ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Collectively, we have been working on dementia for about 100 years!
Dr. Larry Chambers is a globally recognised leader in dementia research and brain health. His career spans groundbreaking contributions to public health, clinical innovation, and policy development.
Dr. Chambers was a lead investigator in the Canadian Study on Health and Ageing, the country’s first national initiative to track dementia prevalence and caregiving challenges among over 10,000 older adults. As Scientific Advisor to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, he helped shape national strategies for dementia care and support.
He co-led the Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program (CHAP), a community-based initiative involving family physicians to prevent heart disease—a major risk factor for dementia. CHAP has earned accolades from the British Medical Journal, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
As CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of the Bruyère Health Research Institute, Dr. Chambers spearheaded the creation of the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care, addressing the needs of residents with cognitive impairment. He has held academic appointments at McMaster University, York University, Bruyère, IC/ES, and the Brainwell Institute, and has advised numerous Alzheimer Societies and dementia initiatives across Canada and internationally.
A Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health, Dr. Chambers has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, 18 books, and 21 book chapters. In 2022, he was recognised by Elsevier and Stanford University as one of the most cited scientists in the world.
In 2025, Dr. Chambers continues to lead transformative work, including:
Advancing culturally competent dementia care through the BRAID Hub, a CIHR-funded initiative supporting clinical practice change among family physicians and nurse practitioners.
Enhancing Evidence-Based Medicine education in Distributed Medical Education campuses beyond academic health centres.
Collaborating with governments via the Brainwell Institute to secure sustainable funding and improve dementia care coordination.
Supporting complex driving decisions in family medicine memory clinics through the Niagara Family Medicine Dementia Care Community of Practice.
Sir Muir Gray entered the Public Health Service in Oxford in 1972 after qualifying in medicine in Glasgow. He is a consultant in public health. He has worked with both NHS England and Public Health England with the aim of increasing value for both populations and individuals and published How To Get Better Value Healthcare (4th Edition) in 2024. The means of doing this through systems and personalisation is now called population healthcare and the aim of population healthcare is to maximise value and equity by focusing not on institutions, specialties, or technologies, but on populations defined by a common symptom such as breathlessness, condition such as type 1 or type 2 Diabetes or by a common characteristic, such as multiple morbidity. Recently he has returned to his first public health mission—preventing the changes we assume are due to ageing and disease by getting the right attitude and fighting back against an environment that makes us inactive. His key books include Sod70! And, with Diana Moran, Sod Sitting, Get Moving! He is the Director of the Optimal Ageing Programme in Oxford, and its mission is to lead cultural revolution to change the way we think about living longer and this is now a national network involving all the key agencies with the manifesto and resources available at www.livelongerbetter.uk.
Dr. Charles Alessi is a globally recognised and trusted leader in health care. He is the chief clinical officer of Nightingale Health, a Nasdaq quoted health technology company headquartered in Finland. He is a physician based in London, with more than 35 years of experience in all aspects of clinical practice in the UK National Health Service. Most recent appointments include tenure as chief clinical officer of HIMMS, a global US based heath digital and technology membership organisation. His other past roles include Senior Advisor to Public Health England (PHE), where his responsibilities included leading for dementia, specifically targeting risk reduction, as well as around digital interventions, particularly those involving behavioural change. He was also Chairman of the National Association of Primary Care, part of the NHS confederation. He has extensive experience in military medicine, being a past Medical Director and Director of Clinical Governance for the British Armed forces in Germany and Europe . He holds a variety of international academic positions both in Europe and the Americas and has published widely in the media and journals. He is an Adjunct Research professor in Epidemiology and public health at the Schulich School of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
Dr. Larry Chambers is a globally recognised leader in dementia research and brain health. His career spans groundbreaking contributions to public health, clinical innovation, and policy development.
Dr. Chambers was a lead investigator in the Canadian Study on Health and Ageing, the country’s first national initiative to track dementia prevalence and caregiving challenges among over 10,000 older adults. As Scientific Advisor to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, he helped shape national strategies for dementia care and support.
He co-led the Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program (CHAP), a community-based initiative involving family physicians to prevent heart disease—a major risk factor for dementia. CHAP has earned accolades from the British Medical Journal, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
As CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of the Bruyère Health Research Institute, Dr. Chambers spearheaded the creation of the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care, addressing the needs of residents with cognitive impairment. He has held academic appointments at McMaster University, York University, Bruyère, IC/ES, and the Brainwell Institute, and has advised numerous Alzheimer Societies and dementia initiatives across Canada and internationally.
A Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of the UK Faculty of Public Health, Dr. Chambers has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, 18 books, and 21 book chapters. In 2022, he was recognised by Elsevier and Stanford University as one of the most cited scientists in the world.
In 2025, Dr. Chambers continues to lead transformative work, including:
Advancing culturally competent dementia care through the BRAID Hub, a CIHR-funded initiative supporting clinical practice change among family physicians and nurse practitioners.
Enhancing Evidence-Based Medicine education in Distributed Medical Education campuses beyond academic health centres.
Collaborating with governments via the Brainwell Institute to secure sustainable funding and improve dementia care coordination.
Supporting complex driving decisions in family medicine memory clinics through the Niagara Family Medicine Dementia Care Community of Practice.
Sir Muir Gray entered the Public Health Service in Oxford in 1972 after qualifying in medicine in Glasgow. He is a consultant in public health. He has worked with both NHS England and Public Health England with the aim of increasing value for both populations and individuals and published How To Get Better Value Healthcare (4th Edition) in 2024. The means of doing this through systems and personalisation is now called population healthcare and the aim of population healthcare is to maximise value and equity by focusing not on institutions, specialties, or technologies, but on populations defined by a common symptom such as breathlessness, condition such as type 1 or type 2 Diabetes or by a common characteristic, such as multiple morbidity. Recently he has returned to his first public health mission—preventing the changes we assume are due to ageing and disease by getting the right attitude and fighting back against an environment that makes us inactive. His key books include Sod70! And, with Diana Moran, Sod Sitting, Get Moving! He is the Director of the Optimal Ageing Programme in Oxford, and its mission is to lead cultural revolution to change the way we think about living longer and this is now a national network involving all the key agencies with the manifesto and resources available at www.livelongerbetter.uk.
Dr. Charles Alessi is a globally recognised and trusted leader in health care. He is the chief clinical officer of Nightingale Health, a Nasdaq quoted health technology company headquartered in Finland. He is a physician based in London, with more than 35 years of experience in all aspects of clinical practice in the UK National Health Service. Most recent appointments include tenure as chief clinical officer of HIMMS, a global US based heath digital and technology membership organisation. His other past roles include Senior Advisor to Public Health England (PHE), where his responsibilities included leading for dementia, specifically targeting risk reduction, as well as around digital interventions, particularly those involving behavioural change. He was also Chairman of the National Association of Primary Care, part of the NHS confederation. He has extensive experience in military medicine, being a past Medical Director and Director of Clinical Governance for the British Armed forces in Germany and Europe . He holds a variety of international academic positions both in Europe and the Americas and has published widely in the media and journals. He is an Adjunct Research professor in Epidemiology and public health at the Schulich School of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.
