Carol Opdebeeck
Senior Lecturer at the Department of Psychology, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Dr Opdebeeck is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her research focuses on cognitive health and well-being in later life. She is particularly interested in why some people experience more successful ageing than others and what lifestyle factors and individual differences influence cognitive function and well-being in older people.
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Healthy Ageing Expertise
Dr Opdebeeck has two main strands of interest: First, how can lifestyle impact ageing, in particular how a cognitively active lifestyle can affect cognitive ageing and risk of cognitive decline. Second, living with dementia and how we can help people with dementia to live well with the condition through support, access to services and activities that they themselves feel are important.
Carol has used large cohort data sets (CFAS and IDEAL) to answer questions related to these areas and conducted original quantitative and qualitative research.
Relevant Projects
- ENLIVEN (2021-2024, co-investigator) – Helping older people living with dementia or cognitive impairment get outdoors and connect with nature (https://enlivenproject.co.uk/)
- Cognitive reserve and cognitive health – investigating how lifestyle factors related to cognitive reserve can help delay cognitive decline and dementia
