Courtney Aul Awarded NIH T32 Grant
With funding from NIH’s T32 grant, Courtney Aul will continue her work with Professor Alice Cronin-Golomb studying the association between cognition and motor function in Parkinson’s patients. While previous research has established a correlation between gait and attention in patients with Parkinson’s, Courtney’s research seeks to examine this relationship further, and determine whether or not a causal connection can be established. To do so, Courtney will further investigate what is happening in the brain while patients are walking, using fNIRS. This technology will provide insight into patients’ cognitive function outside of a controlled lab setting.
During her previous research, Courtney found that gait is the primary predictor of how Parkinson’s progresses, such as the emergence of dementia and life expectancy. Eventually, Courtney hopes this research can be applied to targeting interventions. For example, improving attention could improve gait, which could alter the progression of the disease.
To see Courtney’s profile on the NPC fellows page, click here.