UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

In the Spotlight: Benjamin Tseng, assistant professor of health and kinesiology

March 27, 2015

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

March 27, 2015

Dr. Benjamin Tseng is currently conducting a study to enhance Alzheimer’s disease research. Tseng is an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at UT Tyler. He also oversees the university’s Laboratory of Brain Aging and Neuromotor Behavior.

Using a novel and cost-effective design, Tseng investigates motor deficits and gait abnormalities under dual-task challenges as potential early markers in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment, an early stage of Alzheimer’s disease.

Tseng’s participants are timed and recorded while they walk normally at a comfortable pace. They are then timed again while walking and performing a concurrent cognitive task simultaneously.

With a non-pharmacological approach, he hopes to find new ways to look at intervention strategies and early predictors of the disease.

According to Tseng, this behavioral assessment has been shown to have high sensitivity in identifying MCI patients, and the finding was published in Current Alzheimer Research, a high-impact peer-reviewed clinical journal, last year.

In addition, Tseng plans to develop a mobile app that will include step-by-step instructions to perform the same protocol he uses in the lab to detect early cognitive declines. He has applied for several external grants to fund his research project on a larger scale, which will allow users to conduct these simple assessments at home.

“We are in the process of developing a smart device app to allow people to download this for free and do these protocols,” Tseng said. “The idea is that everyone can use this app and start tracking the changes of their loved one.”

For more information, contact Tseng, btseng@uttyler.edu.

The mission of the UT Tyler Department of Health and Kinesiology is to prepare students for success in the fields of health and the movement sciences. The department aims to optimize human performance and promote healthy living through excellence in research and community outreach.

Studies offered prepare for a variety of careers related to health, education, exercise science, athlete training, fitness and other fields.

Contact: 903.566.7031 or hkdept@uttyler.edu.