Postdoctoral Research Fellow
(02) 9399 1041
Dr Lidan Zheng completed her PhD in Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales. She currently works as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on several projects related to healthy cognitive ageing, dementia and knowledge translation. She has previously been involved in a range of large scale projects aimed at developing international guidelines and mobile health programs. She has contributed to papers on topics such as cognitive health expectancy, economic models of dementia risk reduction interventions, dementia risk reduction in primary health settings and commentaries on future directions of dementia research. Her research interests lie in neurocognitive conditions (e.g. Autism, Dementia etc), technology use, neuroimaging and knowledge translation and implementation.
Researchers at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and University of New South Wales (UNSW) are inviting people who have noticed changes in their memory or thinking, or have a diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), to participate in a voluntary research trial investigating dementia risk reduction.
What is the MyCoach Trial about?
This research aims to test the effectiveness of a healthy lifestyle intervention designed to support healthy brain ageing and reduce dementia risk. The course is tailored for people experiencing changes or concerns in thinking, memory or cognition. The intervention will run for 12 weeks, and the study will also involve a 13-week, 6-month and 1-year follow-up interview (more information below).
What is involved in this research trial?
Interested volunteers will complete an eligibility screening to confirm this study is a good match. Next, volunteers will be randomised into one of two groups: MyCoach Intervention or Email information. To ensure the research is fair and unbiased, the group is chosen randomly – like pulling names from a hat.
You may be eligible to participate in the MyCoach Trial if you:
Expressions of interest
If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please register below or contact us directly on 02 9399 1853 or mycoach@neura.edu.au.
The Dementia Risk Factors and Assessment (DemRisk) program involves over ten years of research performed by the Anstey group on the identification and assessment of risk factors for Dementia.
The DemRisk program includes:
Read Professor Kaarin Anstey and Dr Ruth Peters’ recent invited commentary on second-hand smoke as an under-recognised risk factor for cognitive decline here. You can also watch Professor Anstey’s NeuRAtalk on ageing well to reduce your risk of dementia here.
The NHMRC Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) was established in 2006 under the Australian Government’s Dementia Initiative. DCRC projects are diverse and map onto the priorities of the NHMRC National Network for Dementia Research (NNIDR). A key focus is applied research on topics meaningful to people with dementia and their family carers.
There are three DCRC hubs located at UNSW, NeuRA and QUT, respectively. The three-hub framework aims to grow partnerships and strengthen ties with consumers and service providers, Dementia Training Australia and Dementia Support Australia in order to progress prevention, assessment, care and translation of knowledge into everyday practice, as well as building the next generation of dementia researchers.
The primary focus of the DCRC NeuRA hub is risk reduction and prevention including individual, community and population-based interventions targeting lifestyle risk factors for dementia.
The flagship project of the DCRC NeuRA hub is the International Research Network on Dementia Prevention (IRNDP). Founded in 2017, the IRNDP is a multinational network bringing together researchers who are working to reduce the risk of dementia across the world. For more information on the network, visit the IRNDP website, including news and updates, an evidence hub on cohort studies, an evidence synthesis on clinical trials, and information on how to join.
The DCRC is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
Globally, dementia cases are increasing at a rate of 21 per cent annually, and most of these are occurring in low to middle-income countries. With no cure for neurodegeneration or the diseases that cause dementia, there is an urgent need to link both knowledge translation and researchers more closely together in a global effort to tackle prevention more effectively.
Founded in 2017, the International Research Network on Dementia Prevention (IRNDP) is a multinational network bringing together researchers who are working to reduce the risk of dementia across the world.
IRNDP aims to:
The goals of the IRNDP have particular relevance in low- to middle-income (LMIC) countries as exposure to lifestyle and clinical risk factors becomes more common as LMIC economies grow.
While there are many current overlapping public health, patient, research, policy and practice initiatives aimed at prevention or treatment of dementia, IRNDP is the first single collaborative network of researchers to focus attention on prevention that is truly global.
For further information, visit the IRNDP website, including news and updates, an evidence hub on cohort studies, an evidence synthesis on clinical trials, and information on how to join the network.
IRNDP is chaired by Professor Kaarin Anstey and is a project of the Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration funded by the NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR).
The ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) is a unique collaboration bringing together academia, government and industry to address one of the major social challenges of the twenty first century. Based at the University of New South Wales with nodes at the Australian National University, The University of Melbourne, The University of Sydney and The University of Western Australia, CEPAR is producing world-class research on population ageing. CEPAR includes cross-disciplinary experts drawn from actuarial science, demography, economics, epidemiology, psychology and sociology. The Centre’s diverse research program which will deliver comprehensive outcomes with the potential to secure Australia’s future as a well-informed nation with world-best policy and practice for an ageing demographic.
Professor Anstey and Professor Mike Keane lead the CEPAR research stream concerned with decision making, expectations and cognitive ageing.
This research stream aims to:
For more information on CEPAR visit the centre website.
CEPAR has been funded primarily by the Australian Research Council, with generous support from the collaborating universities and partner organisations.
KIRSTY ZMISA
Executive Assistant
: 9399 1021
: k.zmisa@neura.edu.au
Having a cardiovascular condition is associated with a lower CIFLE and higher proportion of life lived with cognitive impairment. However, the outcomes vary depending on the type of cardiovascular condition. Reducing incidence of stroke and minimising exposure to multiple cardiovascular risk factors may be beneficial in helping to improve population estimates of cognitive health expectancy.