Asst. Prof. Molly Split, Ph.D., has been awarded a research fellowship from the Alzheimer's Association Research Fellowship for All Program, which provides up to $200,000 to support early-career investigators in the research of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. 

For her three-year project, Split will follow up with participants in the U.S. POINTER study to understand why they did, or did not, pursue greater social engagement after participating in dementia prevention programs. Social engagement — such as group activities, community involvement, and regular contact with friends and acquaintances — is an important factor in reducing dementia risk.

“This funding provides an exciting opportunity to build on the important work of the U.S. POINTER study,” Split said. “By combining longitudinal trial data with qualitative insights from participants, we hope to better understand what drives successful and sustained changes in social engagement and apply those insights to strengthen dementia risk reduction interventions.”

A recent graduate of Brown's Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program, Split is currently a neuropsychologist with the Memory and Aging Program at Butler Behavioral Health.