Ageing Dementia Research (ADR) Network
The Ageing Dementia Research (ADR) Network brings together a virtual network of researchers and clinicians from across Queensland who work in the field of dementia.
The Network aims:
- To grow opportunities for new collaborations and interactions
- Share knowledge
- Increase awareness of dementia research in academia, the clinic, and the community
The intention is for ADR Network members to periodically meet and provide occasions for members to present at CJCADR forums, highlighting their research or clinical observations of dementia.
Professor Brenda Gannon
Professor Brenda Gannon is a Professor in the School of Economics and Affiliate Professor at the Centre for the Business and Economics of Health, The University of Queensland and an Affiliate Professor at the Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland. She is also an affiliate member of CEPAR (ARC Centre for Research Excellence in Population Ageing Research). Since 2022, she is Honorary Adjunct Professor at University of Galway, Ireland. Professor Gannon is an international expert in the field of Health Economics of Ageing and has won over $28 million, as chief investigator, in collaborative research income, with economics, medicine and social science with academia and industry. She has developed a range of projects in Economics of Ageing on topics of physical activity and cognition, health shocks and health care utilization, and consumer directed care and home care. She has worked extensively on interdisciplinary research with gerontologists, clinicians and methodologists. Her work has been influential in the development of programs for falls preventions and informing policy on disability and social inclusion and has positively impacted on the health of many older people across the world.
Areas of interest
- Health economics
- Data analysis
- Consumer directed care
- Willingness to pay for dementia programs
Dr Catherine Travers
Dr Travers is Research Manager with the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The University of Queensland, Australia where she manages an Occupational Therapy intervention for people with dementia and their carers. Her research interests include ageing, dementia and interventions to improve older people’s quality of life including those with dementia. Catherine has extensive experience, and a soundtrack record in the design, implementation and evaluation of complex projects. She has published her work widely in national and international peer-reviewed journals, has presented her work at national and international conferences and has experience in teaching and supervising both undergraduate and postgraduate psychology students.
Areas of interest
- Dementia care
- Psychosocial interventions to improve the quality of life of people living with dementia and their carers/ families
Professor Christine Neville
Christine Neville is Professor and Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at the University of Southern Queensland. Christine is an established research profile in ageing, dementia, mental health and respite care using predominantly quantitative research methods. Her research on the benefits of aquatic exercise for people with dementia particularly its influence in the management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia led to the development of the internationally renowned Watermemories Swimming Club. Specific research interests include family centred counselling for carers of people with dementia, pain in older people with dementia and respite care for older people with dementia. She has a healthy funding and authorship track records.
Areas of interest
- Management of behavioural and psychological symptoms
- Respite care
- Carer burden
- Pain management
Dr Kailas Roberts
Dr Kailas Roberts is a psychogeriatrician and runs a clinic called Your Brain in Mind. This is a multidisciplinary clinic involving doctors, an OT, a physio, neuropsychologists, a clinical psychologist and a pharmacist. The clinic aims to support those who want to either prevent/reduce their risk of dementia as well as to provide holistic care to experiencing cognitive decline in addition to their loved ones and carers.
Areas of interest
- Dementia prevention and treatment
Dr Merja Joensuu
The dynamic equilibrium of membrane proteins and lipids at the cell surface and intracellular organelles is a critical factor for healthy brain. Dr Merja Joensuu’s research group studies lipid and protein factors governing the secretory pathway dynamics and synaptic membrane trafficking. The group is particularly interested in studying cognitive dysfunction in recessive hereditary spastic paraplegias, and the molecular mechanisms of neurointoxication and viral infections, as well as repurposing small molecule inhibitors to combat these conditions. The group uses advanced imaging techniques such as live cell super-resolution imaging and high-resolution electron microscopy, and a range of cell biological techniques, to understand the molecular mechanisms regulating cellular membrane dynamics. Understanding how neurons function in healthy brain is critical for discovering novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of disease, viral infections and neurointoxication pathologies.
Areas of interest
- Cellular mechanisms of memory and learning, neuroparalysis and viral infections
Associate Professor Michelle Lupton
Associate Professor Michelle Lupton is a Senior Research Officer at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute where she co-leads the PISA (Prospective Imaging Study of Aging) cohort study. She is an NHMRC Boosting Dementia Leadership Fellow, CI on an NHRMC Boosting Dementia Research Initiative Team Grant, and an MRFF Dementia, Ageing and Aged Care Mission scheme grant. Michelle specialises in Alzheimer’s disease genome-wide genetic association studies, neuroimaging genetics, genetic risk prediction, and Mendelian Randomisation analysis. Core aims are to improve understanding of the early effect of AD genetic risk factors, identify early disease and prodromal biomarkers and identify casual relationships between potential modifiable risk factors and AD.
Areas of interest
- Genetic epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease
Dr Peter Worthy
Dr Peter Worthy is a post-doctoral (Early Career, PhD awarded 2020) researcher with a background in Interaction Design with a focus on Human-centred Design and Co-design. Dr Worthy is currently working on two projects designing new technologies:
- to support the delivery of a psychotherapeutic intervention to people living with dementia, and
- to support motivation and adherence to self-managed therapy for people living with chronic aphasia.
Dr Worthy was previously the design specialist on the Florence Project supporting the communication needs of people living with dementia (ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language - CoEDL), and also has qualifications and experience in Law and Science (Exercise Physiology/Functional Anatomy) as well as experience in teaching and learning research.
Areas of interest
- Technology design
- Assistive technology
Professor Piers Dawes
Professor Piers Dawes' research concerns:
- Understanding causes and impacts of hearing and vision impairment, particularly in the context of dementia
- Prevention and treatment of hearing/vision impairment, and
- Hearing/vision service development and evaluation.
Professor Dawes' research involves epidemiological modelling with population data sets, clinical trials and hearing health policy with recent projects including:
- EU Horizon 2020 grant of €6.2 million (as joint PI for “Ears, Eyes and Mind: The “SENSE-Cog Project” to improve mental well-being for elderly Europeans with sensory impairment”)
- AUD$1.2 million NHMRC Medical Research Future Fund award (as CI for “SENSEcog aged care: Hearing and vision support to improve quality of life for people living with dementia in residential aged care”)
- AUD$1.4 million NHMRC Medical Research Future Fund aware (as CI for “Home hearing and vision care to improve quality of life for people with dementia and carers”)
- AUD$0.9 million NHMRC targeted hearing research award (as CI for "Improving access to the hearing services program for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds").
Professor Dawes' research is cited in the 2020 Lancet report on dementia prevention and care and the WHO guidelines ‘Risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia’, and he co-authored the first international guidelines on assessment and management of hearing/vision impairment for people with dementia and development and publication of alternative versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (internationally the most used cognitive screening test) for people with hearing or vision impairment. And his work on developing European networks for consumer and community involvement (CCI) of older adults with lived experience of hearing/vision and dementia to inform multi-centre health research was identified for a keynote presentation to open the 2018 INVOLVE (the UK NIHR CCI organization) CCI conference and is cited as a gold standard example by the European INTERDEM initiative to guide integrated biomedical and psychosocial dementia research.
Areas of interest
- Dementia
- Hearing loss
- Vision impairment
- Quality of life
- Aged care
Associate Professor Cindy Jones
A/Prof Cindy Jones has research expertise in ageing. Her research primarily focuses on social and behavioural science research relating to older people, particularly the alleviation of behavioural and psychological symptoms in people living with dementia. Her work examines the effectiveness of innovative health technology and psychosocial interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of people living with dementia and their family carers; and to enhance care provision by health professionals in aged care. One of her significant research works relates to the improvement of knowledge, attitudes and care practices of health professionals towards the expression of sexuality by people living with dementia to enable the facilitation of a care environment that is supportive of the verbalisation and expression of sexual preference, need and desire by people living with dementia.
Area of interest:
- Health
- Long-term care
- Ageing
- Dementia
- Sexuality
- Psychosocial interventions
- Technology
- Workforce training and development
Dr Daniel Blackmore
Dr Daniel Blackmore is a senior post-doctoral research fellow in the Bartlett Laboratory at QBI. His research is focused on the ageing brain and developing approaches to slow or even reverse cognitive decline. Dr Blackmore was one of the first to discover the age-associated decrease in neural stem cells. These stem cells are critical as they are able to generate new neurons which are essential for the formation of new memories. Daniel uses mice to study the exact mechanisms involved in these processes. Excitingly, recent work has shown that physical exercise is very effective at increasing neuron number and improving memory in very old animals. This research, which has important implications for a number of real-world endeavours, has formed the basis for a current human exercise study that is investigating if similar interventions can delay the onset of ageing dementia.
Areas of interest:
The role of physical exercise on improving cognitive function during ageing
Dr Donna Spooner
I have been working as a Clinical Neuropsychologist since 2004, my primary position being at the Department of Neurology of the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital (RBWH). Within this role, I worked at the RBWH Memory Clinic for more than 10 years conducting comprehensive cognitive assessments of patients presenting with a range of memory/cognitive difficulties. During a three-year stint in Melbourne between 2016-2018, I also worked at St Vincent’s Hospital both in the Department of Neurosciences and the Cognitive, Dementia and Memory Service.
I have also worked in the private sector across a variety of sites. Most recently, I started practice at “Your Brain in Mind”, Westside Hospital, Taringa. This is a multidisciplinary practice focused on early detection and management of dementia, as well as support and education to enhance healthy cognitive ageing. My role here is to conduct neuropsychology assessments for various purposes, including assisting diagnosis of dementia and facilitating decision-making about return to work in the context of acquired brain injury. I also provide support in the implementation of cognitive remediation techniques to enhance everyday memory and other cognitive skills.
My educational background includes a PhD in Clinical Neuropsychology and Clinical Psychology from UQ (2007).
Areas of interest:
Neuropsychological assessment of dementia – particularly young onset dementia, the frontotemporal dementias (particularly language variants), cognitive remediation in early dementia/MCI
Dr Edward Bliss
Edward “Teddie” Bliss is a Medical Laboratory Science Lecturer. He is an experienced multidisciplinary Medical Laboratory Scientist with laboratory management experience. He has completed research projects that have determined the effects of supplements in animal models of metabolic syndrome and the effects of interventions, such as exercise, on cerebrovascular function and cognition in populations at risk of developing cognitive decline. His primary research areas are focused on cerebrovascular function and cognition, biomarker analysis and cardiometabolic diseases, as well as interventions that can improve these in those who are at an increased risk of declining cardiovascular and brain health leading to neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia.
Areas of interest:
Cerebrovascular function, cognition, clinical trials (prevention/intervention)
Associate Professor Jana Vokovic
A/Professor Vukovic is a Viertel Senior Medical Fellow and heads the Neuroimmunology and Cognition Laboratory that is investigating the interactions between the brain and the immune system in health and disease. Specifically, her team examines the role of brain’s main resident immune cell population (i.e., microglia), as well as various peripheral immune cells, on learning and memory in mice. They’re interested in defining the contribution of immune cells to cognitive tasks where learning and memory deficits can occur, e.g., following brain injury, cancer treatment, and ageing. The goal of the work is to link cellular and molecular events to altered behaviour, and to harness the brain’s intrinsic regenerative potential for stimulating optimal cognitive function.
Areas of interest:
- Neuroimmunology
- Neuroinflammation
- Microglia
- Cognition
- Learning and memory
Laura Stasinowsky
Laura is an occupational therapist, a researcher, and an educator. She is a PhD Candidate and an Associate Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at The University of Queensland. She works as an occupational therapist and dementia consultant within her own company, Alongside You Pty Ltd, and she is professionally connected to Your Brain in Mind (a clinic based within Westside Private Hospital). Laura’s clinical work involves supporting people living with neurocognitive disorders, such as dementia, as well as providing support and advice to the carers and family members of these individuals. Her PhD research is about enhancing the preparedness of occupational therapy graduates for working with people with dementia. Laura enjoys her various work roles; however, she is most passionate about improving the knowledge and understanding of individuals, communities, and broader society about dementia, including how to best support people who are affected (directly and indirectly) by this condition.
Areas of interest:
- Ageing and dementia
- Non-pharmacological approaches for supporting people with dementia and their care partners (i.e. family, friends, and paid support persons)
- Training and education about dementia and related to the care of people living with dementia
- Advocating for the needs of people living with dementia (and their care partners) and for the role of occupational therapy with this population
Dr Mia Schaumburg
Dr. Mia Schaumberg leads the Active Ageing Research Group at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), where she focusses on optimising lifestyle intervention (exercise, physical activity, diet) to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia in later life and help people to engage in their communities, create memories and live well for longer. Her multidisciplinary team works to i) understand mechanisms and biomarkers underpinning healthy ageing, ii) improve health behaviours and outcomes through rigorously designed research trials, and iii) engage with community, government, and stakeholders to improve research impact.
Mia is an advocate for Australia to become a leader in dementia prevention through multilayered, interdisciplinary approaches across the lifespan. Mia contributes to national dementia prevention research direction through leadership of several dementia prevention special interest groups, development of local health policy such as the Primary Healthcare Network Older Persons Health Strategy), and engagement with local government. She holds a Visiting Senior Research Fellowship at The University of Queensland. She collaborates with the UQ Centre for Exercise and Healthy Brain Ageing at the Queensland Brain Institute where she competed her postdoctoral training. Mia is the UniSC Chief Investigator for the Manna Institute, with a focus on improving mental health outcomes of older people in rural, regional, and remote communities, where she developed and leads the Regional Australia Dementia Research (RADAR) Hub.
Areas of interest:
Exercise and lifestyle modification for dementia prevention and dementia prevention strategies across the menopause transition
Professor Nancy Pachana
Dr Nancy A. Pachana is Professor of Clinical Geropsychology in the School of Psychology, and Director, Healthy Ageing Initiative, at The University of Queensland. She is co-director of the UQ Ageing Mind Initiative, and program lead for UQ’s Age Friendly University Initiatives. She has an international reputation in geriatric mental health, and has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and books. Nancy was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia in 2014. In 2019, she was awarded the M. Powell Lawton Award, the American Psychological Association’s Society of Clinical Geropsychology Lifetime Achievement Award.
Areas of interest:
- Healthy ageing
- Innovative nursing home interventions
- Driving in later life
Professor Wendy Moyle
Professor Wendy Moyle is Program Director, Healthcare Practice and Survivorship Program (4 research groups and a Centre of Research Excellence) in the Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University. Her research expertise is in care of older people and in particular older people with dementia, depression, and delirium. Her research focuses on finding evidence for best practice in care of older people with dementia, improving quality of life, and finding evidence for managing behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). She has a keen interest in technologies, and, within a social robotics laboratory, she develops and evaluates assistive technologies and social robots. She has published over 277 manuscripts and has an h-index of 40 (Scopus).
She has received several awards in recognition of her teaching, supervision of higher degree students, and research. These include two International Women’s Day Awards (2016), an International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame (Sigma Theta Tau) for her research (2019), two international awards from Robohub (2019, 30 Women in Robotics you need to know about) and Analytics Insight (2020, 50 most renowned Women in robotics), and the VCs Research Excellence Award in Research Supervision (2022). Her research features widely in the media with, to date, 15 television appearances, and over 142 radio and social media interviews.
Areas of interest:
- Dementia
- Depression
- Delirium
- Development and evaluation of technologies to improve BPSD