J.B. Orange

Dr. J.B. Orange is a Professor in and Acting Director of the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Western University at London Canada. He is an Associate Scientist with Lawson Health Research Institute at London Canada. He also is the Scientific Director of the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging at Western University.

He currently conducts collaborative research on several provincially and nationally funded studies. Examples include the Ontario Neurodegenerative Research Initiative (ONDRI) funded by the Ontario Brain Institute, the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada.

Dr. Orange’s peer-reviewed publications and funded research address language and cognitive-communication disorders of adults and older adults. His research has a special emphasis on discourse, conversation and communication of individuals living with various types of dementia.

Several of Dr. Orange’s current funded research studies include investigations comparing and contrasting the linguistic, cognitive and neuroimaging profiles of persons living with Alzheimer’s dementia, several subtypes of frontotemporal lobe dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, vascular cognitive impairment, and Parkinson’s disease, especially for those with hearing, vision, and both hearing and vision impairments (ONDRI). Other studies include 1) examining the nature and type of conversational breakdowns and repairs among different dementia types (CCNA), 2) screening protocols for modifiable risk factors for dementia during functional fitness appraisals (SSHRC), 3) determining the effectiveness of person-centred communication enhancement education and training program for health care providers (Employment Skills Canada), and 4) examining the effectiveness of iPad-based conversation memory notebooks designed to enhance person-centred communication among family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s dementia.

In addition to his dementia-based research program, Dr. Orange participates as an active committee member for local, regional, provincial and national scientific and professional associations with mandates related directly to dementia. He was an invited contributor and active participant in the development of the Canadian national strategy for dementia.