APPOINTMENT. Ingmar Skoog, a professor of psychiatry specializing in social psychiatry and epidemiology, has now been appointed to the board of the Asian Society Against Dementia (ASAD). He is the second non-Asian board member of society, which is an important network for Asia’s leading dementia researchers.
ASAD is an organization of researchers and practitioners dealing with dementia in Asia. The society has annual conferences where researchers from Asia present their findings and with guest speakers from outside of Asia.
“As a scientist, it provides a unique opportunity to access a network of Asia’s leading dementia researchers, not least for AgeCap, the Centre for Ageing and Health, which is part of UGOT Challenge, the University of Gothenburg’s efforts in research on global challenges. It also provides the opportunity to closely follow dementia research in Asia, a region where the prevalence of dementia will increase tremendously over the next few decades,” says Ingmar Skoog.
Asia is the region in the world where the number of elderly is increasing most right now, and Ingmar believes that, as a board member of ASAD, he will have the opportunity to disseminate dementia research from Gothenburg to new groups. “It is also an honor to be one of the two international experts on the board.”
Researchers from Asia have generally been difficult disseminating their research at international conferences, so the ASAD is working hard to encourage and support young Asian researchers to conduct dementia research and to create conditions for cooperation in the field of dementia among Asian countries. ASAD’s board brings together the leading dementia researchers in Asia and has written joint guidelines for various dementia issues.
Ingmar has previously been invited to be the keynote speaker at ASAD’s conferences, including in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
“It was thought that I had shown an interest in global dementia research and AgeCap’s profile position is that our research should be of global interest, not least through UGOT Challenge. Moreover, dementia research in Gothenburg is attracting interest from the rest of the world,” says Ingmar, who will now be working to attend the annual conferences and take part in regular telephone conferences. “I will provide advice on various issues and on the program for the conferences. I will also participate with lectures, sit on the committee for prizes to young scientists and arranging teaching sessions. I have also been asked to provide advice on starting new epidemiological studies in Asia. In Hangzhou, I met a representative of Thailand’s health ministry and also had discussions about this with researchers from Chennai in India.”
