Scientia Professor Kaarin Anstey has been awarded the Excellence in Medical Biological Sciences prize in the NSW Premier’s Prizes for Science and Engineering.
A world-leading dementia researcher, Prof Anstey is a NeuRA Senior Principal Research Scientist and conjoint Professor of Psychology at UNSW and Director of the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute.
“This award is a great honour, and it means a huge amount that my and my team’s work in cognitive ageing and dementia is recognized,” Prof Anstey said.
“I am also incredibly indebted to my wonderful team at UNSW and NeuRA, and collaborators nationally and internationally.
“Research is a slow process and it takes many years for ideas to be funded, researched and then transformed into impactful outcomes that improve society. Recognition like this is important validation for the hard work involved. It is incredibly valuable and meaningful – it raises the profile of our work, not just mine but the whole scientific community. It is also wonderful for me to see my field in dementia being recognised at this level.”
Professor Anstey conducts research in the fields of dementia epidemiology, dementia risk reduction, and older driver safety. She has developed evidence-based, freely available online dementia risk assessments that are used in clinical practice and research, including the ANU-ADRI and the CogDrisk. She has also led several dementia risk reduction trials using digital health approaches, and contributed to guidelines on dementia risk reduction. Prof Anstey also leads a program of app-based research on cognitive resilience and subjective cognitive decline, and a program of work into older driver safety that focusses on the link between cognitive and sensory ageing and driving. She is also involved in international dementia and brain health research.
NeuRA CEO and Institute Director, Professor Matthew Kiernan AM, congratulated Prof Anstey on her award noting it recognised her long-standing dedication to understanding how people can age better and reduce their likelihood of developing dementia.
“Her research in cognitive ageing has identified new risk factors for dementia and been central to the development of global guidelines for combatting the worrying rise in new cases,” Prof Kiernan said.
“As part of News Corp’s recent Think Again campaign, Kaarin’s CogDrisk tool for measuring your dementia profile was accessed by more than 200,000 people – a remarkable example of research translating into better and more informed outcomes for the community.
“An award like this confirms Kaarin’s stature in her field and is applauded by all of her colleagues at NeuRA.”
The Awards were presented at Government House, with Prof Anstey receiving her award from the Honourable Anoulack Chanthivong MP, Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology.
