Nina Yue’s Drive To Understand Alzheimer’s Disease Is Deeply Personal

^{Photo by Neil Gaikwad.}

By Leslie Shepherd

Nina Yue studies faces.

The graduating Victoria College student does research in Baycrest Health Sciences’ VisAge Lab, where scientists are examining how aging and dementia affect the brain’s ability to recognize people. The work on visual biomarkers may eventually help researchers detect Alzheimer’s disease years before memory symptoms appear.

“We’re looking at how facial recognition changes over time,” said Yue, who is graduating this spring with a double major in human biology and psychology. “These changes, including facial agnosia, which is the inability to recognize familiar faces, may emerge before or alongside memory decline, which gives us a new, earlier window into how dementia affects the brain, and where we can intervene.”

The research focuses on visual cognition — the way the brain processes what people see. The lab studies how older adults recognize faces and how that ability changes in Alzheimer’s disease. They are also developing training programs designed to help older adults maintain facial recognition skills by focusing attention on key facial features such as the eyes and mouth.

The work is deeply personal for Yue. Their father was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease at age 37.

“I grew up seeing not only what the disease does to a person, but what it does to a family,” they said.

The experience shaped Yue’s academic path. They chose to study human biology to better understand the neurological mechanisms behind Alzheimer’s disease, while psychology offered insight into the emotional and social impact the disease has on patients and caregivers.

That same motivation led Yue to volunteer for two years with the Alzheimer Society in London, Ont. She organized educational events and wrote stories about families navigating dementia, work they said helped combat stigma and isolation.

“A lot of people still don’t understand dementia,” they said. “Families can feel very alone.”

Yue brought that focus on care and community to student life at Victoria University. They served as both a residence don and senior don, supporting students through academic stress, mental health challenges and the everyday difficulties of university life.

Yue also founded SPARK Health, a student initiative that helps undergraduates explore health research and academic publishing. The group organizes workshops, networking events and mentorship opportunities for students interested in research careers.

Outside of university, Yue volunteers as a crisis responder with the Distress Centres of Greater Toronto, answering calls from people experiencing isolation, distress, or crisis.

Medical school at the University of Manitoba is next. Yue hopes to pursue a career in geriatric neurology or psychiatry, combining research with patient care.

“Research matters,” they said. “But people also need support, understanding, and community. You need both.”