Researcher Involvement Panel

Dr Diana Karamacoska is a cognitive neuroscientist and brain health advocate at NICM HRI, Western Sydney University.  Her work addresses dementia disparities and inequities in research and service provision, with a particular focus on culturally and linguistically diverse populations.

Emily is a pharmacist and Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Medicine Use and Safety at Monash University. She is also Chair of the Australian Deprescribing Network. Her work aims to optimise medicine use in older adults and people living with dementia to reduce medicine-related burden and harm.

Helen Rawson is a Registered Nurse and Associate Professor at Monash University Nursing and Midwifery. Helen is on the board of a not-for-profit aged care organisation and is chair of the Clinical Governance and Care Committee. Helen’s research focus is to enhance wellbeing and promote safe and high quality care for older people in hospital and residential aged care. Helen is a board member for the Australian Hartford Consortium for Gerontological Nursing Excellence.

Julie is a Professor in the School of Psychology at The University of Queensland, and an Affiliate Professor at both the Queensland Brain Institute and at Mater Research. She is Director of the Queensland Multidisciplinary Initiative for Neurocognitive Disorders, as well as President of the Australasian Society for Philosophy and Psychology. Julie’s research primarily focuses on cognition and wellbeing in late adulthood.

Mouna is an early career researcher Dementia Fellow in medication safety and dementia at the School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney. She is Deputy Chair of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists Pharmacoepidemiology Special Interest Group. Mouna is developing resources in medication management for people with dementia and their informal carers to facilitate shared decision making and improve medication safety.

Nathan is an Assistant Professor in the School of Rehabilitation and Health Sciences at the University of Canberra. His research interests include post-diagnostic support, small scare dementia care, and meaningful activities for people living with dementia. Nathan is also the Chair of the Australian Association of Gerontology ACT Division.

Professor Nola Ries, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney, is a legal and social science researcher. She has expertise in law, health and ageing and the governance of health research, with a special interest in the inclusion of people with cognitive impairment in research. She is qualified as a lawyer in Australia and Canada and holds a PhD in behavioural science. She has extensive experience as a research ethics advisor and ethics committee member.

Stephanie is a research fellow and clinical neuropsychologist at Flinders University, Adelaide. Her research interests include motivation, reward processing and financial capability in older adults and people with dementia and related conditions.

Dr Travis Cruickshank is a research fellow within the Centre for Precision Health at Edith Cowan University. Dr Cruickshank leads the Huntington’s Disease Research Group and is a principle investigator on the Systematic Profiling in Neurological Disorders Trial. Dr Cruickshank’s research is dedicated to the design, delivery and evaluation of tailored lifestyle interventions as well as the validation of novel clinical endpoints for individuals living with neurological conditions and cancer. In addition to his clinical research, part of Dr Cruickshank’s research portfolio is dedicated to examining predictors of performance in elite tennis players.

Vasi is an academic at the University of Sydney and a consultant Geriatrician at Concord Hospital in Sydney. His research interests include health of older men, oral health, falls, fractures and osteoporosis, prescribing in older people and the application of evidence-based medicine to older people.