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Dr Audrey Low
Name:
Dr Audrey Low
Job Title:
Race Against Dementia Fellow
Place of work / study:
University of Cambridge & Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN, USA)
Area of Research:
I research the role of cerebral small disease in dementia and cognitive impairment using multimodal neuroimaging techniques and clinical data.
How is your research funded:
Race Against Dementia
Tell us a little about yourself:
As someone who believes in approaching research with translation in mind, my interdisciplinary experience in neuroscience and healthcare policy research has perhaps predisposed me to consider the real-life applications of my research and the importance of communicating research in an accessible way. I completed my PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2022, and was awarded a research fellowship from Race Against Dementia in 2023 to work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA.
Prior to my PhD, I studied Psychology at the National University of Singapore, where I developed a deep appreciation of brain health. After my undergraduate studies, I worked in the Singapore government for several years conducting healthcare policy research, which gave me insights into how policies are developed, evaluated, and communicated to the public. Upon returning to academia, my research aims to identify early risk factors of dementia, particularly focusing on the vascular contributions to cognitive impairment (e.g., cerebral small vessel disease), in hopes of identifying new therapeutic targets and improving prognosis and prevention of dementia.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself:
I have not paid for a haircut since I was 14. After a singularly awful haircut at the hairdresser’s, I just had to take matters into my own hands. It started with fixing that one haircut, and has since become a lifelong DIY project. It’s a pretty fun skill to have, and has probably saved me thousands. I still make mistakes now and again but, as with everything in life, each mistake is a lesson learnt (and in this case, at least the damage is never permanent, eeps).
Why did you choose to work in Dementia research?
Looking back, I realise that the human mind has always been a fascination of mine, which led me to study Psychology as an undergraduate. But it was only during these undergraduate years that I came to appreciate how astoundingly complex the brain is, and just how terribly age-related brain changes could impact a person’s cognition, behaviour and identity. In my first job conducting healthcare policy research, I grew to see how our ability to make good policy decisions was inherently limited by how little we knew about dementia.
After much thought, I realised that returning to my love of neuroscience to do dementia research was effectively how I could contribute most meaningfully. So, I left my role and reinvented my career path, starting as a research assistant. Five years later, I have just attended my PhD graduation, and continue to love the work I do. And looking ahead, hopefully my years of experience working in the government will help me communicate effectively with policymakers to translate our research into real-world changes in policy.
What single piece of advice would you give to an early career researcher?
Recognise that every experience is a learning opportunity. The good AND the bad. Identify the positive traits you admire in good scientists, good supervisors, good talks, etc, and strive to emulate them. Just as importantly, reflect on why certain things left a bad taste in your mouth – you may have a supervisor with a poor management style, unreasonable collaborators, etc – let these be negative examples to avoid making the same mistakes.
There are so many opportunities to learn from ancillary tasks too. ‘Unrewarding’ work like reviewing manuscripts and grants could help you gain insights into a reviewer’s thought processes by putting yourself in their shoes. And administrative duties like interviewing incoming candidates could help you understand how interviews think during their evaluations. Finally, remember all the ways that others helped you, and pay it forward!
What book are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?
I recently read Science Fictions by Dr Stuart Ritchie, which is about fraud, bias, negligence, and hype in science. It reads like a collection of short horror stories for scientists. And, at the same time, holds a mirror up to each of us in the scientific community.
Favourite ways to unplug and unwind?
Rock climbing, hiking, snowboarding, pottery, or just hanging with my dogs
Rebecca Williams
