Schmitt Russell Research Lecture

Measuring a Moving Target: Cognition-on-the-Go and the New Science of Brain Health

Watch the lecture

Martin Sliwinski, Gregory H. Wolf Professor in Healthy Aging and Human Development, professor of Human Development and Family Studies, and director of the Center for Healthy Aging presented "Measuring a Moving Target: Cognition-on-the-Go and the New Science of Brain Health."

Sliwinski is the recipient of the 2024 Pauline Schmitt Russell Distinguished Research Career Award, which honors a distinguished faculty member whose career-long research has had a profound impact on a specific field of study.

About the lecture

Sliwinski’s lecture explored new methods for capturing cognitive health as it unfolds in the rhythms, contexts, and challenges of daily life. This work builds on a tradition of research at Penn State and the Department of Human Development and Family Studies that has helped shift research in the field of aging from using static analysis models to understanding development as a dynamic, unfolding process.

Sliwinski discussed how using modern tools to study brain health allows researchers to understand cognition in real time. While traditional tests were designed to detect impairment, Sliwinski’s research emphasizes measuring change and capturing how cognition fluctuates and adapts in response to everyday experiences.

The results of Sliwinski’s research will ultimately allow healthcare providers to detect early cognitive changes before they become clinically visible, as well as help promote brain health and prevent the progression of dementia by identifying early, actionable signals of cognitive change that can inform targeted interventions across the lifespan.

About the presenter

Martin Sliwinski is the Gregory H. Wolf Professor in Healthy Aging and Human Development, a professor of Human Development and Family Studies, and the director of the Center for Healthy Aging. His work focuses on improving the measurement of cognitive change with applications in cognitive aging and dementia prevention. His research explores how fluctuations in cognitive performance—shaped by factors such as stress, social interactions, and physical activity—can reveal early signs of cognitive decline and inform strategies for maintaining brain health.

Sliwinski has led the development of innovative methods for assessing cognition in real-world settings, including the Mobile Monitoring of Cognitive Change (M2C2) platform, which leverages mobile technology to capture high-frequency, in-the-moment cognitive data.

His research emphasizes dynamic phenotyping of daily experiences and cognitive function, examining their inter-relationships across multiple timescales, from micro-changes over days to long-term trajectories over years. By embedding ambulatory cognitive assessments into ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and daily diary designs, his projects capture frequent, real-time snapshots of cognitive function, behavior, psychological states, and environmental exposures in people’s natural environments, advancing tools for monitoring and promoting cognitive health.

Each year, the Schmitt Russell Research Lecture is presented by the most recent recipient of the Pauline Schmitt Russell Distinguished Research Achievement Award, recognizing the contributions of a distinguished faculty member whose career-long research has had a profound impact on a specific field of study.

Learn more about the award