PhD candidate
Marlies started her PhD project in September 2022 under the supervision of Merel Keijzer (University of Groningen), Margreet Luinge, Hans Hobbelen, Hans Drenth (Hanze University of Applied Sciences). Between 2020-2022 she worked on a project focusing on language, speech, and interaction in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. Marlies holds a BA in German and Languages and Cultures and Dutch Languages and Cultures. During the BA, she developed an interest in linguistics. Therefore, she decided to do a MA in Multilingualism and Language Acquisition.
Project description
Currently, Marlies is working on a PhD project that investigates language, speech and motor markers for the early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Identifying AD in its early stages is challenging, as initial symptoms are often subtle, heterogeneous, and may overlap with normal ageing or other conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to identify more sensitive and accurate clinical markers to detect in its early stages. The combination of language, speech and motor characteristics could possibly be used as clinical markers, as the impairments in these domains are observable throughout the course of AD. However, scientific evidence supporting the combined use of these markers for early and preclinical detection is scarce and tentative at best. Therefore, this PhD project aims to explore how motor, speech and language functions are characterized during both the preclinical and dementia stages in order to provide deeper insights into the relationship between these domains and the potential of their potential for early diagnosis.
