福利姬

After crossing the Atlantic from Toronto, a slightly jet-lagged Gillian Einstein returned to Link枚ping. As a guest professor at LiU, she has made the long journey before, but this time, jet lag had to take a back seat.

From childhood dreams to honorary doctor at LiU

A hectic and intense schedule awaited her, including a meeting and lunch with Vice-Chancellor Jan-Ingvar J枚nsson, her honorary doctorate lecture at Campus US, and finally the conferment ceremony at LiU鈥檚 Academic Celebration the following day.

鈥淟ink枚ping holds a special place in my heart. It鈥檚 a place of deep friendship and wonderful collegial collaboration.鈥�

With those words, Gillian Einstein began her lecture鈥攁 talk that took the audience from her childhood, through Marie Curie鈥檚 research, an old yogurt carton from Arla(!), to where she is today.

鈥淚 look forward to telling you about a project that has occupied much of my thinking鈥攁nd also the thoughts and work of colleagues here鈥攏amely the question of why more women than men are affected by Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and the role that sex and gender play in dementia.鈥�

You can watch Gillian Einstein鈥檚 full honorary doctorate lecture in the player beside this article.
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A recognition that means a lot

What does it mean to you to become an honorary doctor at LiU?
鈥淎n award like this doesn鈥檛 just make you feel honoured. It also makes you think about all your work and what it means to people, what collaborations mean. It means a great deal to me,鈥� says a proud Gillian Einstein after her honorary doctorate lecture.

When she received the news of the appointment, she was surprised but also reflective:

鈥淩eceiving this award was very unexpected for me. But it also makes you think about the work you do鈥攚hat it means to people, what collaboration entails, and how important intercultural interaction is.鈥�

Is that something you think about in your research?
鈥淚 would say it鈥檚 something I carry with me. Because the science and principles are largely the same, but the perspectives people bring from their own cultures are different. Collaborating across cultures truly enriches the work.鈥�

Guest professor and now honorary doctor

Gillian Einstein has for many years been a guest professor at LiU and is now an honorary doctor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences for her contributions to medical gender research. As a guest professor, she has led transdisciplinary research on cognition and other functions in women who have had their ovaries removed to prevent cancer.

About the lecture

In her lecture titled 鈥淲hy do more women than men have Alzheimer's disease? The role of sex and gender in dementia鈥�, Einstein highlights that two-thirds of all those affected by Alzheimer鈥檚 disease are women. She explains that this is not solely due to biological factors, but also social ones.
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