Can you walk and chew gum at the same time? If you answered 鈥測es,鈥 and you are 65 or older, the research that Daliah Ross 鈥24F pursues is for you.
鈥淢y research suggests that brains of older adults may work harder to multitask while walking, particularly when they have a thinner brain cortex,鈥 she explains. 鈥淲hen someone鈥檚 brain is activating more than another person鈥檚 but they are performing at the same or worse level, their brain is acting inefficiently. This may translate into predicting clinical changes, although we don鈥檛 know that yet.鈥 Daliah, who earned a four-year merit scholarship to attend Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and is now in her fifth year, examined this issue in a study titled 鈥淧refrontal Cortex Activation During Dual-Task Walking in Older Adults is Moderated by Thickness of Several Cortical Regions.鈥
The paper received the 2022 Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award from Psi Chi (the international honor society in psychology) and the American Psychological Association (APA). The prestigious award comes with a cash prize and funding to attend the 2022 APA conference, where Daliah gave a formal presentation on her research. How does she feel about all the kudos? 鈥淰ery excited,鈥 she shares. 鈥淎s a trainee, receiving recognition for my work is meaningful both professionally and personally.鈥
Daliah is hoping her research will lead to practical supports for older adults. She is now working on a new study of verbal memory in adults aged 60 and over who have multiple sclerosis. 鈥淚鈥檓 aiming to better detect and categorize aging trajectories in different diseases,鈥 she says. 鈥淭here is so much to still figure out.鈥 Her next clinical placement will focus on movement disorders such as Parkinson鈥檚 disease.
Ultimately, Daliah wants to study Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and dementia 鈥 and any other disease that affects older adults 鈥 using neuroimaging tools to understand how the brain ages. Throughout her academic experience, she has felt inspired by those around her. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a listserv for women in neuropsychology,鈥 Daliah explains, and, although she has not experienced bias in her graduate studies, 鈥渨omen uplifting each other is really inspiring.鈥 Ferkauf is a close-knit school, and she has found the student-to-student support to be exceptional. 鈥淚n some programs, there鈥檚 something of a competitive atmosphere,鈥 she says, 鈥渂ut that doesn鈥檛 happen at Ferkauf. We help each other.鈥