Dr. Allison Sekuler, Vice-President, Research & Sandra Rotman Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Managing Director of the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Health Sciences is now taking on new leadership responsibilities as Managing Director of the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), led by Baycrest Health Sciences.
Dr. Allison Sekuler
Dr. Sekuler joins CABHI after a long and distinguished career as a Professor in the Departments of Psychology at the University of Toronto, and Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour at McMaster University, where she was the country’s first Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience (2001-2011). Her research focuses on perception, aging, and cognitive neuroscience. She combines unique behavioural and neuroimaging methods to understand how the brain enables and constrains human performance across the lifespan, with an aim of developing methods to prevent, detect, and treat age-related sensory and cognitive decline.
In her previous administrative roles, Dr. Sekuler gained extensive experience bridging research and innovation, including responsibility for McMaster University’s Intellectual Property policies and initiatives, research partnerships, commercialization of research, and oversight of McMaster’s Industry Liaison Office, as well as working directly with industry partners in her own research. She has served on numerous Boards related to research, innovation and education, locally, nationally, and internationally; she currently Chairs the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) Scholarships & Fellowships Division and is a member of NSERC’s Committee for Discovery Research.
In her current role at Baycrest, Dr. Sekuler leads the strategic direction of CABHI as it pursues its mission to accelerate innovative products, services, and best practices to support brain health and healthy aging.
Dr. Sekuler succeeds CABHI’s founding Managing Director, Ron Riesenbach, Baycrest’s Vice-President Innovation and Chief Technology Officer, who will continue serving CABHI in an advisory role while he focuses on developing the new Baycrest@Home initiative and furthering Baycrest’s overall innovation mission.
“I’m extremely grateful to Ron for having set CABHI on such strong footing, and I look forward to continuing the important work of addressing the needs of the rapidly growing aging population,” says Dr. Sekuler. “CABHI was one of the main attractors in my move from McMaster. It’s exciting to be able to make a real, positive difference in the lives of older adults and those affected by dementia, connecting research expertise with innovative solutions that help transform the culture of the broader aging care ecosystem.”
