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Profile – Dr Prerana Sabnis

Dr Prerana Sabnis

Name:

Dr Prerana Sabnis

Job title:

Science Communicator

Place of work / study:

PhD from University of Trento, Italy and Macquarie University [1] (Australia)

Area of Research:

Language comprehension, Linguistic deficits in post-stroke individuals, and Quality of life and functional changes in dementia

Tell us a little about yourself:

I am a cognitive neuropsychologist with a keen interest in the science of language and functional aspects of dementia. My research experience thus far has focused on studying language comprehension in healthy adults using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography (EEG), language deficits in stroke survivors, and the characterisation of dementia using culturally relevant diagnostic tools. Over the years, I have become especially interested in understanding the functional changes caused by dementia, and its effects on their quality of life.  Currently, I work as a freelance science communicator writing articles and developing infographics about dementia and language-related topics on formal blogs as well as other social media platforms. Apart from neuropsychology, I am passionate about destigmatising mental health conditions, especially in academia, increasing accessibility in science.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself:

I fell from a height and fractured my skull when I was 5!

Why did you choose to work in dementia?

I worked as a research fellow in a dementia clinic after completing my master’s in cognitive neuropsychology. Two factors sparked my interest in dementia. I was fascinated by how neurodegeneration affected cognition. More specifically, I was intrigued by how uniquely different cognitive decline could be in different individuals. The second reason was more personal. It occurred to me that I personally knew several people whose lives had been affected by dementia. Getting involved in dementia research was my way of giving back to the community.

Can we find you on Twitter?

Follow @preranasabnis [2]