Research that doesn’t give up

As of January 2025, an estimated 771,939 people in Canada are living with dementia, and more than 414 Canadians develop the condition every day. Within the decade, nearly one million families across the country will be living with the impacts of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias—a number that continues to climb as the population ages.

For Dr. Melissa Andrew (MD’ 01, PGM’ 06, PGM’ 09, PhD’ 11), those numbers are not abstract. They represent people, families, memories, and futures—and they underscore why Alzheimer’s research cannot afford to stand still.

“I think one of the great things about geriatrics,” she says, “is that we never give up.”

A lot of fields might say they never give up. But Dr. Andrew specifies that in geriatrics, even if the conditions of aging can’t be cured, there is always more to be done to help people optimize their function and quality of life holistically. 

A staff geriatrician, professor of geriatric medicine, and the newly appointed Kathryn Allen Weldon Chair in Alzheimer’s Research at Dalhousie University, Dr. Andrew brings a rare breadth of perspective to one of the most complex challenges in health care. 

Dr. Andrew’s path into Alzheimer’s research was anything but linear. Her early interests leaned toward public health and infectious diseases. It was during her clinical training, through rotations in geriatrics, that her perspective shifted. 

After completing her medical degree and residency training in Internal Medicine at Dalhousie and a Master of Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, she continued on to her interdisciplinary PhD, focused on social vulnerability in older adults. Her education and experience cemented a research lens that looks beyond biology alone—to the social, structural, and lived realities that shape health as we age.

That holistic outlook defines her work as the Kathryn Allen Weldon Chair, where she is helping to reframe how the field understands and responds to dementia. 

Rethinking Alzheimer’s

Despite decades of scientific progress, Alzheimer’s disease remains without a cure. Traditional research approaches have generated important insights, but they have not yet delivered treatments that meaningfully change the course of the disease.

“What causes Alzheimer’s disease? I don’t think it’s one thing,” Dr. Andrew says. “And that’s been a challenge for the field.”

Her work pushes beyond single‑track thinking, bringing together biology, social context, frailty, infection, and lived experience.  

“These conditions don’t happen in isolation,” she explains. “You can only get so far by looking at things in a vacuum.” 

Through national research collaborations focused on neurodegeneration and quality of life, she has helped advance a broader understanding of what meaningful progress looks like, not only preventing disease where possible but improving life for those already living with it. 

That same openness has led Dr. Andrew to explore emerging questions around inflammation, infections, vaccines, and dementia risk—an area of research that could open entirely new pathways for prevention.

The long game  

Alzheimer’s research, Dr. Andrew is quick to point out, is not a short‑term endeavour. Breakthroughs rarely follow straight lines, and progress often depends on the freedom to ask difficult questions and to take risks.

“Alzheimer’s research is a long game,” she says.

Holding the Kathryn Allen Weldon Chair has been transformative for Dr. Andrew in this way. Beyond the title, the Chair provides her with protected time and funding—resources that empower her to bring together colleagues across disciplines and ask questions that might otherwise remain unaddressed.

“Quite literally, it gives time to think,” she says. “Time to explore new ideas, to build collaborations, and to mentor others.” 

For Dr. Andrew, the Chair also represents something deeper.

“I feel supported by the community,” she says. “But I also feel a responsibility to deliver the very best I can for them.”

A legacy that lives on

The story behind the Chair itself is a reminder of philanthropy’s enduring reach. Kathryn Allen Weldon’s passion for health care, shaped at a time when women were discouraged from entering the field, now lives on through an endowment that fuels discovery, mentorship, and impact for generations to come. 

“It’s a reminder that people can make a difference in the ways available to them,” Dr. Andrew reflects. “And that difference can echo far into the future.”

For donors, that impact is not abstract. It is tangible and ongoing, helping ensure that Alzheimer’s research continues to move forward, even when the path is uncertain.

Because in geriatrics, and in research, giving up is never an option.