Rate My Professor Alan Gow

Alan Gow is Professor of Psychology in the School of Social Sciences at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, a position to which he was promoted in 2019 after joining the institution in 2013 as Lecturer and Research Leader in Psychology. He progressed to Associate Professor in 2015. His academic journey began at the University of Edinburgh, where he earned a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences: Psychology in 2002, an MSc by Research in Psychology in 2003, and a PhD in Psychology in 2007, funded by a Royal Society of Edinburgh/Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland Studentship. Following his doctorate, he held postdoctoral positions at the University’s Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology. Gow also serves as Guest Professor at the Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, since 2011. Within Heriot-Watt, he has held leadership roles including Acting Head of Psychology (Global) in 2020 and 2021, Head of Psychology (Edinburgh) from 2022 to 2023, and Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Behavioural Sciences from 2020 to 2022. He co-leads the Healthy Ageing theme in the Global Research Institute for Health and Care Technologies, directs The Ageing Lab, and oversees the wattAGE research network on healthy ageing.

Gow’s research centers on identifying lifestyle and behavioral factors that promote healthy ageing, with a primary emphasis on cognitive ageing—changes in thinking, reasoning, and memory. Utilizing longitudinal studies like the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 and Glostrup 1914 Cohort, he examines modifiable influences such as physical activity, exercise, social networks, occupational complexity, and exposures. His translational efforts include developing interventions like the "A Tablet for Healthy Ageing" program and community-based activity assessments through the Intervention Factory. Gow has earned recognition including the British Psychological Society Public Engagement and Media Award in 2016, Fellowship of the BPS in 2016, Associate Fellow status and Chartered Psychologist/Scientist in 2013, and runner-up in the 2019 Nature Research Awards for Driving Global Impact. Key publications encompass "Sitting Time, Fidgeting, and All-Cause Mortality in the UK Women’s Cohort Study" (2015, American Journal of Preventive Medicine), "Neuroprotective lifestyles and the aging brain: activity, atrophy and white matter integrity" (2012, Neurology), "Occupational complexity and lifetime cognitive abilities" (2014, Neurology), and recent systematic reviews such as "Exploring the impact of community-based interventions on healthy older adults’ physical health, psychological wellbeing, and social connections" (2025, Ageing Research Reviews). His influence extends to public engagement via 92 media contributions, including BBC Radio 4’s "Just One Thing" and Horizon, festival performances, talks with older adults’ groups, and contributions to SAPEA’s 'Transforming the Future of Ageing' report and the Global Council on Brain Health.