We are excited to share that Meaning Research Late Life member Laura Dewitte has been awarded with the Academische Stichting Leuven Award for Humanities 2021! The award is granted once every three years to a KU Leuven PhD thesis in humanities on the basis of the originality of the work, its scientific assessment, and/or its innovative conclusions.
Laura completed her "Losing memory, losing meaning? Towards a deeper understanding of meaning in life in older adults with Alzheimer's disease" under the supervision of our lab director prof. dr. Jessie Dezutter and co-supervision of prof. dr. Mathieu Vandenbulcke of the University Psychiatric Center.
The thesis was praised by the jury for its particularly relevant topic and implications, not only for people with dementia and their caregivers, but also regarding the experience of meaning in life for the general population. The jury appreciated the rigor of the analyses, the openness of the reporting, and the great empathy the work conveys to both people with dementia and their caregivers.
The prize will be awarded during the award ceremony at the University Hall on May 12, 2022.
A big congratulations to Laura, Jessie, and Mathieu, and a big thank you to everyone who played a role in this PhD project!