Cohort 
2020

Susanne Röhr, PhD

Clinical Psychologist, Epidemiology & Public Health Researcher

We need to broaden our perspective on the possibilities of dementia prevention, such as creating fairer, healthier, and sustainable environments.

Current Work

Susanne is an Associate Professor with the Health and Ageing Research Team (HART) at Massey University. Her work focuses on risk modification of dementia and dementia prevention.

Personal Hero

Jane Goodall

Words of Strength

Being curious

Vision

To reduce the scale of dementia, Susanne believes we need to broaden our perspective on the possibilities of dementia prevention, such as creating fairer, healthier, and sustainable environments. This needs multi-disciplinary experts and the target group to come together to find solutions.

Strategy

Currently, Susanne is mainly focused on research that aims to identify modifiable risk factors of dementia and their social determinants and to evaluate lifestyle interventions that address such factors to work against cognitive decline and dementia.

Impact

Susanne aims to connect with other fellows to learn from their approaches to tackling dementia. The intercultural and interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge and experiences can help to develop and implement more effective public health measures against dementia in various communities.

Motivation

Susanne is interested in developing public health approaches for dementia prevention that help to reduce the number of future dementia cases in a fair and democratic way. Everyone should have a chance for healthy ageing, which is why we need to root for social policies that provide good and sustainable living conditions to begin with.

Education & Experience

Susanne is a clinical psychologist who received her PhD in Public Health and Social Medicine from the University of Leipzig, Germany. After completing her PhD, Susanne has led the research group Epidemiology and Population Brain Health at the Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig, with a focus on risk factors for dementia and dementia prevention, being involved in large-scale cohort studies and lifestyle trials. Since receiving her Venia Legendi in the field of epidemiology and public health, Susanne works as Associate Professor at the School of Psychology, Massey University, continuing her research in the area of healthy ageing.

Massey University, New Zealand School of Psychology
Associate Professor
Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI)
Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health
University of Leipzig, Germany
Public Health and Social Medicine
PhD
MSc

Awards & Honors

German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatic Medicine and Neurology e. V. (DGPPN)
2021
Health Services Research in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Prize
Alzheimer’s Association Satellite Symposium, Athens, Greece
2021
Best Presentation Award
European Psychiatric Association/EPA Congress Section of Epidemiology and Social Psychiatry, Cambridge, UK
2020
Early Career Researcher Keynote Invitation
Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig
2018
Dissertation Prize
International Psychogeriatrics
“Subjective cognitive decline is longitudinally associated with lower health-related quality of life”
2017
Paper of the Month
16th Congress of the International Federation of Psychiatric Epidemiology, Melbourne, Australia
“Is dementia incidence declining in high-income countries? A systematic review and meta-analysis”
2017
Poster Award
15th Congress of the International Federation of Psychiatric Epidemiology, Bergen, Norway
“Mortality in incident dementia”
2015
Poster Award
51st Congress of the German Society of Social Medicine and Prevention, Regensburg, Germany
2015
Outstanding Master Thesis Prize

Podcasts

Near FM

Voyage Around My Brain: Sarah Fox, Susanne Roehr, Berenice Werle and Francesca Farina

What is Brain Health?

November 2, 2020

Featured Publications