Biography of Dr. Jane Rylett, IA Scientific Director

Dr. Rylett is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Western Ontario and Scientist in the Molecular Medicine Research Laboratories at Robarts Research Institute. She is past-Chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and served as an Associate Dean at Schulich. Following a PhD in Pharmacology, she trained in neurophysiology at University College London, England and neurochemistry at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Germany. She was recruited to Western University as the Rubinoff Scholar in Geriatrics.

She is a cellular and molecular neurobiologist studying the consequences of age-related changes in brain and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Rylett is recognized internationally for contributions in studies on cholinergic neurobiology and Alzheimer disease. Research in her laboratory focuses on mechanisms regulating chemical communication in the nervous system in health, normal aging and disease and the impact on cognitive function. Her work has been funded by several agencies, including CIHR, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council, and the Alzheimer Societies of both Canada and USA.

Dr. Rylett served as Chair of the Institute Advisory Board for the CIHR Institute of Aging, on Boards of Directors of the Alzheimer Societies of Canada and Ontario, and on taskforces for international endeavours for Alzheimer Disease research. She has been leader of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) Theme 1 – Prevention and a member of the Biology/Genetics Working Group of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). She was appointed as an inaugural College Chair of the CIHR College of Reviewers in 2016 and held the position of Executive Vice-Chair. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

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