collaborators: This post-doctoral fellowship is co-funded by the Canadian Frailty Network, the McMaster Evidence Review and Synthesis Team, and the Labarge Centre for Mobility in Aging
Supervisor: Diana Sherifali, School of Nursing
Frailty is a leading contributor to functional decline and early mortality in older adults but can potentially be reversed through diet and/or physical activity. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to identify the effectiveness of nutrition interventions, nutrition interventions with physical activity (combined approach), and physical activity interventions in improving outcomes related to frailty. Results indicated moderate certainty evidence that nutrition, protein supplementation, and combined approach interventions are beneficial for certain components of frailty, low to moderate level evidence that physical activity interventions are beneficial for frail older adults.   

Tara Kajaks: Addressing the challenges of caregiving using a ‘co-occupation’ perspective: An integrated research program examining aging and mobility in the community

2018 AGE-WELL MIRA POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW

Supervisor: Brenda Vrkljan, School of Rehabilitation Science
Mentors: Jennifer Heisz, Department of Kinesiology; Cheryl Quenneville, Department of Mechanical Engineering
This project aims to investigate the challenges experienced by older adult caregivers and their spouses as care recipients using a unique ‘co-occupation’ perspective. This research is particularly important given the propensity for older adults to choose to age in place, and Canada’s shift to a health care system that encourages homecare but is not yet capable of addressing all the needs of Canadians being cared for in their homes. In particular, there is often a dependency on the spouse to provide much of the care, even in older adulthood where the caregivers themselves may have compromised health. Researchers have sought to understand homecare challenges by looking at individual components of the care system, such as the care recipient, the caregiver, the environment, and the availability of equipment and assistive devices; However, the team is unaware of research that considers the caregiver and recipient dyad combined with the physical and cognitive workload of care provision using a ‘co-occupation perspective’, where both individuals work in synergy to accomplish the mutual goal of completing the given activity of daily living.

In addition to receiving MIRA post-doctoral funding, Tara was the successful candidate for the 2018 AGE-WELL-MIRA post-doctoral fellowship, which allowed her to secure a second year of funding through AGE-WELL ($50,000) by leveraging MIRA support.

Learn more about MIRA funding opportunities