Irene Esteban-Cornejo

• Sport and Health University Research Institute ( iMUDS)
  Facultad de Ciencias del Deporte
  Universidad de Granada , España
  Ctra Alfacar s/n. 18071. Granada, Spain

Irene Esteban-Cornejo (Ire) is the co-leader of the research team on exercise neuroscience within PROFITH. She is dedicated to advancing knowledge to enhance cognitive and brain health throughout life. Her expertise spans observational and intervention studies, as well as behavioral and neuroimaging data, providing a deep understanding of the interactions between exercise, the brain, and cognition. In addition to her commitment to scientific excellence, she prioritizes fostering a positive, motivated, and cohesive team environment.

Ire holds degrees in both Sport Sciences and Psychology, along with postgraduate training in neuroimaging and a PhD in Physical Activity and Health (2014). She has completed postdoctoral research in Spain (Granada, JdC-F and JdC-I) and the USA (Boston and Pittsburgh), and has conducted research stays around the world (USA, Australia, Canada, Portugal, Brazil). She has led the I and II editions of the international Congress on “Promoting Brain Health Through Exercise Across the Lifespan”. She is an elected academic of the “Academia Joven de España”. In her free time, Ire is always up for new and active adventures. She loves traveling, exercising, spending time with friends and family, and meeting new people.

Her main research interests are:

– Exercise, academic performance, cognition and brain health in children and adolescents.

– Exercise, cognition and brain health during aging for the prevention of Alzheimer Disease.

– Exercise, cognition and brain health in clinical (obesity, coronary heart disease, cancer) and specific population (down syndrome, pregnant women).

– Underlying molecular, brain, and behavior mechanisms of different type of exercise on cognition across lifespan and specific population.

– Physical fitness as a powerful indicator of brain health across lifespan and specific population.

Top-5 publications

1. Fernandez-Gamez B, Solis-Urra P, Olvera-Rojas M, Molina-Hidalgo C, Fernández-Ortega J, Lara CP, Coca-Pulido A, Bellón D, Sclafani A, Mora-Gonzalez J, Toval A, Martín-Fuentes I, Bakker EA, Lozano RM, Navarrete S, Jiménez-Pavón D, Liu-Ambrose T, Erickson KI, Ortega FB, Esteban-Cornejo I (20/20). Resistance Exercise Program in Cognitively Normal Older Adults: CERT-Based Exercise Protocol of the AGUEDA Randomized Controlled Trial. J Nutr Health Aging. 2023;27(10):885-893.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-023-1982-1

Relevance: This study details the exercise program of the AGUEDA trial, including well-described multi-language manuals and videos, which can be used by public health professionals, or general public who wish to implement a feasible and low-cost resistance exercise program.

2. Rodriguez-Ayllon M, Solis-Urra P, Arroyo-Ávila C, Álvarez-Ortega M, Molina-García P, Molina-Hidalgo C, Gómez-Río M, Brown B, Erickson KI, Esteban-Cornejo I. (10/10) Physical activity and amyloid beta in middle-aged and older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2024 Mar;13(2):133-144.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2023.08.001

Relevance: Physical activity might moderately reduce blood amyloid beta, which is one possible mechanism for delivering the benefits of physical activity, in older people. Although our study cannot provide direct clinical practice changes, we identified gaps in the literature as well as future perspectives that might guide new research directions in the cognitive aging field.

3. Esteban-Cornejo I, Ho FK, Petermann-Rocha F, Lyall DM, Martinez-Gomez D, Cabanas-Sánchez V, Ortega FB, Hillman CH, Gill JMR, Quinn TJ, Sattar N, Pell JP, Gray SR, Celis-Morales C. (1/13) Handgrip strength and all-cause dementia incidence and mortality: findings from the UK Biobank prospective cohort study. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. 2022 Jun;13(3):1514-1525.https://doi.org/10.1002/jcsm.12857

Relevance: handgrip strength as a quick and reproducible measurement to identifying persons at risk of the earliest manifestation of dementia.

4. Rodriguez-Ayllon M, Plaza-Florido A, Mendez-Gutierrez A, Altmäe S, Solis-Urra P, Aguilera CM, Catena A, Ortega FB, Esteban-Cornejo I (9/9). The effects of a 20-week exercise program on blood-circulating biomarkers related to brain health in overweight or obese children: The ActiveBrains project. J Sport Health Sci. 2023 Mar;12(2):175-185.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2022.12.007

Relevance: this study did not find a significant chronic effect of exercise on targeted biomarkers related to brain health in overweight/obese children, but a potential reduction in blood-circulating MRS1 was observed.

5. Esteban-Cornejo I, Stillman CM, Rodriguez-Ayllon M, Kramer AF, Hillman CH, Catena A, Erickson KI, Ortega FB (1/8). Physical fitness, hippocampal functional connectivity and academic performance in children with overweight/obesity: The ActiveBrains project. Brain Behav Immun. 2021;91: 284-95.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.10.006

Relevance: different physical fitness components may relate to functional connectivity between hippocampal subregions and frontal regions, independently of hippocampal volume.