Dr. Jane Rylett was appointed as Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Aging in 2019. She is also Distinguished University Professor at the University of Western Ontario and a Scientist in the Molecular Medicine Research Laboratories at Robarts Research Institute. Trained in Canada, England and Germany as a cellular and molecular neuroscientist, her laboratory studies the consequences of age-related changes in brain and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Rylett is recognized internationally for contributions to the field of cholinergic neurobiology and Alzheimer disease. Research in her laboratory focuses on mechanisms regulating chemical communication in the nervous system in health, normal aging and disease and the impact on cognitive function. She has served as Chair of the Institute Advisory Board for the CIHR Institute of Aging, on Boards of for international endeavours for Alzheimer Disease research. She served as leader of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) Theme 1 – Prevention until 2019. She was also appointed as an inaugural College Chair of the CIHR College of Reviewers in 2016 and held the position of Executive Vice-Chair. Dr. Rylett is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.