Prince George –   A University of Northern British Columbia doctoral candidate has received the largest scholarship ever awarded to a UNBC student.

 

Mireille Rizkalla, who is studying the effects of aging, and whose research aims to help ward off such ailments as Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, is one of 165 students selected from across the country to receive a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship this year. The scholarship provides $50,000 per year for up to three years, and is part of a Government of Canada program designed to attract and retain high-calibre doctoral students in Canada.

Rizkalla developed a training program that evaluates the effects brain exercises, such as pattern recognition, can have on healthy people aged 60 and older. The results will indicate which brain functions changed and by how much, and which functions remained the same. Rizkalla wants to find out if a healthy brain can be strengthened, and if dementia can be avoided. Further, if the same program is administered to those with dementia, Rizkalla wants to know whether brain function can be maintained or even improved.