Abigail Dove, researcher at Karolinska Institutet, has been awarded the SSMF Postdoctoral Grant 2026 for a project investigating how cardiometabolic conditions such as obesity, high blood sugar and high blood pressure are linked to brain ageing and dementia.
Dementia is a growing challenge in ageing societies, and there are still limited treatment options. This makes prevention an important area of research. Some of the strongest known risk factors for dementia are cardiometabolic abnormalities, including obesity, high blood sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Together, these conditions are referred to as metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome and dementia risk
Metabolic syndrome affects around a quarter of adults worldwide and can often be improved through lifestyle changes. Despite this, the biological mechanisms that link poor metabolic health to dementia are still not well understood. The aim of the new project, titled Decoding the Metabolic Roots of Brain Aging and Dementia, is to address this gap.
The project will investigate which combinations of metabolic risk factors are most strongly linked to dementia, how these risk factors are associated with long term changes in the brain, and which biological pathways may connect metabolic syndrome to brain damage and cognitive decline.
Long term data from the United States
The research is based on data from the ongoing Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study in the United States. The study includes more than 15,000 participants and follows them over time with repeated measurements of metabolic health and cognitive function. The dataset also contains detailed brain imaging, including MRI and amyloid PET scans, as well as a wide range of biological markers. This allows researchers to track how metabolic health influences the brain across many years.
The project will be carried out in collaboration with Professor Rebecca Gottesman (NIH, USA) and Associate Professor Andrea Schneider (University of Pennsylvania, USA) and is supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Swedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF). which provides funding over three years. The grant amounts to 3,950,000 SEK over three years, including a two-year research stay abroad, followed by one year back in Sweden.
"I am extremely grateful to SSMF for this opportunity," says Abigail Dove , researcher at the Aging Research Center (ARC) , Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society .
"Embarking on this project will enable me to develop a new research line building on my previous work on modifiable risk factors for dementia, while also establishing collaborations and gaining experience in a new research environments," she continues.
SSMF Postdoctoral Grant
The purpose of the grant is to help early-career researchers to build their independence and develop their own line of research.
