POSITIVE AGEING RESEARCH GROUP

The group uses teaching, training and research as a strategy to translate evidence into best practice. The group aims to influence healthpolicy with an ultimate aim of improving health care for older people.

This group is closely linked to the Health Workforce Australia and Department of Health and Ageing funded University of Adelaide - Resthaven Specialised Care For Older People Teaching and Research Centre [UOA-Resthaven Geriatrics Centre].

Many members of this group are clinicians with the Aged & Extended Care Services based at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Central Adelaide Local Health Network.

This group is also linked to the newly funded NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence- Translation of Nutritional Science to Good Health through A/Prof Visvanathan(Associate Investigator) and Professor Chapman (Chief Investigator).

Academics

Associate Professor Renuka Visvanathan  (Research Group Lead)

Associate Professor Renuka Visvanathan is an academic geriatrician with the Discipline of Medicine, University of Adealaide and is also the Director of the Aged & Extended Care Services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She is also the centre lead for the University of Adelaide- Resthaven Specialised Care For Older People Teaching and Research Centre. She is the Deputy Chair of SA Health's Older People Clinical Network. She has a major research interest in nutritional frailty and is a member of the Malnutrition in the Elderly Advisory Board- Nestle Nutrition Australia. She is also a Board Member of Resthaven Inc., an aged care organization. Her other major areas of research interest include falls prevention (including technological advances) and post-prandial hypotension. Together with Dr Damith Ranasinghe (Auto-ID Lab), they have recently lodged a provisional patent for the AMBIGeM system- a movement sensor alarm system aimed at reducing falls in acute care and residential aged care. In 2012, she was part of an international consensus group and represented the Australia and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine- Protein Intake In The Older Person.

e-mail renuka.visvanathan@adelaide.edu.au

Dr Jeanine Teo

Dr Jeanine Teo is a general practitioner and an academic senior lecturer with the UOA-Resthaven Geriatrics Centre. She has a lead role in the delivery of the teaching and training programs associated with this centre.

e-mail jeanine.teo@adelaide.edu.au

Dr Neha Mahajan

Dr Neha Mahajan is an academic senior lecturer at the UOA-Resthaven Geriatrics Centre. Dr Mahajan is a clinical psychologist and will be working with the research group to develop research strengths in the area of ageing and psychology.

e-mail neha.mahajan@adelaide.edu.au

Professor Ian Chapman

Professor Chapman is a leading authority on the 'Anorexia of Ageing', an academic with the Discipline of Medicine, University of Adelaide and is also a senior endocrinologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He is also a Chief Investigator of the NHMRC Funded Centre of Research Excellence in Translation of Nutritional Science to Good Health.

e-mail ian.chapman@adelaide.edu.au

Associate Professor Simon Bell

Dr Simon Bell is a pharmacist and Associate Professor, Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre, Sansom Institute, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia. He is also Adjunct Professor of Geriatric Pharmacotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland. His research is mainly focused on studying and optimising the outcomes of psychotropic medicine use, particularly among older people. He is an editorial or advisory board member of several international journals including Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety, International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy.

Dr Diana Gentilcore:

Dr Diana Gentilcore is a Senior Lecturer and Coordinator, Nuclear Medicine within the School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia. She has a strong track record in the area of postprandial hypotension, a fall in blood pressure after a meal. Dr Gentilcore has held both a NHMRC Postdoctoral Australian Clinical Research Fellowship and a Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Research Clinical Fellwoship. She has received numerous awards for her research including the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) SA/NT Research Award, the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) South Australian Health Ageing Research Award and the Ahrens Group Award for Outstanding Achievements by a Young Heart Foundation Researcher'.

e-mail Diana.Gentilcore@unisa.edu.au

Dr Natalie Luscombe

Dr Luscombe-Marsh is a Biomedical Research Scientist at the University of Adelaide and is a research fellow with the NHMRC funded Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Nutritional Physiology, Interventions and Outcomes.  Her long standing research interest relates to the mechanisms underlying weight loss induced by high-protein, energy-restricted diets, in healthy and clinical populations, including overweight and obese patients. She is currently leading a project evaluating the benefits of high protein high caloric meals compared to usual meals in under-nourished Meals on Wheels patients. e-mail: natalie.luscombe@adelaide.edu.au

Clinician Researchers- Aged & Extended Care Services, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Dr Solomon Yu (PhD Candidate)

Dr Solomon Yu is a Consultant Geriatrician at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. His PhD study has focused on methods to assess appendicular skeletal muscle mass and lean body mass. Dr Solomon Yu is member of the Specialist Training Committee which overseas specialist medical training in geriatric medicine in Australia. He is also chair of the geriatric liaison working group convened under the auspices of SA Health Older People's Clinical Network.

e-mail: solomon.yu@health.sa.gov.au

Dr Faizal Ibrahim

Dr Faizal Ibrahim is a Consultant Geriatrician at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and is currently undertaking research within residential care facilities evaluating the usefulness of 'talking books' in improving the care of older people with dementia. Dr Ibrahim is the Medical Director of the Dementia and Behavioural Advisory Service, Alzheimer's Association South Australia with regards to further research in residential care facilities.

e-mail: faizal.ibrahim@health.sa.gov.au

Dr Pazhvoor Shibu

Dr Pazhvoor Shibu is a Consultant Geriatrician at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and is interested in quality improvement processes. He is currently overseeing audit processes within the geriatric department and has recently been awarded a small research grant to implement a quality assurance project to improve osteoporosis treatment in patients presenting to hospital with falls.

e-mail: pazhvoor.shibu@health.sa.gov.au

Dr Shailaja Nair (Masters In Clinical Science Candidate)

Dr Shailaja Nair is a Consultant Geriatrician at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She is interested in the effects of post-prandial hypotension on mobility including falls. She is Secretary to the SA Division Australia and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine.

e-mail: shailaja.nair@health.sa.gov.au

Ms Kathy Resili

Ms Resili is a Masters of Nurse Practitioner Scholarship (SA Health) holder and is a Liaison Clinical Nurse with the Aged & Extended Care Services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Collaborating with  nurses from the Emergency Department, she is undertaking a quality improvement project : Assessing the use of 'Talking Books' in improving communication processes with patients from culturally and linguisticall diverse population.

 e-mail: kathy.resili@health.sa.gov.au

Mr Stephen Hoskins

Mr Hoskins is a RCNA scholarship holder and is undertaking a Masters in Gerontology course with the University of Adelaide.  He is the Clinical Service Consultant of the Geriatric Evaluation and Management Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and is currently supporting and mentoring nursing staff in quality improvement projects within the unit.

e-mail: stephen.hoskins@health.sa.gov.au

Ms Denise Hudson

Ms Denise Hudson is a liaison clinical nurse within the Aged & Extended Care Services and is undertaking a research project in relation to osteoporosis management and falls risk in collaboration with Dr Pazhvoor Shibu.

Clinician Researcher- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Dr Anupam Datta Gupta 

Dr Gupta is a Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He is a senior and experienced clinician with a research interest in improving the treatment of spasticity in stroke patients. He is also very interested in improvement of physical function through rehabilitation in oncology patients and older patients.

Staff

University of Adelaide-Resthaven Geriatrics Centre- Centre Coordinator

TBA

Research Fellow 

Dr Cynthia Piantadosi is currently working with Professor Ian Chapman and Associate Professor Renuka Visvanathan on a national multicentre study “The effect of testosterone and a nutritional supplement in under-nourished, older people” (NHMRC grant number 627178). Cynthia is also co-supervising PhD student Elsa Dent.

 e-mail: cynthia.piantadosi@adelaide.edu.au

Specialist Medical Registrars In Geriatric Medicine

Advanced Trainees in Geriatricv Medicine within the Aged & Extended Care Services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital participate in research and quality improvement projects as part of their specialist training. The service also hosts geriatricians from other countries who come to Australia for further experience.

Associate Professor Gopi Gopal (Geriatrician, Christian Medical College Vellore, India)

Dr Khai Tam- 3rd year- elective year- Palliative Care and Aged Mental Health

Dr Shirantha Adikari-2nd year (also Clinical Pharmacology Advanced Trainee)

Dr Chaminda Basnayake- 2nd year (General Medicine Advanced Trainee)

Dr Ruth Teh- 2nd year (to commence Jan 2013)

Postgraduate Students 

Ms Elsa Dent (PhD Candidate- Full Time)

Elsa is an exercise physiology graduate. Her research aims to determine predictors of future health trajectories with a special focus on the nutrition and frailty. 

Ms Clare Mc Nally (PhD Candidate- Part Time)

Clare is interested in oral health and it's relationship to health outcomes. She will be commencing her PhD in the second half of 2012.

Mr Roberto Shinmoto (PhD Candidate- Full Time) 

Roberto is primarily supervised by Dr Damith Ranasinghe and is an engineer working on aspects of development of the movement sensor alarm system to reduce falls in acute or residential aged care.

Ms Donna Preston (Masters Nurse Practitioner- Research Project)

Donna is undertaking research in general practice to evaluate the older people's understanding of good nutrition and what this means to them.

Dr Solomon Yu (PhD Candidate- Part Time)

Dr Shailaja Nair (Masters Candidate- Part Time)

Research Collaborators

Dr Damith Ranasinghe- Director- Auto-ID Lab, Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Science, University of Adelaide

Professor Keith Hill- Head of School of Physiotherapy, Curtin University, Western Australia

Professor Karen Jones- Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Nutritional Physiology, Interventions and Outcomes

Ms Kylie Lange- Biostatistician, Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Nutritional Physiology, Interventions and Outcomes

Professor Jonathan Karnon- Professor of Health Economics, University of Adelaide

Associate Professor Peter Hunter- Director of Aged Care, Clinical Program Director-Rehabilitation, Aged Care and Community Care, Caulfield General Hospital, Alfred Health, Victoria

Professor Ian Cameron, Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sydney University

Associate Professor Vasi Naganathan, Geriatrician, Centre for Education and Research on Ageing, NSW

Dr David Jesudason, Director of Endocrinology, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, South Australia

Dr Sharmalar Rajendran, Department of Cardiology, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, South Australia

Professor John Beltrame, Head -Department of Medicine (TQEH Campus), University of Adelaide, South Australia

Associate Professor (Dr) Anne Wilson, School of Nursing, University of Adelaide