Blog: The Brain Dialogues

8 Mar 2021

A Tribute to Lilian Keldoulis

HEIDI DOUGLASS | h.douglass@unsw.edu.au CHeBA’s Sydney Memory and Ageing Study is one of the largest continuously running studies of cognitive ageing in Australia with the aims of investigating rates and predictors of healthy cognitive ageing, mild cognitive impairment and dementia in older Australians. An extraordinary 1,037 older adults have generously committed their time to this research for 15 years. One of these incredible people was Mrs Lilian Keldoulis.  Lilian was born in Sydney in 1931, the second daughter to Greek immigrant parents Betty and Mick Adams. Shortly after she was born… Read More
2 Mar 2021

Mary Revelas | Meet Our Researcher Series

A PhD student in CHeBA’s Genetics & Epigenomics Group, Mary Revelas is researching the genetics of exceptional longevity to better understand successful ageing. Her work hopes to provide clarity on the genes strongly associated. Ultimately, an understanding of both genetic and lifestyle factors will be needed to disentangle the underlying mechanisms of long and healthy lives.   How did you get into researching the ageing brain? Given my favourite school subjects were Biology and Science, it seemed natural to undertake a Bachelor of Science when continuing education after completing… Read More
2 Mar 2021

Chao Dong | Meet Our Researcher Series

A PhD Candidate in the Brain Ageing Research Laboratory at CHeBA, Chao Dong is investigating an area of brain ageing that may lead to better understanding of how genetic risk factors are related to ageing. Chao hopes that her research will not only help people suffering from age-related disease, but also lead to disease prevention and long-term health outcomes.   How did you get into researching the ageing brain? My study background is in Biomedical engineering. When I completed my Bachelor’s degree, I was eager to pursue further studies. I have always been very interested in the… Read More
2 Mar 2021

Sri Chandana Kanchibhotla | Meet Our Researcher Series

Understanding genetics of ageing and age-related disorders are Research Officer Chandana Kanchibhotla’s main research interests. With a background in biotechnology, Chandana’s ultimate hope is for her research area to gain a better understanding of ageing from a genetics perspective – at the molecular level.   How did you get into researching the ageing brain? I am from Hyderabad in India, where I completed my Masters in Biotechnology from Osmania University. My interest in genetics started during my time at high school, largely thanks to a passionate biology teacher, who inspired my… Read More
2 Mar 2021

Toyin Abdulsalam | Meet Our Researcher Series

Toyin Abdulsalam is a meticulous, results driven researcher with a diverse background. Toyin has a particular interest in NGS data analysis, genomics, statistical genetics and data visualisation and hopes to make a real-world impact by developing methods and frameworks to aid research for delivery. He is currently studying for a PhD in Psychiatry (sponsored by the UNSW Scientia PhD program) with a focus on bioinformatics and particularly using multi-omics data integration strategies to predict age-related phenotypes and longevity.   How did you get into researching the ageing brain? As a… Read More
2 Feb 2021

No Place for Ageism in our Society

PROFESSOR PERMINDER SACHDEV AM | p.sachdev@unsw.edu.au For the more than 700 million people in the world aged over 65, often considered ‘old’ in our society, 2020 has been a landmark year. The misery wrought by the pandemic has preferentially targeted this age group, with those over 70 being five times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the general population [1]. In countries with uncontrolled infections, older persons have faced discrimination in decisions relating to triage and life-saving interventions. The poor state of our aged care homes was highlighted by the fact that about four… Read More
14 Dec 2020

Professor Lynn Chenoweth | Meet Our Researcher Series

Professor of Nursing Lynn Chenoweth is a researcher, health clinician and educator and has been researching aged care, health and aged care policy and contributing to aged care nursing education and practice since 1987. An important outcome of Professor Chenoweth’s research is the potential to influence policy decisions on how best to enable and support the health, emotional and social needs of older people – including family carers and persons living with dementia. Her hope is that her research not only provides robust evidence of the benefits of implementing safe person-centred systems of… Read More
14 Dec 2020

Gurjeet Kaur | Meet Our Researcher Series

Scientia PhD scholar in Brain Ageing and Proteomics Research Laboratory at CHeBA, Gurjeet Kaur is researching plasma proteome profiles of early-onset and late-onset Alzheimer's disease from three different cohorts for identification of potential blood-based biomarkers. Gurjeet hopes her proteomics findings from the longitudinal cohort will dissect the pathological changes and help us understand the complexity of Alzheimer's disease and further targeted drug discovery. Gurjeet is also working for the development of clinically relevant proteomics methods which will impact the mass spectrometry-… Read More
14 Dec 2020

Dr Stephanie Ward | Meet Our Researcher Series

Dr Stephanie Ward is a geriatrician who is passionate about improving the quality of diagnosis and care for persons living with dementia. She is thrilled to have an appointment at CHeBA as the clinical and initiative lead for the Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT) Clinical Quality Registry. ADNeT is a nationwide initiative bringing together consumers, clinicians and researchers to improve research opportunities and clinical care for persons at risk of and living with dementia. The Registry is a central component of ADNeT centred on benchmarking clinical practise, highlighting variations in… Read More
14 Dec 2020

Dr Jing Du | Meet Our Researcher Series

PhD Candidate with CHeBA’s Neuroimaging Group, Dr Jing Du, is aiming to find the relationship between vascular burden and brain structural or functional changes in the ageing process, using Diffusion-weighted imaging techniques. Her ultimate hope is for her research to be meaningful and that it has an impact on future generations.   How did you first get into research? After completing my bachelor, I made the decision to continue with a Medical degree in Neurology, which opened the window for me to look at a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. The accumulated experience I gleaned… Read More