Prof Briony Dow is the Director of the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), Honorary Professor at the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Deakin University and Honorary Associate Professor at the School of Global and Population Health at the University of Melbourne. Prof Dow’s own research interests include elder abuse and mental health in older people and their carers, as well as education and research translation in the health and aged care workforce.
A/Prof Peter van Wijngaarden is an ophthalmologist and medical scientist with research interests in Alzheimer’s disease, diabetic retinopathy and retinal imaging biomarker discovery.
He is Deputy Director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Melbourne.
“The strength of the committee lies in its broad representation of MACH members who are interested in ageing,” remarks Prof Dow.
“This facilitates cross-cutting research activity with a particular focus on hospitals and health services.”
“I’m a social scientist with a keen interest in improving care for older people and their health and wellbeing. Peter brings expertise in fundamental research into the biology of ageing and age-related diseases. It works well to have Co-Chairs.”
“Our vision is to build on the fantastic work that’s been done by our predecessor. Prof Maier did a brilliant job of bringing the network together, fostering commitment from our members and developing the Early and Mid-Career Researcher network. The forward momentum will be on building on what has been developed, including consumer engagement and working together to identify mutual priority areas for new research projects and translation opportunities.”
“Building on these solid foundations and leveraging the expertise of leading researchers in the ageing and aged care domain, we will now focus on major collaborative research initiatives that will inform the delivery of state-of-the-art evidence-based aged care”, notes A/Prof van Wijngaarden.
Both Co-Chairs would like to thank Care of the Ageing Committee members for their commitment and look forward to further successes in 2021.
MACH would like to offer farewell wishes and thanks to Prof Andrea Maier for her leadership and vision as Care of the Ageing Chair over the last two years.
Prof Maier thanked committee members who have played their part in developing ‘a vibrant, multidisciplinary network of excellent researchers and clinicians […] committed to improving personalised care for our increasingly ageing society, aiming to maximise health and wellbeing of ageing and aged people.’
She was pleased to hand over to the new Co-Chairs and remarked that the network was in “excellent innovative hands.”
Dr Anita Goh, who is a senior research fellow and clinical neuropsychologist, said “I am excited to be the inaugural chair of this exciting initiative for EMCRs. We need to capacity build and keep people interested in ageing research and care.”
“My vision is to increase the visibility and viability of careers in ageing. This network will give a voice to a new generation of investigators, and will be a key supporter in fostering collaboration among members and consumers. I see it as a resource for multidisciplinary and inter-institutional EMCRs to build skills, network, exchange ideas, and engage in important discussions, which will hopefully build capacity in the sector, drive innovation, and prevent research and expertise silos.”
Dr Goh works at the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) and at the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre (the University of Melbourne).
Deputy Chair Dr Samantha Clune is a Research Fellow with the Australian Institute of Primary Care and Ageing (AIPCA) at La Trobe University.
Stay tuned for details of activities and to find out more please contact [email protected]