Jennifer D. Ryan

Dr. Ryan obtained her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001, and subsequently moved to the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest and the University of Toronto. Dr. Ryan currently holds the Anne and Max Tanenbaum Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, a joint position at Baycrest and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is also presently Senior Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest, and Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She previously served as Director, Scientific and Academic Affairs, and held the accompanying Reva James Leeds Chair in Neuroscience and Research Leadership at Baycrest from 2018-2021. Dr. Ryan also previously held a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory (2006-2016). Dr. Ryan’s research examines memory and the widespread impact that memory has on other aspects of cognition and behavior, and the reciprocal influence of mental health on memory function. Dr. Ryan employs a converging-methodologies approach - combining findings from behavioral paradigms, eyetracking, neuroimaging, and computational modelling – to study the content and organization of memory, and the cumulative burden of mental health disorders on memory, in healthy younger and older adults, neuropsychological cases, and individuals with neurodegeneration (including mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease). The long-term goal of the research is to develop tools that provide early screening for neurodegeneration, and to develop cognitive strategies that may help individuals overcome, or otherwise circumvent, their memory deficits. Dr. Ryan’s research is supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.