What is the name of your project?

[. Kristina will be presenting two of her current projects at CAG 2021 .]

Dementia or mild cognitive impairment @ work in progress (also known as MCI@Work)

Our [second project,] Cog@Work project is called “The voice of the employer is missing": A critical review of the Canadian policy environment related to employees diagnosed with progressive cognitive impairment”

What is/has been your role in the lab?

I am a research analyst with the Date Lab

What made you interested in dementia research?

My research career in dementia was influenced by my experiences volunteering in long-term care during my undergraduate degree. I was fascinated by the experiences of what it was like to communicate with someone with memory loss and how to facilitate meaningful engagement- this influenced my very first study! 

How do you feel about presenting at CAG 2021?

CAG was actually the very first conference I ever attended. I attended just after my undergraduate degree and have been attending every year since. Individuals in the gerontology space are approachable, and less intimidating than you think. So my advice is don’t to wait network, introduce yourself to people, share what you’re interested in, tell them something about their work you like (or even disagree with)- you never, ever know where it will lead. Doing this actually lead me to work on projects with mentors that I really wanted to learn from and paved the way for the next steps in my career.

What 3 key search words describe your project?

Both these projects can be described as : sustaining employment, cognitive impairment