Emily Rogalski, Ph.D.

Title: Leveraging Technology for Intervention in Primary Progressive Aphasia and Neurodegenerative Dementia Syndromes

Abstract: Language and communication impairments (aphasia) are common in Alzheimer’s dementia and the defining features of the clinical neurodegenerative dementia syndrome primary progressive aphasia (PPA). The progressive loss of communication negatively impacts quality of life for persons living with PPA and their care partners. Currently, there are no effective pharmacologic interventions to halt or reverse the disease. However, our Communication Bridge Research Program has developed and is rigorously testing the efficacy and effectiveness of multicomponent nonpharmacological interventions including speech-language and psychosocial approaches designed to maximize quality of life. We use strategically staged, rigorous clinical trials, paving the way for eventual implementation. This presentation will highlight the unique challenges of delivering care to those with PPA and related dementias and how technology can be utilized to overcome barriers related to accessing and providing care.

Bio: Dr. Emily Rogalski is the Rosalind Franklin Professor of Neurology and the Director of the Healthy Aging & Alzheimer’s Care (HAARC) Center. She is a clinical and cognitive neuroscientist researching aging, Alzheimer’s, and related dementias. Her investigations use a multimodal approach focused on two aging perspectives: primary progressive aphasia (PPA), in which neurodegenerative disease invades the language network, and SuperAging, in which 80+-year-olds are resistant to memory decline associated with typical cognitive aging. Her PPA research helped to characterize its clinical and anatomical features, drivers of disease progression, identification of risk factors, and refinement of cognitive neuroscience of language.

She leads a global randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of Communication Bridge a novel nonpharmacologic intervention delivered by expert clinicians via telemedicine for individuals with PPA and their communication partners. She operationalized the SuperAging phenotype and led studies to establish its unique biologic, molecular, genetic, and psychosocial features. She leads the international SuperAging Research Initiative, which holds promise for identifying protective factors for avoiding Alzheimer’s disease, optimizing health span, and reducing stigma associated with aging.