Winter 2017 good news: appointments, grants and scholarships
We are very proud of the achievements of our students and staff. Here are some highlights from winter 2017.
Dr Vlasios Brakoulias selected as Co-Chair
Dr Vlasios Brakoulias, Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at Nepean Clinical School and Brain and Mind Centre, has been appointed as the Co-Chair for the Early-Career Researcher Mental Health Partnership between the UNSW and the University of Sydney. In this role, Dr Brakoulias will help strengthen collaborations between Early- and Mid-Career Researchers at both universities in the mental health space. Dr Brakoulias is an excellent candidate that will make a valuable contribution to this historic partnership. Learn more about this partnership between UNSW and University of Sydney.
NSW Health PhD Scholarships
Two Brain and Mind Centre students are successful recipients of the inaugural NSW Health PhD scholarship program. Launched for the first time this year, the program supports PhD candidates who work with NSW local health districts (LHDs), the Ambulance Service of NSW and specialty health networks (SHNs).
Taylor Braund received one of these coveted scholarships for his PhD project titled 'Identifying biomarkers of anxious depression: an integrative neuroscience approach'. Supervised by Associate Professor Anthony Harris, Taylor hopes to identify biomarkers related to treatment prediction of Anxious Depression.
Elizabeth Highton-Williamson was also awarded the scholarship. Supervised by Professor Matthew Kiernan, this scholarship will support research in the neurodegeneration space. Her project, titled 'Behavioural phenotype in neurodegeneration: insights into disease progression', aims to better understand the progression of behavioural symptoms in patients with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), Corticobasal Degeneration (CBD) and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP).
NHMRC Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellowships
A $5.4 million investment in dementia research, one of the Brain and Mind Centre’s major focus areas, was announced by the Federal Government in July. The Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellowships will support a number of our researchers working in healthy ageing and neurodegeneration.
Dr Carol Dobson-Stone, a Senior Research Fellow and geneticist from our ForeFront Dementia and Movement Disorder Laboratory, received a $715,144 Leadership Fellowship to discover genes that are mutated in dementia.
Professor Sharon Naismith, Leonard P. Ullman Chair in Psychology, and team leader of our Forefront Healthy Brain Ageing Program, was awarded a $720,021 Leadership Fellowship to investigate novel assessments and interventions for dementia.
This investment will pave the way for collaboration across the University and beyond, placing the Brain and Mind Centre in a stronger position to deliver real results in the dementia space.
Learn more about the University of Sydney recipients of the Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellowships.