To reduce Australia's future dementia burden, it is imperative to develop methods to identify those Australians at the very early stage of dementia. To achieve this goal, we are establishing multidisciplinary research projects to track disease progression from the very early stage. These projects use cutting-edge neuroscience technologies to examine how the mind and brain change in dementia. My goal is to discover novel methods for early detection, and develop early intervention strategies.
In Australia, over 2,000 families every year have a stillborn child. Each of these deaths places a heavy psychological and financial burden on parents and families and the wider community. Progress in preventing these deaths has been very slow and despite the impact of this loss, the care provided for parents following a stillbirth is often inadequate. I am leading a national research program to reduce stillbirth and improve care for parents when their child is stillborn.
Preventing Complications Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$310,914.00
Summary
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a devastating lung disease that affects smokers. Lung complications and complications in other organs occur commonly. This study will examine factors that lead to exacerbations of COPD, and test the effectiveness of early diagnosis of coronary artery disease using CT scans.
Improving Diagnosis Of Early Frontotemporal Dementia Syndromes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$451,716.00
Summary
Frontotemporal dementia is difficult to identify and diagnose accurately, although it is almost as common as Alzheimer’s disease before the age of 65. Improving its detection and diagnostic accuracy is the focus of my fellowship for the next 4 years. As a neuropsychologist with over 15 years clinical experience in dementia, I will combine clinical, neuroimaging and neuropathological approaches to identify early presentations of frontotemporal dementia and other dementia syndromes.