Exploring economic impact of dementia prevention earns MSc grad Governor General’s Gold Medal
By Cam Buchan, with files from Western News
Marie Lan, MSc’24 (Submitted)
With the first-ever Canadian dementia prevention model, Marie Lan, MSc’24, has created a research path that will help assess the economic impact of managing dementia risk factors to prevent this debilitating disease.
Lan is one of three Western graduates to receive this year’s Governor General’s Academic Medals, one of the highest honours for graduate students in Canada. Lan, along with fellow graduates Elmond Bandauko, PhD’24, and Rochelle Furtado, PhD’24, have been recognized for academic excellence at the graduate level.
We caught up with Lan to find out more about her research and her time at Western.
Lan completed her MSc in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry in August 2024. Her thesis assessed the economic impact of managing hypertension to reduce dementia, a condition projected to grow significantly over the next 30 years. Although it is well-established that lifestyle and clinical interventions can mitigate dementia risk, there is a notable lack of economic evaluations on the effectiveness of these strategies. Lan’s thesis provided the first comprehensive review of economic evidence on hypertension management for dementia prevention, and developed the first economic model tailored to the Canadian context. Her work, supervised by Dr. Shehzad Ali and Dr. Ava John-Baptiste, was supported by the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program.
What sparked your curiousity in the economic impact of managing dementia?
I completed my bachelor’s degree in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics department at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and became interested in health economics through my courses. I decided to pursue a topic in health economics for my master’s because I liked how it supported the optimization of existing resources and could directly inform decision-making and policy changes. Dementia was particularly interesting to investigate because cases in Canada are projected to triple over the next 30 years, posing a significant burden to our health and social systems, as well as on caregivers. With limited treatments available, prevention is essential to reducing future burden. Managing dementia risk factors such as hypertension is something we can readily do, and economic analyses can help us determine which intervention pathways to further investigate and which programs to fund.
Can you share your insights and how your work could drive policy change?
As a part of my thesis, I created the first economic model for dementia prevention in Canada. I tested several scenarios which found that hypertension diagnosis and control strategies increased life expectancy, delayed dementia onset and were likely to be cost-effective from the perspective of dementia outcomes. Scenarios that improved hypertension control rates in tandem with improved detection were significantly more cost-effective compared to scenarios that improved detection only, regardless of intervention effectiveness. The results of the study are relevant to Canadian policymakers who are interested in investing in dementia prevention and suggest that funding programs that successfully improve the detection as well as the management of hypertension would be optimal. I hope this work leads to improved guidelines and programs for diagnosing and managing hypertension, contributing to a proactive strategy in reducing dementia burden.
Can you give us a glimpse into your future career path?
My long-term career goal is to lead an independent research program focusing on equity-centred economic evaluations. My interest in health equity research was sparked by my early awareness of disparities in access to health and social resources within my community and family. This led me to pursue my degrees in epidemiology and biostatistics and conduct health equity research during my undergraduate years. I am pursuing my PhD at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, combining my interest in health equity and health economics by conducting an equity-centred evaluation of RSV immunization programs. This will create a foundation for equity-centred infectious disease models in Canada. During my time at Western, I found a passion for teaching and mentorship which inspired me to want to become a professor. Taking active roles in my department student councils and being a residence student leader for four years were highlights of my university experience. Returning to lecture would be a true full-circle moment for me!
Since 1873, the Governor General’s Academic Medals have been awarded to students with the highest academic standing. Universities with more than 5,000 full-time graduate students award three medals.
