Funded research · CIHR Project Grant 2026

Culturally Grounded Olfactory Training for Early Dementia Detection in First Nations Communities

A co-developed research program partnering with Coast Salish and Nuu-chah-nulth knowledge holders to build sustainable, community-led brain health programs at the intersection of Indigenous plant knowledge and chemosensory neuroscience.

Community partners

IISAAK OLAM Foundation

Why this work matters

Dementia is one of the fastest-growing health challenges worldwide. Indigenous populations in Canada experience earlier onset and higher prevalence than non-Indigenous groups, driven by the layered impacts of colonial trauma, underdiagnosis, and limited access to culturally safe prevention services.

Early detection matters because intervention at the preclinical stage offers the best chance to delay decline, improve quality of life, and reduce the burden on the healthcare system. Research shows that loss of smell is one of the earliest detectable markers of Alzheimer's disease, preceding memory impairment by 10–20 years.

Recent longitudinal evidence shows that olfactory impairment predicts the transition from mild cognitive impairment to dementia. Olfactory training (systematic exposure to scent stimuli) has been shown to increase grey matter volume, enhance verbal fluency, and support neuroplasticity in memory-related brain regions. Together, these findings establish olfaction as both a predictor and an intervention target for dementia prevention and brain health.

Built under OCAP® principles and Ethical Space, this olfactory training program is co-developed with Indigenous knowledge holders and delivered by Indigenous facilitators. That foundation is what makes it feasible, effective, and sustainable as a pathway to early detection and brain health in First Nations communities.

What we're doing

Aim 01

Co-design

Co-design and co-create an olfactory training program with Indigenous knowledge holders to increase early detection of dementia in First Nations communities. Guided by Ethical Space and OCAP® principles.

Aim 02

Co-develop & deliver

Co-develop culturally grounded olfactory training kits with Indigenous partners and knowledge holders, and deliver a pilot facilitator-training program within Coast Salish and Nuu-chah-nulth Nations.

Aim 03

Co-evaluate

Co-evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes (changes in olfactory function, well-being, and community capacity) alongside the partners who shaped the program.

How this work is governed

This research is conducted in partnership with First Nations community partners, including the IISAAK OLAM Foundation , under Ethical Space principles and OCAP® (Ownership, Control, Access, Possession). Indigenous knowledge holders are co-investigators, not consultants. Plant knowledge that informs the training kits remains the cultural property of the communities that hold it. This page intentionally does not name specific plants used in the training. That is for the communities themselves to share, on their own terms.

Funding & affiliation

References
  1. Furlano et al., 2025. Curr Opin Psychiatry, 38, 119–125.
  2. Walker et al., 2020. J Alzheimers Dis, 78, 1439–1451.
  3. Sun et al., 2012. Laryngoscope, 122, 1455–1462.
  4. Knight et al., 2023. J Gerontol A, 78, 1284–1291.
  5. Pieniak et al., 2022. Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 141, 104853.

Funded by

Canadian Institutes of Health Research / Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada

In partnership with

University of Victoria

Interested in this work?

For collaboration enquiries, partnership conversations, or media on this project, reach out by email. For research access, please follow university and community protocols.

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