Personal statement
Research interests: Mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal cognitive ageing. Cognitive and behavioural changes in neurodegenerative diseases, with emphasis on Alzheimer’s Disease. The investigation of functional brain changes (fMRI, EEG, ERP, Brain Connectivity) in the course of dementing illnesses and other brain disorders. Development of cognitive tests for the early detection of dementia with emphasis on Alzheimer’s disease. Development of technology-based intervention procedures to enhance functions of everyday life in older people who are experiencing cognitive decline. I also have an interest in the biopsychosocial mechanisms of abnormal behaviours (e.g., violence) in the context of social conflicts.
Biography: I graduated as a Medical Doctor in 1993 and as a Clinical Neurophysiologist in 1997. I worked at the Cuban Neuroscience Centre and at different University Hospitals in Cuba and in Colombia. During my clinical work I focused on neuropsychological and neurophysiological aspects of dementia syndromes and other neurological disorders. I taught neuroscience related subjects in the field of medicine and psychology. My motivation for teaching and research led me to a major career change into academia. This started with my PhD in 2005 at the University of Edinburgh and continued with three Postdoctoral Fellowships and a position as a Clinical Studies Officer within the NHS Scotland. I was as an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh from 2015 until 2018. I am currently a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.
Professional activities
- 30th International Society for Anthrozoology Conference (Virtual).
- Speaker
- 22/6/2021
- Memory Assessment and Dementia Risk - Recent Perspectives
- Speaker
- 27/5/2021
- IV Iberoamerican Congress on Neuropsychology
- Speaker
- 27/5/2021
- LAC-CD Webinar Meeting, Alzheimer’s Association. Technology and Dementia
- Speaker
- 26/5/2021
- Engage with Strathclyde
- Speaker
- 20/5/2021
- Robotics & Care Mashup.
- Speaker
- 10/5/2021
More professional activities
Projects
- Agent-based Memory Prosthesis to Encourage Reminiscing (AMPER)
- Parra Rodriguez, Mario (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2022 - 28-Jan-2026
- Psychometric validation of the DoFEL. Functional assessment of elderly and patients with cognitive impairment.
- Campbell, Irina (Principal Investigator) Calia, Clara (Principal Investigator) Parra Rodriguez, Mario (Principal Investigator)
- 14-Jan-2022
- The EuroLaD-EEG Consortium: towards a global EEG platform for dementia (Seed Grant)
- Parra Rodriguez, Mario (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2023
- Novel technologies to support older adults with cognitive impairment
- Parra Rodriguez, Mario (Academic) Whear, Sarah (Principal Investigator)
- Vacation Scholarships Awarded by Carnegie Trust for a 2020 Summer Project (my Lab (12 weeks)
- 08-Jan-2020 - 24-Jan-2020
- Novel electrophysiological markers for the early detection of Alzheimer´s disease
- Parra Rodriguez, Mario (Principal Investigator) Clark, Ruaridh (Co-investigator) Escudero, Javier (Co-investigator) Smith, Keith (Co-investigator)
- I have set up a new collaboration between the University of Strathclyde, University of Edinburgh and Latin America (Dr Ruaridh Clark, Research Associate from our Electronic and Electrical Engineering department of our Faculty of Engineering, Dr Javier Escudero from the Digital Communications Research Institute at Edinburgh University and Dr Keith Smith from the Usher Institute at Edinburgh University). We will apply novel brain network approaches to data collected in labs from our UK- Latin American Brain Connectivity Research Network (UL-BCRN).
- 20-Jan-2020
- Digital Health and Wellness Group. Computer & Information Sciences. Virtual Reality Assessment and Intervention System for the frail and cognitively impaired older adult (VRAIS)
- Campbell, Irina (Principal Investigator) Wilson, Graham (Research Co-investigator) Parra Rodriguez, Mario (Academic)
- 20-Jan-2020
More projects
Address
Psychology
Graham Hills Building
Graham Hills Building
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