Teresa Liu-Ambrose
PhD, PT
Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, UBC
Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, Healthy Aging
Director, Vancouver General Hospital Falls Prevention Clinic
Co-Director, Centre for Aging SMART at Vancouver Coastal Health
Director, Aging, Mobility, and Cognitive Health
UBC Lead, Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging
Full Member
Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose is a physical therapist and a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Healthy Aging at the University of British Columbia, Department of Physical Therapy. She directs the Aging, Mobility and Cognitive Health Laboratory and the Vancouver General Hospital’s Falls Prevention Clinic. Dr. Liu-Ambrose is Co-Director of the Centre for Aging SMART at VCH (also known as Centre for Hip Health and Mobility).
She leads the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) Data Collection Site at UBC, the CLSA Neuroimaging Working Group, and the CLSA COVID-19 Brain Health Study. Dr. Liu-Ambrose also co-leads the CLSA Healthy Brains, Healthy Aging initiative.
Dr. Liu-Ambrose’s research focuses on understanding the role of exercise, and other lifestyle interventions, in promoting cognitive and mobility outcomes in older adults. Her research findings have been implemented into clinical practice, community programs, and international practice guidelines or recommendations to promote healthy aging.
Contact Info
Research Information
We are a clinical research laboratory that incorporates cognitive neuroscience methodology. Our main research projects are randomized controlled trials involving clinical populations. In these trials, we typically acquire clinical, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging data. For neuroimaging data, we use a research-dedicated Philips 3T scanner at the UBC MRI Research Centre, a 5-minute walk from our UBC campus laboratory. We also have an in-house Artinis Oxymon Mk III Near Infrared Spectroscopy system (NIRS) which allows us to see changes in blood flow in the brain. Being able to detect changes in brain blood flow may prove to be a diagnostic tool to better understand changes in brain mechanisms as we age.
PublicationsKeywords
- aging
- cognition
- clinical trial
- spinal cord injury
- hip health
- falls prevention