Laura Middleton

Laura Middleton is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo, specializing in Neuroscience with a focus on dementia, aging, and lifestyle interventions. She leads the Brain and Body Lab, investigating how exercise, nutrition, and sleep impact brain health and cognitive function in older adults and individuals with chronic conditions like stroke. Her work emphasizes co-design approaches with patients and care partners to ensure interventions are accessible and culturally appropriate.

Her research spans clinical trials (e.g., LEAD 2.0, SYNERGIC), digital health tools like the Brain Health PRO program, and virtual reality applications for older adult wellbeing. She has pioneered studies on sleep-cognition interactions in chronic stroke recovery and dementia risk reduction strategies. Recent projects include developing the DREAM Toolkit for dementia-inclusive exercise programs and exploring AI-driven risk detection in healthcare settings.

Laura’s articles highlight themes of interdisciplinary collaboration, participatory research methods, and translational science bridging lab findings to real-world applications. Her work addresses critical issues like health equity for Indigenous populations and improving access to wellness programs for marginalized groups. She actively contributes to national consortia like the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA).