Ramon y Cajal Research Assistant Professor
Email: ireneesteban@ugr.es
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.
– 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.
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.
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.
Relevance: handgrip strength as a quick and reproducible measurement to identifying persons at risk of the earliest manifestation of dementia.
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.
Relevance: different physical fitness components may relate to functional connectivity between hippocampal subregions and frontal regions, independently of hippocampal volume.
