Congratulations to Long-Jing Hsu, a Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellow at MIDAS on receiving $15,000 of research funds from the Research Education Component (REC) of the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (MADRC). These funds are provided in support of her research exploring how social robots may support people living with dementia and their care partners.
This project, bringing together AI, social robotics, and dementia care, builds on Long-Jing’s ongoing research in human-robot interaction and dementia. She will pursue this project with continued mentorship from Professors Joyce Y. Chai and Patricia Alves Oliveira and collaboration with PhD student Josue Torres-Fonseca.
The award also establishes a new collaboration with MADRC researchers, including Dr. Bruno Giordani and Dr. Courtney Polenick, adding expertise in dementia research and care-partner support.
This support will advance the project toward real-world applications while exploring how adaptive technologies can support resilience, quality of life, and human agency for people living with dementia.
More broadly, the work aims to develop AI and robotic systems that can adapt to people’s changing needs while remaining grounded in the experiences of the individuals and communities they are designed to support.
