Seminars and Events
The seminars and meetings listed below are open to professionals and colleagues of NeuRA staff.
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 | ||
| 26-Feb-21 | 1) Kevin Ng | 1) Birznieks Group | Time-based encoding of touch information in afferents | |
| 19-Mar-21 | Eva Kimonis | UNSW | ||
| 26-Mar-21 | 1) Alan Chiang; 2) Haeme Park | 1) Eckert Group; 2) Gatt Group | ||
| 9-Apr-21 | 1) Miranda Chilver | 1) Gatt Group | Electrophysiological markers of mental wellbeing | |
| 23-Apr-21 | 1) Ben Tong | 1) Eckert Group | ||
| 7-May-21 | 1) Louise Lavrencic | 1) Radford Group | ||
| 21-May-21 | 1) Samantha Millard | 1) Schabrun Group | Modulation of Cortical Peak Alpha Frequency to Alter Sensitivity to Pain | |
| 18-Jun-21 | 1) Kerith-Rae Dias; 2) Annie Butler | 1) Roscioli Group; 2) Gandevia Group | ||
| 2-Jul-21 | 1) Steve Kassem; | 1) Paxinos Group | ||
| 30-Jul-21 | 1) Nahian Chowdhury | 1) Schabrun Group | ||
| 13-Aug-21 | 1) Thom Whyte | 1) Brown Group | ||
| 27-Aug-21 | 1) Brian Chow | 1) Herbert Group | ||
| 10-Sep-21 | 1) Manreena Kaur; 2) Edel O’Hagan | 1) Green Group; 2) McAuley Group | ||
| 24-Sep-21 | 1) Liz Bye; 2) Patrick Skippen | 1) Butler/Gandevia group; 2) Schabrun | Cognitive mechanisms and deficits associated with the experience of pain | |
| 5-Nov-21 | 1) Sonia Hesam Shariati; 2) Jun Cao | 1) Fullerton Group; 2) Rae Group | The genetic and epigenetic contributors to risk of bipolar disorder | A new paradigm for neuroscience: magnetic resonance electric properties tomography |
| 19-Nov-21 | 1) Alastair Loutit; 2) Milena Katz | 1) Birznieks Group; 2) Peters Group | Tactile afferent responses to object manipulation | |
| 3-Dec-21 | 1) Martin Héroux; | 1) Gandevia Group; | ||
| 17-Dec-21 | 1) Bianca Albanese | 1) Brown Group | Optimal Child Restraint Design to Reduce the Propensity for Misuse |
Primary contacts
Dr Justine Gatt (T: +612 9399 1812 E: j.gatt@neura.edu.au)
Dr Jasmine Menant (T: +612 9399 1267 E: j.menant@neura.edu.au)
Dr Steve Kassem (T: +612 9399 1128 E: s.kassem@neura.edu.au)
Dr Adam Walker (T: +612 9399 1026 E: a.walker@neura.edu.au)
Dr Moyra Mortby (T: +612 9399 1147 E: m.mortby@neura.edu.au)
Dr Bart Bolsterlee (T:+612 9399 1832 E: b.bolsterlee@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
To view full schedule & register – view website here |
Map:
NeuRA Seminar Series 2020
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, in the Level 3 John and Betty Lynch Seminar Room. The presentations aim to run for one hour.
If you are interested in attending these seminars and wish to be added to the regular email mailing list, please fill out the form.
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.
| Date | Speaker | Position/Institution | Topic |
| 7th of Feb | 1. Dr Matt Brodie; 2. Dr Lara Harvey | 1. Lord/Delbaere Groups (NeuRA); 2. Close Group (NeuRA) | 1. Preventing motor impairment with peripheral nerve stimulation, smart textiles, and mobile technology.
2. The use of the physiological profile assessment to improve the prediction of fragility fractures in community-dwelling older people. |
| 14th of Feb | 1. Dr Phu Hoang; 2. Dr Euan McCaughey | 1. Lord/Gandevia Groups (NeuRA); 2. Butler Group (NeuRA) | 1. Footdrop & ankle contractures and mobility in people with MS.
2. Category two to four funding for early-mid career researchers: an untapped pool? |
| 21st of Feb | 1. Lewis Ingram (PhD); 2. Sonia Hesam-Shariati | 1. Lord/Gandevia Groups (NeuRA); 2. Fullerton Group (NeuRA) | 1. The upper limb Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA): quantifying upper limb motor impairment across the adult lifespan and disease; 2. Role of Epigenetic Contributors in Developing Bipolar Disorder at High Familial Risk |
| 28th of Feb | Prof Carol Jagger | Newcastle Unversity, UK | Understanding past trends in healthy life expectancy and prospects for the future. |
| 6th of Mar | 1. Dr Hanna Hensen; 2. Prof Melissa Green | 1. Eckert Group (NeuRA); 2. Green Group (NeuRA) | 1. Sleep problems in people with multiple sclerosis: rates, mechanisms and consequences; 2. Prenatal infection exposure and risk for early developmental vulnerability and mental illness: evidence from a population study of NSW children |
| 20th of Mar | Prof Richard Kemp | UNSW | The Psychology of eyewitness memory |
| 27th of Mar | 1. Paulo Pelicioni (PhD); 2. Mark Kaizik | 1. Lord Group (NeuRA); 2. Herbert Group (NeuRA) | 1. Do antipsychotics inflame the brain? |
| 3rd of Apr | Prof Simon Gandevia | Gandevia Group (NeuRA) | 1. Identifying the relationship between inflammation and the immune-gut axis in Autism; 2. Dopamine and bad habits: amphetamines, L-dopa and junk food. |
| 10th of Apr | Good Friday | Good Friday | Good Friday |
| 17th of Apr | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 24th of Apr | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 1st of May | 1. Sophie Carter; 2. Sam Owens | 1. Eckert Group (NeuRA); 2. Shannon-Weickert Group (NeuRA) | 1. Effects of hypnotics on sleep spindles; 2. Alterations in androgen- and dopamine-related molecules in schizophrenia. |
| 8th of May | 1. Nisha Mathew; 2. Teri Furlong | 1. Walker Group (NeuRA); 2. Paxinos Group (NeuRA) | 1. Effects of hypnotics on sleep spindles; 2. Alterations in androgen- and dopamine-related molecules in schizophrenia |
| 15th of May*
12:30 Start |
1. Sophie Andrews; 2. Javad Jamshidi | 1. Anstey Group (NeuRA); 2. Gatt/Fullerton Group (NeuRA) | 1. The role of automatic habit in physical activity behaviours in older people: A new target for lifestyle interventions for cognitive health?; 2. Diverse phenotypic measurements of wellbeing: Heritability, temporal stability and predictive power of polygenic scores |
| 22nd of May | 1. David Nguyen, 2. Miranda Chilver | 1. Butler, Gandevia, Hudson Groups (NeuRA) 2. Gatt Group (NeuRA) | 1. Neural control of breathing in health, healthy ageing and chronic tetraplegia; 2. EEG profiles as a biomarker of wellbeing: A twin study. |
| 29th of May | Prof Chris Rowe | Austin Health, Melbourne | Amyloid and Tau Imaging Down-Under: The Australian Experience. |
| 5th of Jun | Professor/Aunty Kerrie Doyle | Chair of the Aboriginal Health & Wellbeing CAG for Maridulu Budyari Gumal (SPHERE) | Putuwa and The Forming, Storming, Norming, & Performing of Indigenous Research |
| 12th of Jun | 1. Arthur Montalto; 2. Rene Jeżewsk | 1. Gatt Group (NeuRA); 2. Sheperd Group (NeuRA) | 1. Negative association between the insula and resilience during a continuous performance task: an fMRI twin study; 2. “Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy in the Sydney Brain Bank” |
| 19th of Jun | 1. Martin Heroux; 2. Justine Gatt | 1. Gandevia Group (NeuRA); 2. Gatt Group (NeuRA) | 1. History-dependence of muscle slack length in humans: effects of contraction intensity, stretch amplitude and time; 2.Our wellbeing research program: Where are we up to? |
| 26th of Jun | Fiona Knapman | Bilston Group (NeuRA) | A novel optical stimulation therapy for obstructive sleep apnea – Preliminary result |
| 3rd of Jul | Haeme Park | Gatt Group (NeuRA) | Associations between mental wellbeing and neural bases of positive emotion recognition in a twin sample using fMRI |
| 10th of Jul | Carlo Rinaudo | Migliaccio Group (NeuRA) | Functional changes after 1 week of VOR adaptation training in vestibular patients |
| 17th of Jul | George Paxinos | Paxinos Group (NeuRA) | Is the brain the right size? |
| 24th of Jul | Bill Brooks | Schofield Group (NeuRA) | Familial Alzheimer’s disease and the DIAN Study: trial results and future plans. |
| 31th of Jul | Bart Bolsterlee | Herbert Group (NeuRA) | Using transverse diffusion to measure changes in muscle fibre number and muscle fibre size during growth in humans. |
| 7th of Aug | Yoshiro Okubo | Lord Group (NeuRA) | Effect of task-specific trip and slip training in people with Multiple Sclerosis |
| 14th of Aug | Adam Walker | Walker Group (NeuRA) | Breast cancer hijacks the brain to cause cognitive impairment |
| 21st of Aug | Claire Boswell-Ruys | Butler Group (NeuRA) | Effect of respiratory muscle training on quality of life, dyspnoea and respiratory symptoms in people with tetraplegia |
| 28th of Aug | Moyra Mortby | Anstey Group (NeuRA) | The BPSDplus Program: efficacy of a novel person-centred care approach to reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms in residents with dementia |
| 4th of Sep | Jasmine Menant | Lord Group (NeuRA) | Visuospatial Working Memory for Safe Obstacle Crossing in Older People |
| 11th of Sep | Chris Rowe | Austin Health, Melbourne | Amyloid and Tau Imaging Down-Under: The Australian Experience. |
| 18th of Sep | |||
| 25th of Sep | Christin Weissleder | Shannon Weickert Group (NeuRA) | From the lack of new brain cells to increased inflammation in schizophrenia. |
| 2nd of Oct | Isabella Epiu | Butler Group (NeuRA) | Inspiratory muscle responses to airway occlusion in COPD |
| 9th of Oct | Lloyd Chan | Lord / Brodie Groups (NeuRA) | What your walk says about you- prediciting onset of geriatric conditions with gait |
| 16th of Oct | ILP 3MT Students | ||
| 23rd of Oct | A/Prof Gideon Caplan | Director, Geriatric Medicine, POWH and UNSW | Deeper into delirium |
| 30th of Oct | Honours Students (10-15min each) | ||
| 6th of Nov | Zoe Djajadikarta | Gandevia Group (NeuRA) | Impaired central drive to plantarflexors and minimal ankle proprioceptive deficit in people with multiple sclerosis |
| 13rd of Nov | Rob Lloyd | Bilston Group (NeuRA) | Imaging pipeline for magnetic resonance elastography reconstruction of anisotropic tissue |
| 20th of Nov | Daina Sturnieks | Sturnieks Group (NeuRA) | Smart±step: A 3-arm randomised controlled trial of cognitive-only and cognitive-motor training to prevent falls in older people. |
| 27th of Nov | Michael Wewege | McAuley Group | Improving the use of analgesic medicines for low back pain |
| 4th of Dec | A/Prof Sevil Yasar | Johns Hopkins | From hypertension to antihypertensive medications to the renin angiotensin system in AD |
| 11th of Dec
(EDIC Talk) |
Alice Anderson | Coordinator for the Inclusive Volunteering Program – Pathways to Employment with The Centre for Volunteering NSW | Inclusion in the workplace for both employees and volunteers. |
Primary contacts
Dr Justine Gatt (T: +612 9399 1812 E: j.gatt@neura.edu.au)
Dr Tertia Purves-Tyson (T: +612 9399 1649 E: t.purves-tyson@neura.edu.au)
Dr Jasmine Menant (T: +612 9399 1267 E: j.menant@neura.edu.au)
Dr Ruth Peters (T: +612 9399 1015 E: r.peters@neura.edu.au)
Dr Steve Kassem (T: +612 9399 1128 E: s.kassem@neura.edu.au)
Dr Adam Walker (T: +612 9399 1026 E: a.walker@neura.edu.au)
Dr Moyra Mortby (T: +612 9399 1147 E: m.mortby@neura.edu.au)
Dr Bart Bolsterlee (T:+612 9399 1832 E: b.bolsterlee@neura.edu.au)
Location:
NeuRA, Level 3 John and Betty Lynch Seminar Room
NSW Falls Prevention Network Forum 2020
NSW Falls Prevention Forum 15th May – Has been Cancelled
Unfortunately, due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19 the face-to-face NSW Falls Prevention Forum to be held at the Wesley Conference Centre on Friday May 15 has been cancelled. Instead, the forum plenary talks will be presented in a free webinar on the morning of the same day.
Please see the webinar program below and register for this event by clicking the button below.
Forum registration fees will be refunded and participants will receive an email from the NSW Falls Prevention Network in the coming week to facilitate this process.
There will no longer be any rural travel grants as their purpose was to facilitate attendance at the Forum.
We hope to conduct the planned Forum concurrent workshops and possibly best practice initiative presentations as future webinars with information regarding these to be provided soon.
Webinar Program – 15 May, 2020
9.15 am Welcome
Session 1
9.20 – 10.00 am
Pam Albany Guest Lecturer: Professor Kaarin Anstey, Senior Principal Research Fellow, NeuRA
How can we delay dementia and promote brain health in older adults?
10.00 – 10.30 am
Professor Jacqueline Close, Geriatrician POWH; Clinical Director, Falls, Balance and Injury Research Centre, NeuRA
Dementia and preventing falls
Break – 10.30 – 11 am
Session 2
11.00 – 11.30 am
A/Professor Anne Tiedemann, Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney School of Public Health
Physical activity for healthy ageing: development and evaluation of scalable interventions
11.30 – 12.00 pm
Dr Kim van Schooten, Postdoctoral Fellow, Falls Balance and Injury Research Centre, NeuRA
Technologies for fall prevention
12.00 – 12.30 pm
Scientia Professor Stephen Lord, Senior Principal Research Fellow; Centre Director, Falls Balance and Injury Research Centre, NeuRA
Falls prevention research update
12.30 pm Close
These sessions will be recorded and posted on the website
Register Here |
For further details: https://fallsnetwork.neura.edu.au
Registrations close: 14th May or when fully booked
Enquiries to Cameron Hicks fallsnetwork@neura.edu.au (02) 9399 1063
Map:
NSW Falls Prevention Network Webinar: Patient Communication – enhancing safety and person centred care
Focus: Patient Communication – enhancing safety and person centred care with Prof Anne-Marie Hill
Date: 13th November 2019
Time: 2:00 – 3:00pm
Cost: FREE
The NSW Falls Prevention Network is running a webinar with Prof Anne-Marie Hill, information can be found here.
Register Here |
