Dr Pen (Wenpeng) You is developing a major program of research focused on the early recognition of cognitive impairment, including mild cognitive impairment, and dementia in women. This work examines knowledge, attitudes, diagnostic awareness, clinical judgement, and preparedness among key groups, including health professional students, healthcare workers, care staff, and the general public. The program is motivated by the need to improve gender-sensitive recognition of early cognitive changes in women, particularly where symptoms may be overlooked, misattributed, or complicated by midlife and later-life health concerns.

More broadly, Dr You’s research focuses on dementia, cognitive ageing, women’s health, health equity, and population health. His work uses quantitative, epidemiological, psychometric, mixed-methods, and population-level approaches to examine how biological, social, nutritional, environmental, cultural, and health system factors shape health outcomes across populations.

A major stream of Dr You’s research investigates global and population-level determinants of dementia and cognitive health, including ageing, diet, reproductive factors, cardiovascular disease, environmental exposures, gender-related factors, and indicators of healthcare and socioeconomic development. This work contributes to a systems-level understanding of dementia risk, prevention, and health equity, with particular attention to women, older adults, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Dr You’s applied health research also addresses ageing, dementia care, culturally responsive care, maternal and child health, oral health, workforce capacity, care quality, and health service improvement across community, clinical, and residential care settings.

Across his research program, Dr You aims to generate evidence that informs dementia prevention, gender-sensitive and culturally responsive care, health professional education, workforce planning, public health policy, and service improvement. His work seeks to translate complex population-level and clinical evidence into practical strategies that improve health equity, care quality, and outcomes for vulnerable and ageing populations.