On TRACK (Teaching, Research and Community Knowledges)
Promoting brain health with older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Our welcoming and collaborative team of highly experienced researchers is making a difference to the health and well-being of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Dementia has far reaching consequences: for the diagnosed person, their family and friends, the wider community, the service system and economy. With an ageing population and changing socioeconomic and societal patterns impacting the determinants of health, the numbers of people affected by dementia, the costs, disability and carer burdens are predicted to grow exponentially over the next 30 years. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples the picture is more challenging. Although more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are now living well to older ages, many continue to experience poor health outcomes and reduced quality of life, and experience dementia at 3-5 times the rate of other populations with a younger age of onset.
Our vision is the improved health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at risk of developing or living with dementia, together with their carers, families and communities.
The OnTRACK Centre for Research Excellence (CRE) brings together researchers and communities in a safe, collaborative space to generate research, knowledges, tools, workforce innovation and outcomes targeting the multi-layered challenges of dementia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
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About us
The OnTRACK CRE is dedicated to delivering a comprehensive program of dementia research and translation leading to evidence-based, community informed, culturally safe care and improved health and well-being outcomes.
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Research staff
OnTRACK is under the supervision of 10 Chief Investigators and 9 Associate Investigators. The CRE brings together a large network of researchers and students working in Indigenous dementia research in academic institutions across Australia and internationally.
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Indigenous Reference Group
The Indigenous Reference Group (IRG) is made up of Indigenous community members and experienced researchers. It upholds the principle of co-design that is integral to the CRE by ensuring that the values, practices and needs of Indigenous people, their families and communities are represented and addressed.
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Institutional Affiliations
The OnTRACK Centre for Research Excellence (CRE) has a collaborative team, working across many organisations and geographic areas.
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Community Resources
Resources about dementia and cognitive impairment for community.
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Clinical Resources
Resources about dementia and cognitive impairment for researchers, educators and health professionals working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care.
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Policy Resources
Resources designed to address and bridge policy gaps in order to improve translational research.
Our CRE team of 10 Chief Investigators and 9 Associate Investigators come from leading universities and centres across Australia. With varied backgrounds and significant expertise in many health and related fields, we are in an ideal position to support and nurture post-graduate candidates from a range of backgrounds and in a diverse range of areas of Indigenous Health including:
o Brain Health and health promotion – dementia literacy and health communication
o Exploring culturally appropriate approaches to health communication
o Dementia risk factor reduction, prevention and diagnosis
o Developing a framework for biomarker and genomic research in Indigenous dementia
o Exploring the dementia journey with people who have multiple conditions
o Health service and workforce future planning to support improved brain health and care for people with dementia or at risk of dementia
o End of Life care and Advance Care Planning with older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
Chief Investigators
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A/Prof Dina LoGiudice
Dina is a highly experienced Clinician Researcher specialising in dementia and geriatrics. She has worked collaboratively in a research program with First Nations peoples for more than 15 years. She is a visiting doctor at Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (since 2010) & co-Lead investigator with Prof Dawn Bessarab OnTRACK and Good Spirit Good Life CRE (also with Dr Kate Smith).
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Professor Dawn Bessarab
An Aboriginal woman of Bard (West Kimberley) and Yjindjarbandi (Pilbara) descent, Dawn is a highly regarded and experienced senior social worker and researcher. She has particular interest in applying Indigenous research and qualitative methodologies. Dawn developed the framework on yarning as an Indigenous conversation which is now widely applied across the Australian and international communities. Co-lead investigator with A/Prof LoGiudice on OnTRACK and Good Spirit Good Life CRE.
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Dr Kate Smith
Kate is a co-lead investigator on Good Spirit Good Life CRE. She is Research Lead/Lecturer in the Centre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health (CAMDH), a National Advisory Group for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care member, and an active research leader; policy and service advocate focusing on older First Nations peoples health and wellbeing.
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A/Prof Luke Burchill
Australia’s first Aboriginal cardiologist whose clinical leadership and research in the field of adult congenital heart disease (CHD) are recognised internationally. He is a proud member of the Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung Nations.
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Dr Kylie Radford
Dr Kylie Radford is a clinical neuropsychologist and Senior Research Scientist leading the Aboriginal Health and Ageing Program at NeuRA. This includes the Koori Growing Old Well Study (KGOWS), a NSW epidemiological study investigating ageing and dementia in urban and regional Aboriginal communities, and a range of translational projects to support ageing well.
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Dr Adrienne Withall
Dr Withall is a Dharawal-Yuin woman, holding a combined research and teaching role in the School of Population Health, where she is Leader of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Theme. She is an expert on ageing and mental health and her research focuses on promoting wellbeing, care and cognitive health for at-risk populations. She leads a sub-stream on Ageing at the Margins in the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute.
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Ms Roslyn Malay
Roslyn Malay is a Yurriyangem Taam Kija woman from the East Kimberley region of Western Australia with expert knowledge on the complex social, environment and cultural issues that affect and influence the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people in the Kimberley. Since 2012, she has been Project Officer at UWA Centre for Health and Ageing (WACHA) and instrumental in improving the lives and health of people in her Communities.
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Professor Leon Flicker
Professor Leon Flicker’s research within UWA’s Medical School focuses on the major health issues of older people, exploring general heath, falls, depression and cognitive impairment. He has been part of the team working with older First Nations people for more than fifteen years.
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Professor Edward Strivens
Prof Eddy Strivens is a practising clinician and national leader in geriatric medicine and dementia, working in Far North Queensland for over 20 years. His research interests are in Culturally Appropriate Assessment, Healthy Ageing, Integrated Care and Models of Service Delivery. He has worked extensively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities in FNQ, linking research with clinical outcomes in these communities.
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A/Prof Jeromey Temple
Jeromey is Associate Professor of Demography at CEPAR, and head of the Demography and Ageing Unit at the University of Melbourne (Population and Global Health). He is one of Australia’s few economic demographers and leads the Australian National Transfer Accounts (NTA) project.
Associate Investigators
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Professor Sandra Thompson
Director WA Center for Rural Health, Professor of Rural Health, University of Western Australia.
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Warkwick Padgham
Associate Director (Acting) Murrup Barak, Melbourne Institute for Indigenous Development, University of Melbourne.
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A/Prof Robyn Woodward-Kron
Director of Research and Research Training, Dept of Medical Education, University of Melbourne.
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Dr Lynette Goldberg
Speech Pathologist, Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania.
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Associate Professor Rosie Watson
Joint Laboratory Head, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medcial Research (WEHI), and clinician/researcher Royal Melbourne Hospital.
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Dr Craig Sinclair
Post-doctoral Fellow, University of NSW & adjunct Senior Research Fellow, UWA.
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Dr Shayne Bellingham
Senior Project and Research Manager, Leaders in Indigenous Medical Education (LIME) Network, University of Melbourne.
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Dr Sean Taylor
Executive Director Aboriginal Health Practitioner, Top End Health Service. Adjunct Senior Clinical Research Fellow, James Cook Unviersity.
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Associate Professor Jaqui Hughes
Nephrologist Royal Darwin Hospital & early career Research Fellow at Menzies School of Health Research.
Our welcoming and collaborative team of highly experienced researchers is making a difference to the health and well-being of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Through the OnTRACK Centre for Research Excellence we have funding and capacity to support Indigenous graduate students or staff to complete higher degree research – starting in 2024. See flyer below or click here for more information!
We would love to hear from you!
Contact us if:
- You want to make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and their communities
- You’re planning a PhD (or Masters) or have an interest in the OnTRACK research program
- You want to be part of a strong, welcoming and collaborative team with great expertise
We’re open to engaging with any First Nations people who may have a background in health as well as researchers from anywhere in Australia.
If you have any queries, or would like to get in touch, please contact our project coordinator:
Penny O'Brien
0413371403
Find us on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnTRACKCRE
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ontrackdementia/