All are invited to the hybrid Bradford Hill Seminar:

From Plate to Brain: Global Diet, Cognitive Function and Neuroimaging in Diverse Populations

Professor Sonia Anand

McMaster University, Ontario, Canada

Register to attend

Please note this is free a hybrid event.

No registration is required to attend in person. The seminar is being held at – Large Seminar Room, Cambridge Institute of Public Health, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0SR.

Register in advance to attend the seminar online – https://mrc-epid.zoom.us/meeting/register/8xel5Gx6RvWXR1q8nlieGg

Abstract

Drawing on findings from the Canadian Alliance for Healthier Hearts and Minds (CAHHM) and the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study, this seminar will examine how global dietary patterns influence cognitive performance and brain structure across diverse populations. Dr. Anand will highlight evidence linking diet quality and cardiometabolic risk to cognition and neuroimaging markers of brain health in multi‑ethnic and international cohorts. The presentation will discuss implications for prevention strategies that connect nutrition, vascular health, and brain aging from a global perspective.

About Professor Sonia Anand

Dr. Sonia Anand is a distinguished physician-scientist and global health leader whose work has transformed Canada’s approach to cardiovascular health, health equity, and Indigenous and
population health research. She serves as Associate Vice-President of Global Health and Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at McMaster University and holds a Heart & Stroke
Chair recognizing her national impact. Dr. Anand’s research has revealed how sex, ethnicity, and social determinants influence cardiometabolic risk—shifting practice away from “one-size-fitsall” models toward equity-focused care. Her studies have set new standards for defining obesity, created validated ethnic-specific risk scoring systems, and led to the development and testing of
community-based interventions in South Asian and Indigenous populations. Her findings have shaped clinical guidelines, policy frameworks, and global conversations on health equity.

About the Bradford Hill seminars

The Bradford Hill seminar series is the principal series of The Cambridge Population Health Sciences Partnership, in collaboration with the PHG Foundation. This comprises the Departments of Public Health & Primary Care, MRC Biostatistics Unit and MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, bringing together a multi-disciplinary partnership of academics and public health professionals. The Bradford Hill seminar programme of internationally recognised speakers covers topics of broad interest to our public health research community. It aims to transcend as well as connect the activities of our individual partners.

All are welcome at our Bradford Hill seminars.