
Juliette Dupertuys
PHD STUDENT
I have always been fascinated by the interplay between biology, cognition, and behaviour and this interest drew me to study psychology and neuroscience in tandem over the past six years. I obtained a BSc from McGill University in Montreal, Canada in 2022 before working as a lab manager there for a year, and I recently completed my MPhil at the University of Cambridge. For my PhD, I aim to study what ‘healthy’ cognitive ageing looks like in the real world, using ecological methods such as those available at UCL PEARL. I am interested in the insights that we can gain from studying individuals navigating in real-world environments, and how their strategies and performances relate to different profiles of cognitive functioning – for instance, do older people use different strategies when navigating space, and why? What is the impact of increased GPS use in today’s modern world on younger generations’ spatial navigation abilities and the associated brain regions? Do individuals with an increased genetic risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease show different patterns of navigation than their less-at risk counterparts, as they age and get closer to the age of diagnosis? Can we use this knowledge to devise effective behavioural and cognitive training that will promote brain health in the regions affected in these individuals, and potentially delay or avoid diagnosis?