Shireen Sindi

Shireen Sindi, PhD is Associate Professor (Docent) at Karolinska Institute's Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), Division of Clinical Geriatrics. She also serves as Senior Research Specialist and Coordinator for Data-Driven and AI Research at KI (DDKI), an initiative established by the KI Committee for Research to promote rapidly advancing research areas.

Dr. Sindi's educational background includes a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from McGill University, Master's and Doctoral degrees from McGill's Integrated Program in Neuroscience, an MSc in Clinical Trials from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and an MBA from Imperial College Business School. Her academic achievements include being awarded Docent status at Karolinska Institutet in 2024.

Her research focuses on uncovering multi-system biological mechanisms contributing to cognitive decline and dementia risk factors, with particular emphasis on the intricate relationships between stress, sleep disturbances, and sex differences across the spectrum from normal aging to Alzheimer's disease. She integrates various biomarkers including cortisol, neuroimaging, Alzheimer's disease biomarkers (beta-amyloid, tau), neuroinflammation markers, and allostatic load. Her work also explores the impacts of multidomain lifestyle interventions encompassing diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular/metabolic risk management on cognition and sleep.

Analysis of Dr. Sindi's recent publications reveals a strong focus on sex differences in dementia, the relationship between stress biomarkers and cognitive decline, sleep disturbances as risk factors for dementia, and the effectiveness of multimodal interventions. Her research consistently employs interdisciplinary approaches, integrating neuroimaging, biomarker analysis, and longitudinal cohort studies to understand the complex pathways leading to cognitive decline.

Among her notable achievements is the receipt of a 30 million SEK award from Wellcome Leap CARE for research with a comprehensive perspective on Alzheimer's disease risk. She has also served as Principal Investigator for multiple project grants using multi-center designs to enhance statistical power and generalizability.

Dr. Sindi has established a solid track record for supervising and mentoring students and postdocs across multiple institutions including Karolinska Institute, Imperial College London, Stockholm University, and University of Eastern Finland. Her leadership roles include former Chair for Junior Faculty and current Chair for National Junior Faculty in Sweden, demonstrating her commitment to advancing scientific careers and opportunities.