Inter-Generational Family Foundation

11 Nov 2019

CHeBA Blog: Inter-Generational Family Foundation
The Mostyn Family Foundation

HEIDI DOUGLASS | h.douglass@unsw.edu.au

Multigenerational giving provides meaningful opportunities to bring family members together to support common causes, give back to communities, and create lasting change; a concept that is well understood by the Mostyn family in Sydney.

Three generations of the Mostyn family work collectively to provide funding support for valuable projects, while modelling social values to younger generations and raising awareness of community needs.

The Mostyn Family Foundation was founded by Bob Mostyn in 2011 with support of his sons Richard, Andrew and Robert Mostyn; a Foundation that now actively involves the grandchildren in the decision-making process of their philanthropic support for research activities. 

Four generations of the Mostyn family: Bob, Cam, Hendrix, Andrew, Rob and Richard Mostyn

Pictured L-R: Four generations of the Mostyn Family - Bob, Cam, Hendrix, Andrew, Rob and Richard Mostyn.

Foundation Chairman, Richard Mostyn, says “The family meets four times a year for a board meeting where we discuss our funding support and make decisions about future grants.”

For the first time, the Mostyn Family Foundation has funded a new Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) project researching the gut microbiome of centenarians, those aged 100 and over, and looking at how it is mediated by modifiable lifestyle factors including diet and physical exercise.

Fellow Board member and wife of Richard, Amanda Mostyn, says “Our decision to support CHeBA’s dementia research - particularly research looking at components of healthy ageing – came as a result of a family member being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.”

It was Josie Mostyn, who is educated in nutrition, that put the proposal forward at a Board meeting where all members agreed it was critical research worthy of support.

“We feel it is fitting that we support research to accelerate developments in promoting healthy ageing."

Amanda Mostyn

Their contribution of $17,000 provides the possibility for CHeBA to commence a pilot project that will offer invaluable information on what role the microbiome might play in ageing successfully and living to and beyond 100.

The rationale for this project stems from recent observations that the gut microbiome possibly plays a major role in ageing. The human gastrointestinal tract is estimated to host about 10 trillion microorganisms, which is about 10 times the number of human somatic and germ cells in the body.

Dr Karen Mather & CHeBA Co-Directors Professor Perminder Sachdev AM and Professor Henry Brodaty AO present 'Sydney Centenarian Study and the Microbiome' to the Mostyn Family Foundation.

Lead researcher on the project Dr Karen Mather says that the aim is to examine the interplay of lifestyle factors, the gut microbiome and ageing by studying exceptionally long-lived individuals. Co-Director of CHeBA, Professor Perminder Sachdev, says that centenarians offer an excellent opportunity to examine this question as they are models of successful ageing. The project will use participants from CHeBA’s long-established Sydney Centenarian Study.

Amanda Mostyn explained that the family has seen first-hand how Alzheimer’s disease cuts life short in so many ways. “We feel it is fitting that we support research to accelerate developments in promoting healthy ageing,” she said.

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