03 Jun 2019
HEIDI DOUGLASS | h.douglass@unsw.edu.au
This week at CHeBA we are Team Dr Claire Burley; an adventure-addicted scientist who is passionate about raising awareness of dementia and other brain health related conditions.
At midday on Saturday, 8th June, Dr Burley will begin 24 hours of pushing her body to extreme limits in the OCRWC Enduro (Obstacle Course Racing World Championships) in Sydney, Australia. Her goal with this event is to raise money for CHeBA while promoting evidence-based awareness that physical activity has a direct and positive impact on brain health.
“I have several personal stories I could share relating to dementia, clinical depression, eating disorders and addiction, amongst others,” says Dr Burley, who is a Research Fellow with the Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC).
The significance for me, however, is that brain health and mental health is something that affects every single one of us.
Dr Claire Burley, Research Fellow, Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC)
“If you are reading this, it is likely that you or someone close to you has a personal experience," she says.
Dr Burley is clearly very passionate about understanding brain health - both personally and professionally. At the University of Birmingham in the UK, she completed a PhD looking at measuring brain health, ageing and fitness.
“Understanding brain health is crucial in diagnosing, preventing and treating neurocognitive conditions such as dementia,” explains Dr Burley.
“However, the literature reveals discrepancies around the interpretation of brain health and differences between populations. My PhD investigated several brain health measures from different disciplines (imaging, cognitive performance and well-being) in different age and fitness groups,” she said.
Dr Burley says there is still much we all need to do to reverse stigma, develop early interventions and provide better models of care.
Dr Burley is participating in a gruelling event that requires her to be running and enduring a variety of obstacles non-stop for an entire 24-hour period.
Dr Claire Burley at previous OCRWC Championships
“I can’t wait to be spending this time with similar like-minded challenge-seekers and adventurers whilst supporting a great cause that is really important to me,” she says.
“CHeBA is a fantastic Sydney-based research group, which I am honoured to be closely aligned with at UNSW Sydney. They are dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge and improving health services for people experiencing brain related health conditions, particularly Alzheimer’s and other dementias.”
Please support Dr Burley in this extraordinary event and donate at:
https://cheba2.everydayhero.com/au/claire.
To find out more about the cutting-edge research that is being conducted at CHeBA and the DCRC head to cheba.unsw.edu.au and dementiaresearch.org.au.
Event details:
OCRWC (Obstacle Course Racing World Championships) Enduro 2019, Sydney - 24 hours of running and completing obstacles
https://ocrworldchampionships.com/
Starts: Sat 8th June at 12pm
Ends: Sun 9th June at 12pm
