Seminars and Events
The seminars and meetings listed below are open to professionals and colleagues of NeuRA staff.
Culture at the centre of ageing research and dementia prevention with Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples
This webinar focused on the cultural aspects of dementia prevention through the lens of a community-based team working with Aboriginal peoples and organisations across regional and urban areas of NSW. Drawing on our collective experiences in dementia research and knowledge translation, we address the question: how is culture central to all that we do?
Specifically, the webinar included discussion of
(1) The meaning of culture and its role in understanding connections to mind, body, and spirit, and conceptualising the links to the brain and cognitive health;
(2) How culture underpins the research and knowledge translation process;
(3) The ways in which culture has informed and guided our work and emerged as a key aspect of the research findings through three practical examples from our previous projects. Strength-based approaches to understanding cultural diversity in brain health and dementia prevention have a central role to play in reducing health disparities and promoting equitable ageing and longevity outcomes.
NeuRA Seminar Series 2022
The NeuRA Seminar Series aims to provide the opportunity to listen to interesting and leading research across all fields of neuroscience. Presenters will include a mix of NeuRA-based scientists, as well as invited presentations from external domestic and international scientific experts. The presentations are held every Friday at 12 noon online and in the Level 3 John and Betty Lynch Seminar Room. The presentations aim to run for one hour.
The Seminar Committee is also continuing NeuRA Fast Talks / Drinks Series for 2022. This is an internal networking event that aims to occur monthly on the first Tuesday of the month from 4pm, this will include 3-4 NeuRA speakers followed by casual drinks.
If you are interested in attending these seminars and wish to be added to the regular email mailing list, please fill out the form.
| Date | Speaker | Position/Institution | Topic Speaker 1 | Topic Speaker 2 |
Primary contacts
Dr Jasmine Menant, Chair (j.menant@neura.edu.au)
Dr Bart Bolsterlee, Deputy chair (b.bolsterlee@neura.edu.au)
Dr Annie Palermo (a.palermo@neura.edu.au)
Ms Madeleine Veinovic (m.veinovic@neura.edu.au)
Dr Sophie Andrews (s.andrews@neura.edu.au)
Dr Steve Kassem (s.kassem@neura.edu.au)
Dr Adam Walker (a.walker@neura.edu.au)
Mr Lloyd Chan (l.chan@neura.edu.au)
Dr Kim van Schooten (k.vanschooten@neura.edu.au)
Dr Adam Lawther (a.lawther@neura.edu.au)
2021 Dementia Prevention Conference – 28 October, 2021
On behalf of the Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) we warmly invite you to join us for the 2021 Dementia Prevention Conference. Due to current restrictions, the conference will now be held fully online via Zoom.
FREE Registration and abstract submission now open
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/dcrc-dementia-prevention-conference-2021-tickets-158049324785
Abstract Submission Guidelines
We invite you to submit your abstract to present at the conference in accordance with the following guidelines.
- Must be 200 words or less
- Must relate to dementia prevention and/or risk reduction
- Conference presentations will be 15mins with the option to be considered for a DataBlitz (A brief 5min presentation focusing on the main findings)
- Abstracts should include four sub-headings: Background and Aims, Methods, Results, and Discussion and should highlight how the study contributes to dementia prevention.
- Abstracts due by 5pm, 31st August.
Invited Speakers
Prof Sharon Naismith, University of Sydney
Prof Sharon Naismith is a Clinical Neuropsychologist, NHMRC Dementia Leadership Fellow and holds the Leonard P Ullman Chair in Psychology at the Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney. She also Heads the Healthy Brain Ageing Program at the Brain and Mind Centre, a one-of-its-kind early intervention research clinic for dementia.
Prof Karen Charlton, University of Wollongong
Karen’s research investigates the role of diet on cardiovascular health and cognitive function in older adults, with a focus on flavonoids found in plant foods. Her work influences policy and practice, particularly population-level salt reduction in low-middle income countries.
Dr Maree Farrow, University of Tasmania
Dr Maree Farrow is a cognitive neuroscientist and the Senior Academic Lead for Dementia MOOCs at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre. Her research focus is learning better ways to educate people in the community about how they can reduce their risk of dementia.
Dr Belinda Brown, Murdoch University
Dr Belinda Brown’s research is primarily focused on understanding the role of lifestyle in maintaining a healthy ageing brain and preventing cognitive decline and dementia. Her previous work has identified a role of physical activity in: reducing toxic brain proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, enhancing cognitive function, and maintaining brain volume.
Dr Amit Lampit, University of Melbourne
Dr Lampit is clinical neuroscientist specialising in cognitive training across the lifespan and brain disorders, clinical trials and research synthesis. He is a CR Roper Senior Research Fellow and co-leader of the Cognitive Interventions, Technologies and Evaluation Group at the Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, and holds dual appointments at the Department of Neurology, Charité University Hospital Berlin and the Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt University.
Keynote Address
Professor Laura D. Baker
We are very excited and honoured to announce that Professor Laura D. Baker will be providing the keynote address. Professor of Internal Medicine, Neurology, and Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest School of Medicine, and the Associate Director of the Wake Forest Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Professor Baker is an international leader in the areas of cognitive aging and lifestyle interventions to protect brain health and prevent cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia.
Professor Baker has been an investigator of over 55 research studies on aging and Alzheimer’s disease prevention and treatment. One study that will finish next year, referred to as “EXERT,” is a large multi-site randomized clinical trial testing whether aerobic exercise might be medicine to protect against cognitive decline in adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment.
Professor Baker is also the lead Principal Investigator of the large multi-site study supported by the Alzheimer’s Association that is testing whether a change in lifestyle can protect cognitive function in Americans who may be at risk for memory decline in the future. This study, called “U.S. POINTER” is part of a global consortium of other similar studies now being conducted in over 25 countries.
Second International Motor Impairment Conference 2021
Second International Motor Impairment Conference Online 2021
16 – 19 November 2021 (AEDT)
16 – 18 November 2021 (UTC/GMT)
**ABSTRACTS & REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN**
SUBMISSIONS CLOSE
5PM 19 OCTOBER 2021 (UTC/GMT)
Following the success of the First International Motor Impairment Conference in Sydney, Australia (in 2018) we are pleased to announce that the Second International Motor Impairment Conference will be held online 16 – 19 November 2021 (AEST).
Six 2 hour sessions are being organized to suit contributors from various time zones. The goal of these meetings is to better understand the pathophysiology of Motor Impairment, to implement interventions, and to drive enhanced clinical practice. Much is still unknown about fundamental mechanisms of Motor Impairment, and about its prevention and treatment.
Please visit the conference website to register and submit your abstract.
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Cost: AU$50 (+admin fee) which includes:
- Attendance at all six sessions;
- Inclusion of Abstract in the conference Abstract book (subject to Scientific Conference Committee approval);
- If Abstract is selected by the Scientific Conference Committee, a 10 minute (+5 minute Q&A) speaking position in the Conference Programme.
Bringing together the brightest minds working on Motor Impairment from all over the world.
NeuRA Seminar Series 2021
The NeuRA Seminar Series aims to provide the opportunity to listen to interesting and leading research across all fields of neuroscience.
Presenters will include a mix of NeuRA-based scientists, as well as invited presentations from external domestic and international scientific experts.
The presentations are generally held every Friday at 12 noon for around one hour. The presentations aim to run for one hour. These seminars will now be presented so you can enjoy them via the internet using ZOOM, the link needed to join will be provided each week in the email.
If you are interested in attending these seminars and wish to be added to the regular email mailing list, please fill out the form.
| Date | Speaker | Position/Institution | Topic Speaker 1 | Topic Speaker 2 |
| 12-Feb-21 | 1) Jan Fullerton | 1) Fullerton Group | The complexities of risk in bipolar disorder: genomics and beyond | |
| 26-Feb-21 | 1) Kevin Ng | 1) Birznieks Group | Time-based encoding of touch information in afferents | |
| 12-Mar-21 | 1) Simon Gandevia | 1) Gandevia Group | Research Quality and Reproducibility: Why you should be worried and what you can do about it. | |
| 19-Mar-21 | Prof Eva Kimonis | UNSW, School of Psychology | Emotional Processing Patterns Distinguish Subtypes of Childhood Conduct Problems | |
| 26-Mar-21 | 1) Phillip Cheng | 1) Gatt Group | Coping and impact on wellbeing during COVID in 1749 youth across Australia and the USA | |
| 9-Apr-21 | 1) Miranda Chilver | 1) Gatt Group | Electrophysiological markers of mental wellbeing | |
| 16-Apr-21 | A/Prof Michael Sughrue | Co-founder and CEO, Omniscient Neurotechnology | Connectomics – Turning your centre into a precision brain medicine institution | |
| 23-Apr-21 | 1) Ben Tong | 1) Eckert Group | Efficacy of a novel oral appliance and the influence of nasal resistance and OSA pathophysiological traits on treatment response | |
| 7-May-21 | 1) Louise Lavrencic with co-speaker Terry Donovan, 2) Haeme Park | 1) Radford Group; 2) Gatt Group | Ngarraanga Giinganay (‘thinking peacefully’): A culturally-grounded mindfulness-based stress reduction program co-designed with older Aboriginal people | Grey matter morphometry and the role of emotion reappraisal in mental wellbeing and resilience after early life stress exposure |
| 21-May-21 | 1) Patrick Skippen | 1) Schabrun Group | Cognitive mechanisms in inhibition: Stopping yourself starts with attention | |
| 28-May-21 | Prof Kimberlie Dean | School of Psychiatry, UNSW | How early does ‘early intervention’ need to be? The association between mental health problems and risk of criminal justice system contact in childhood | |
| 4-Jun-21 | Reconciliation Week Talk | Reconciliation Week Talk | NeuRA National Reconciliation Week Seminar: More than a word – time for a conversation about reconciliation. Hosted by the NeuRA Reconciliation Action Plan Working Group | |
| 18-Jun-21 | 1) Kerith-Rae Dias | 1) Roscioli Group | Identifying new genes in neurocognitive disorders | |
| 2-Jul-21 | 1) Steve Kassem; 2) Ying Xu | 1) Paxinos Group; 2) Peters Group | Trepanning to MRI a brief look at the dynamic history of neuroanatomy | Left ventricular hypertrophy and incident cognitive impairment in elderly hypertensive patients. |
| 9-Jul-21 | NeuRA NAIDOC Week Aboriginal Health Research Showcase | NeuRA | Our team will provide a set of 3-4 pre-recorded talks to share during the seminar time slot, followed by a panel discuss for live Q&A. “NeuRA NAIDOC Week Aboriginal Health Research Showcase” followed by live Q&A led by the Our MOB (Mind Our Brain) Study team | |
| 16-Jul-21 | 1) Adam Lawther | 1) Walker Group | Targeting neuroinflammation to treat cancer-induced anxiety and depression | |
| 23-Jul-21 | Prof Maree Hackett | George Institute | Stroke and Depression – moving the ambulance to the top of the cliff | |
| 30-Jul-21 | 1) Nahian Chowdhury; 2) Abhijit Das | 1) Schabrun Group; 2) Rae Group | 1) Using non-invasive brain stimulation to understand the mechanisms for pain | 2)Investigating the role of proline in brain metabolism. |
| 13-Aug-21 | 1) Tom Whyte | 1) Brown Group | Neck injury risk from diving into foam pits: Considerations for trampoline park safety | |
| 27-Aug-21 | NeuRA Wear It Purple Event – LGBTQ+ in Research | Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee | Panel discussion with students and researchers on being LGBTQ+ in STEMM fields. | |
| 3-Sep-21 | Dr Stephanie Ward | Centre for Health Brain Ageing (CHeBA) and UNSW | Aspirin and Ageing: Dissolving (or resolving?) associations with Cognition | |
| 17-Sep-21 | 1) Brian Chow | 1) Herbert Group; | Scaling of human muscle architecture with growth | |
| 24-Sep-21 | 1) Naqash Afzal | 1) Birznieks Group | Friction sensing mechanisms for perception and its role in object manipulation | |
| 1-Oct-21 | Prof Christos Pantelis | University of Melbourne | Mapping brain changes in schizophrenia: From bedside to bench | |
| 8-Oct-21 | ILP Student Presentations | |||
| 15-Oct-21 | MENTAL HEALTH WEEK SEMINAR | |||
| 22-Oct-21 | Honours Student Presentations | |||
| 29-Oct-21 | Dr Karen Krukowski | University of Denver | Reversal of Trauma- and Age-Related Memory Loss | |
| 12-Nov-21 | Milena Katz | Peters Group | Ageing, diet and inflammation: An Australian perspective. | |
| 19-Nov-21 | Alastair Loutit | Birznieks Group; | Afferent responses and perception of hand-object interactions | |
| 26-Nov-21 | Simon Gandevia | Gandevia Group | NeuRA’s Quality Output Checklist and Content Assessment (QuOCCA): What is it and why is it important? | |
| 3-Dec-21 | 1) Martin Héroux; 2) Edel O’Hagan | 1) Gandevia Group; 2) McAuley Group |
Primary contacts
Dr Justine Gatt (j.gatt@neura.edu.au)
Dr Jasmine Menant (j.menant@neura.edu.au)
Dr Steve Kassem (s.kassem@neura.edu.au)
Dr Adam Walker (a.walker@neura.edu.au)
Dr Adam Lawther (a.lawther@neura.edu.au)
Dr Moyra Mortby (m.mortby@neura.edu.au)
Dr Bart Bolsterlee (b.bolsterlee@neura.edu.au)
A/Prof David Seminowicz (d.seminowicz@neura.edu.au)
Sensorimotor Control Meeting
We are pleased to announce that the Sensorimotor Control Meeting for 2020 will be held on the afternoon of Thursday 10 December 2020.
Time: 12:30pm
Location: The Meeting will be held via Zoom.
Cost: This meeting is free to attend.
Registration: Use the button below to register.
Further info: Presentations will be by PhD and other students, and also post-docs.
**Note that scientists of all levels are welcome to attend to watch and participate in question time**
| Abstract Book |
| Register for the Meeting |
| Visit the meeting website |
Exercise To Prevent Falls in Older Adults Workshop
Exercise To Prevent Falls in Older Adults
Date: Saturday 7th March 2020
Time: 9am – 5pm
Location: NeuRA – 139 Barker st, Randwick NSW 2031
Who is this course for?
For fitness leaders working with older adults. This workshop will help you tailor exercise programs for falls prevention.
About this course:
CECs: 6
This continuing education program will equip Fitness Professionals with important information to guide the provision of appropriate falls prevention physical activity and exercise programs for older people. Topics to be covered include the social and economic issues of falls, risk factors for falls, physiological consequences of ageing, biomechanical and physiological principles of balance, and effective falls prevention strategies.
In undertaking the program, participants will be trained to develop safe and efficacious community exercise programs for older adults that are designed in a manner to maximise uptake and adherence of those populations who stand to most benefit from exercise. Through structured learning tasks across a number of different learning formats, participants will acquire the knowledge and ability to identify, develop, demonstrate and implement evidence-based exercise interventions designed to enhance physical and functional capacity and prevent falls and fall related injury.
This workshop includes:
-An overview of the issue of falls in older people
-Understanding balance and ageing
-Evidence-based fall prevention interventions
-Developing fall prevention programs
Ticket cost:
$150 including tax, lunch and refreshments. Places are limited.
For further information contact Natassia Smith: n.smith@neura.edu.au
REGISTRATIONS CLOSED |
Presenters:
Dr Daina Sturnieks (Neuroscience Research Australia, UNSW Medicine) –
Dr Sturnieks has a PhD in human biomechanics (UWA). She is Laboratory Manager for the Falls, Balance and Injury Research Centre at NeuRA including a new state-of-the-art Balance and Gait Analysis Laboratory. Her research focuses on understanding biomechanical, sensorimotor and neurocognitive contributions to balance and falls in older people and clinical groups, and randomised controlled trials of novel interventions to prevent falls involving balance, stepping and cognitive training. Dr Sturnieks is active in translating research findings into community, aged care and hospital settings and is Executive Board Member of the Australian and New Zealand Falls Prevention Society.
Sally Castell (Movement Matters) –
Sally Castell who is the owner and manager of Movement Matters has a physiotherapy, recreational therapy, health promotion and community education background and is a registered fitness leader. She has over 40 years of experience in the health / fitness industry having worked in hospitals, rehabilitation centres, sports clinics, community facilities and retirement centres. Sally is now focusing her expertise and energy to provide support to the older adult with a variety of appropriate exercise programs and resources to suit individual needs and abilities.
Ms Natassia Smith (Neuroscience Research Australia) –
Natassia Smith is a Research Assistant at Neuroscience Research Australia, working in Dr Daina Sturneiks team at the Falls, Balance and Injury Research Centre.
For more information contact Natassia Smith: n.smith@neura.edu.au
Map:
Australasian Vestibular Rehabilitation Conference
We’ve assembled arguably one of the finest list of speakers to present in Australia within the vestibular rehabilitation field. International speakers including Prof Sue Whitney (University of Pittsburgh) and Prof Michael Schubert (The Johns Hopkins University), as well as home grown leaders with Prof Americo Migliaccio and Prof Stephen Lord. The conference is focussed on translating the latest research, much of which is undertaken by the presenters themselves, into usable clinical applications for better patient outcomes.
We have packed in many of the topics in 2.5 days that are frequently requested including advances in VOR adaptation, balance and gait, BPPV and concussion. Additionally we have added a post-conference workshop on vestibular testing, interpretations and case-studies.
Dates:
Friday 22 May, 9am-6pm
Saturday 23 May, 9am-6pm
Sunday 24 May, 9am-1pm & Workshop 2pm-5pm
Location:
NeuRA (Neuroscience Research Australia), 139 Barker Street, Randwick, Sydney NSW 2031 – see Map below
Conference Topics
- Advances in Vor Adaption
- Advances in Gait & Balance Rehabilitation
- Advance in BPPV Management
- Central Vestibular Conditions & Concussions
Conference Speakers
Prof Susan Whitney (U.Pittsburgh)
Prof Michael Schubert (John Hopkins)
Prof Americo Migliacio (NeuRA)
Prof Stephen Lord (NeuRA)
& more
Registration Fee
| CONFERENCE ONLY | WORKSHOP ONLY | CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP | |
| EARLY BIRD | $945 | $99 | $995 |
| REGULAR | $1145 | $119 | $1195 |
- A limited number of 50% discount tickets are available for NeuRA staff and students. Please email Carlo Rinaudo at c.rinaudo@neura.edu.au for discount code
- Early bird pricing valid only until April 3, or sold out earlier with limited tickets available
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED |
Map:
