AGE Research Group hosts seminar by Dr Lizeth Sloot

The AGE Research Group were delighted to host NUAct Fellow Dr Lizeth Sloot on 9^th October as part of our lunchtime seminar series in conjunction with the faculty Long-Term Conditions and Multimorbidity Theme. Lizeth joined Newcastle University in 2023 and works with the Brain and Movement (BAM) research group in the University. Lizeth updated us on her research journey so far, from studying gait in children with cerebral palsy, through postdoctoral work on robotics-assisted walking aids for people after stroke, through to her current interest in developing better measurement and understanding of balance to address falls in older people.

An engaged audience comprising colleagues from several research groups and institute Themes took part in a lively question and answer session, considering contributions that cognitive impairment, sarcopenia and novel neurophysiological measures could make to this field, and providing a number of promising ideas for future collaboration. This is a topic of huge importance for the health of older people given the high frequency of falls and falls-related injuries suffered each year, and Lizeth’s work holds out the promise of developing better ways to measure and stratify falls risk, as well as providing new mechanistic insights into falls that could underpin more sophisticated approaches to falls risk reduction and balance improvement. We look forward to a progress update in a few years time as Lizeth’s fellowship progresses!

Last modified: Thu, 10 Oct 2024 14:30:59 BST