Science without borders – Gillian Einstein honoured at LiU

After crossing the Atlantic from Toronto, a slightly jet-lagged Gillian Einstein returned to Linköping. 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 Jönsson, her honorary doctorate lecture at Campus US, and finally the conferment ceremony at LiU’s Academic Celebration the following day.

“Linköping holds a special place in my heart. It’s a place of deep friendship and wonderful collegial collaboration.”

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

“I look forward to telling you about a project that has occupied much of my thinking—and also the thoughts and work of colleagues here—namely the question of why more women than men are affected by Alzheimer’s disease and the role that sex and gender play in dementia.”

You can watch Gillian Einstein’s 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?
“An award like this doesn’t 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,” says a proud Gillian Einstein after her honorary doctorate lecture.

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

“Receiving this award was very unexpected for me. But it also makes you think about the work you do—what it means to people, what collaboration entails, and how important intercultural interaction is.”

Is that something you think about in your research?
“I would say it’s 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.”

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 “Why do more women than men have Alzheimer's disease? The role of sex and gender in dementia”, Einstein highlights that two-thirds of all those affected by Alzheimer’s disease are women. She explains that this is not solely due to biological factors, but also social ones.
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