Associate Professor (Docent)

Weili Xu

Lecturer senior

Associate Professor & Senior Researcher

About me

I earned Ph.D. in Geriatric Epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet in 2008. During 2008-2012, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher. Thereafter, I was rewarded the 4-year funding for a Research Associate position (forskarassistent) from the Board of Research, KI during 2013-2016. From 2017, I have been employed as a senior researcher. So far, I have supervised 7 PhD students (2 current and 5 defended)v at KI.

Research description

My research has been focusing on cardio- and metabolic-disorder, nutrition, brain/cognitive aging and dementing disorders. Specific research lines of major interest are: (1) the impact of cardio-metabolic disorders on brain aging and cognitive phenotypes from cognitive aging, and cognitive impairment to dementia, (2) the role of nutrition and diet in cognitive aging, (3) the influences of poor sensory function on cognitive decline and brain MRI changes, (4) the exploration of compensatory factors for dementia risk in cardio-metabolic diseases, and (5) dementia and care utilization.

Members of the research group:

Abigail Dove, PhD student

Sakura Sakakibara, PhD student

Jie Guo, Postdoc

Michelle Dunk, Postdoc

Johan Fastbom, Professor

Anders Sköldunger, Associate Professor (affiliated)

Research funding:

FORTE

Swedish Research Council

Konung Gustaf V:s och Drottning Victorias Frimurarestiftelse

Alzheimerfonden

Education

PhD, Karolinska Institutet: 2008

Associate professor: 2013

Senior researcher: 2017

Academic honours, awards and prizes

“The Best Clinical Diabetological Dissertation, 2008” from Swedish  Diabetes Association (Svensk Förening för Diabetologi)