Congratulations Alexander Kvist – recipient of the Elsa and Inge Andersson Award 2026
The Parkinson Foundation's board has appointed Alexander Kvist, postdoctoral researcher at the Division of Physiotherapy, NVS, as the recipient of the Elsa and Inge Andersson Award 2026. The award amounts to SEK 100,000, of which SEK 25,000 is a personal scholarship and the remaining amount a contribution towards continued research.
Alexander receives the award for his thesis on complex gait in Parkinson’s disease. He has investigated how walking ability and brain activity are affected when people walk while talking or thinking at the same time. This ability is affected in Parkinson’s disease and can disrupt daily life, increase the risk of tripping and cause falls.
“When a person with Parkinson’s disease thinks and walks at the same time, the brain behaves differently compared with someone without the disease. For the first time in these types of walking situations, we have been able to observe differences and link them to a reduced ability to walk automatically,” says Alexander Kvist at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society.
The research provides new opportunities to understand why different types of training for complex gait work for some people but not for others. The thesis could lead to more effective and more personalised training and other interventions to maintain walking ability.
Text: The Parkinson’s Foundation.