Dementia represents an escalating global public health challenge, with a rapidly growing population affected by cognitive decline, limited access to specialist care, and an urgent need for scalable solutions. India is projected to experience one of the largest increases in dementia cases. As the prevalence increases, the shortage of trained neurologists and the lack of incentives for medical students to enter this field further compounds the crisis. In this talk, Vijaya Kolachalama, Ph.D. will discuss how AI offers a promising path forward by addressing gaps in diagnosis, accessibility, and scalability in dementia care. Specifically, Dr. Kolachalama will share how his lab is developing multimodal AI approaches capable of accurately diagnosing diverse forms of dementia by training models on large, heterogeneous cohorts and validating them against gold-standard evidence, including biomarkers and postmortem data. This presentation will explore the impact of these advancements, examining how AI can play a transformative role in mitigating the dementia burden worldwide and fostering a future of improved diagnosis and treatment for patients. Further, Dr. Kolachalama aims to encourage a discussion on how technological advancements can support the India Center’s mission to foster deeper understanding and collaborations between India and global research initiatives.

Speaker: Vijaya B. Kolachalama, PhD, FAHA, Boston University