Ana Alonso Hellweg

My current work focuses on determining whether environmental exposures, such as different air pollutants and traffic noise, contribute to neurodegeneration and dementia risk, and if so, through which pathways. I have a background in environmental sciences, with a bachelor that specialized in Atmospheric and Climate Science and a master with a major in Human Health, Nutrition and Environment, both from ETH Zurich. I completed my master thesis at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, where I analyzed whether ambient pollen concentrations influence the sleep quality of individuals with pollen allergies. My work experiences in sustainability consulting and stakeholder participation processes for spatial and urban planning strengthened my interest in how the environments we create and inhabit shape our health and well-being. This motivates me to contribute to research that clarifies how environmental exposures influence brain health.

My doctoral project focuses on whether and how long-term environmental exposures contribute to dementia risk in older adults. I study exposures such as air pollution, noise, and extreme temperatures, as well as potentially protective factors like neighborhood greenness. I aim to identify biological pathways through which environmental exposures influence dementia risk by studying blood-based biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease and brain structural changes indicative of neurodegeneration, using health data from Swedish population-based cohorts. Ultimately, the goal is to understand whether the association between different environmental exposures and dementia is mediated by changes in blood-based or brain structural biomarkers.