Healthy Brain Ageing Program, University of Sydney

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Healthy Brain Ageing Program, University of Sydney The Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic is open to individuals aged 50-90 years who have noticed new changes in cognition and/or mood.

For more information, please contact our clinic coordinator on (02) 9114 4002 or email [email protected]. The Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic works with older adults to assess, prevent, and treat cognitive decline, dementia, and mood disorders, with the aim of supporting brain health and enhancing quality of life. All services are offered free of charge, as part of our ongoing research studies. Our Approach
At the heart of our approach is early detection and prevention. By identifying risk factors and the early signs of cognitive decline, we aim to implement strategies that may slow the progression of neurodegenerative conditions. While there are no known cures for many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimerโ€™s disease, research has highlighted several risk factors for cognitive decline and depression in later life, including:

Vascular risks: high blood pressure, heart disease, and high cholesterol
Lifestyle factors: diet, exercise, and cognitive activity
Changes in mood or sleep
Our goal is to determine whether addressing these risk factors can reduce cognitive decline, depression, and the brain changes associated with dementia. Our multidisciplinary team consists of geriatricians, neurologists, neuropsychologists, nurses, researchers, and students. Our research informs our practice, and we view our patients and their families as our research partners. We invite you to join us in finding effective strategies to prevent cognitive decline and enhance the wellbeing and quality of life for both individuals living with cognitive impairment, as well as their families and carers. Eligibility
Our clinic is open to individuals aged 50-90 years who have noticed new changes in cognition and/or mood. To make an appointment, we request that your GP complete a referral form and send it to [email protected]. Our services
Our Specialists provide a thorough assessment
If you have concerns about your memory and/or mood, the Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic can provide you with a comprehensive assessment of your cognition. Over three hours, you will be seen by a neurologist or geriatrician, a research psychologist, and a clinical neuropsychologist. Depending on your specific needs, our specialists may also recommend that you have an MRI scan, blood tests, or complete a sleep study through the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research. We also offer wrist-worn devices that you can take home to track your sleep and monitor your blood oxygen levels during sleep, helping to screen for sleep apnea. Comprehensive Care
Within two to three weeks of your assessment, our neuropsychologist will send a detailed report to your referring physician to assist with your ongoing care. We will follow up with you in 18-24 months to monitor any changes in your thinking skills, memory, and mood, with additional follow-ups every two years for up to four visits in total. As part of our clinical and public health services research, all services are provided at no cost to you.

18/09/2026

Are you a woman aged 40 to 55 going through menopause, or within 2 years of your final period? ๐ŸŒฟ
The Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic (University of Sydney) is running the MOSAIC Study, looking at how menopause affects memory, sleep, mood, work and brain health.
Taking part means:
โœ” Memory and attention tests
โœ” Blood sample
โœ” Mood, sleep and symptom questionnaires
โœ” Optional sleep tracking with a wearable device
โœ” Optional MRI scan
You'll get personalised feedback on some assessments, plus you'll be helping advance research into women's health.
๐Ÿ‘‰ Take the prescreening survey here:
https://redcap.sydney.edu.au/surveys/?s=CDY49KFFRCTW74L9
๐Ÿ“ 100 Mallett St, Camperdown NSW 2050
๐Ÿ“ง [email protected]

Join us and help make a difference for women's brain health!

The Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic is open to individuals aged 50-90 years who have noticed new changes in cognition and/or mood.

For more information, please contact our clinic coordinator on (02) 9114 4002 or email [email protected].

๐Ÿ‘‹ย Meet the HBA Team ๐Ÿ‘‹ย Another round of Meet the HBA Team is here! This week weโ€™re introducing the lovely Dr. Lisa Shi, B...
03/09/2026

๐Ÿ‘‹ย Meet the HBA Team ๐Ÿ‘‹
ย 
Another round of Meet the HBA Team is here! This week weโ€™re introducing the lovely Dr. Lisa Shi, Bioinformatics Postdoctoral Researcher at the Healthy Brain Ageing team ๐Ÿ’™
ย 
๐Ÿง  Lisa specialises in multimodal biomarker discovery and machine learning for neurodegenerative diseases. Alongside her research, she coordinates BMC AD, a multidisciplinary team of 25+ researchers, clinicians and engineers.
ย 
๐ŸŽ“ She joined the team in 2024, straight after completing her PhD in multiple sclerosis, and has been driving forward biomarker research ever since.
ย 
๐Ÿ‘‰ Swipe through to hear from Lisa on what she loves about the day-to-day work with HBA, what drew her to working in research and what keeps her passionate about this job!

๐ŸŽ‰ Huge congratulations to Rachael Yu ๐ŸŽ‰ย Rachael has officially submitted her PhD thesis: โ€œNeuroglial and systemic inflamm...
01/09/2026

๐ŸŽ‰ Huge congratulations to Rachael Yu ๐ŸŽ‰
ย 
Rachael has officially submitted her PhD thesis: โ€œNeuroglial and systemic inflammation across the Alzheimerโ€™s Disease continuum: Evidence from biofluid biomarkersโ€!
ย 
This milestone marks the culmination of years of dedication and hard work, and we couldnโ€™t be prouder of everything Rachael has achieved along the way ๐Ÿ’™
ย 
The HBA team is so proud of you and canโ€™t wait to see whatโ€™s next! ๐ŸŽ“โœจ

๐Ÿ‘‹ Meet the Team behind the Healthy Brain Ageing Program ๐Ÿ‘‹Ever wondered who's behind the work at the Healthy Brain Ageing...
21/08/2026

๐Ÿ‘‹ Meet the Team behind the Healthy Brain Ageing Program ๐Ÿ‘‹

Ever wondered who's behind the work at the Healthy Brain Ageing team? We're so excited to launch our new Meet the HBA Team series, giving you a glimpse of the incredible people who make up this team, one person at a time! โœจ

First up is Dr. Alessandra Lee, known to the team as Ally ๐Ÿ’™, Clinical Neuropsychologist at the Healthy Brain Ageing team.

๐Ÿง  Ally is a Clinical Neuropsychologist at the Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic, where she assesses memory and thinking skills in people experiencing cognitive concerns. She also works across several research trials focused on healthy brain ageing and dementia prevention.

๐ŸŽ“ She's been with the team since 2018, when she joined as an Honours student, and has loved staying with the same team throughout her Master's and PhD, growing from student to clinician and researcher.

๐Ÿ“– Her PhD focused on bridging the gap between research and practice, investigating how cognitive interventions for people with mild cognitive impairment can be implemented in real-world clinical and community settings to improve access to care.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Swipe through to hear from Ally on what she loves about the day to day work with HBA, what drew her to working in research and what keeps her passionate about this job!

School of Psychology, University of Sydney
Brain and Mind Centre
Science, University of Sydney
University of Sydney

What a lovely afternoon at the Waverton Hub last week! ๐Ÿ™Œ Dr Zoe Menczel Schrire and Dr Shawn Kong presented on Healthy B...
16/08/2026

What a lovely afternoon at the Waverton Hub last week! ๐Ÿ™Œ

Dr Zoe Menczel Schrire and Dr Shawn Kong presented on Healthy Brain Ageing and shared simple strategies for keeping the healthy, plus an overview of our Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic. ๐Ÿง 

Zoe also introduced our NeuroMusic trial with the Sydney of Music, looking at how can help in older adults. ๐ŸŽผ ๐ŸŽค

It's always a privilege to connect with the community and share the work we do. Thank you to Waverton Hub for having us!

Know someone aged 60 to 90 who's noticed memory changes? NeuroMusic offers group keyboard, singing, or film discussion sessions over 3 months at the Conservatorium. Click the link below to find out more.

https://lnkd.in/gRMHxMEv

๐ŸŽ‰ Congratulations to Professor Sharon Naismith AM ๐ŸŽ‰ We're thrilled to celebrate Director of our Healthy Brain Ageing Pro...
29/07/2026

๐ŸŽ‰ Congratulations to Professor Sharon Naismith AM ๐ŸŽ‰

We're thrilled to celebrate Director of our Healthy Brain Ageing Program, Professor Sharon Naismith, AM, who has been awarded a prestigious NHMRC Leadership Fellowship for TRANSEND (TRanslational AdvaNceS in mEchaNisms, trials, and services for Dementia) to lead a transformative program of research aimed at reducing the impact of dementia through prevention, earlier intervention, and improved care.

Dementia is one of the world's leading causes of disability, affecting cognition, behaviour and daily functioning for millions of people. Through the TRANSEND program, Professor Naismith will investigate how sleep can be harnessed as a modifiable risk factor for dementia, deliver clinical trials to identify interventions that can slow cognitive decline, and transform memory clinic services to improve diagnosis, care and equitable access, particularly for people living in regional and rural Australia.

The Fellowship builds on Professor Naismith's internationally recognised leadership of major national initiatives, including the NHMRC SIESTA Synergy program, extensive clinical trial networks, and the Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT) Memory Clinics initiative.

By integrating cutting-edge science, innovative models of care and large-scale implementation, the program aims to advance dementia prevention, strengthen evidence for secondary prevention, and deliver meaningful improvements in outcomes for people living with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Leveraging existing NHMRC and MRFF investments, world-class infrastructure and national and international collaborations, this Fellowship will help drive the next generation of dementia research and translation into clinical practice.

This Fellowship is a testament to Professor Naismith's outstanding leadership and vision, and we congratulate her on this well-deserved achievement.

Huge congratulations to our HBA team presenting their research at AAIC 2026 in London! ๐Ÿง Swipe through to see the posters...
17/07/2026

Huge congratulations to our HBA team presenting their research at AAIC 2026 in London! ๐Ÿง 

Swipe through to see the posters our researchers shared with the global Alzheimerโ€™s research community this week:

๐Ÿ”น Dr Aaron Lam shared findings linking greater hypoxemia during REM sleep to reduced basal forebrain volume in older adults who are ptau217 positive

๐Ÿ”น Dr Lisa Shi presented on multimodal approaches to differentiating memory impairment in cognitively heterogeneous older adults at risk of dementia

๐Ÿ”น Dr Nicole Espinosa Zarlenga presented on a blood brain memory pathway, showing how the CA1 region mediates the relationship between plasma NfL, pTau217 and memory in older adults at risk for Alzheimerโ€™s

๐Ÿ”น Rachel (PhD Candidate) presented two posters on neuroinflammation, including a systematic review and meta-analysis on markers sTREM2 and YKL-40 in Alzheimerโ€™s pathology, and a look at how neuroinflammation changes across the Alzheimerโ€™s continuum

So proud of the work our team is contributing to Alzheimerโ€™s research on the world stage ๐Ÿ‘

Congratulations to Dr Aaron Lam from our Healthy Brain Ageing team, who presented at AAIC 2026 on behalf of Professor Sh...
14/07/2026

Congratulations to Dr Aaron Lam from our Healthy Brain Ageing team, who presented at AAIC 2026 on behalf of Professor Sharon Naismith.
His talk, "Sleep Spindle Integrity in Mild Cognitive Impairment," explored how sleep spindles relate to hippocampal memory processes. The findings showed that in people with MCI, shorter spindle duration was linked to poorer overnight memory consolidation. Decreased central spindle density was also associated with poorer verbal memory, adding predictive value beyond what structural imaging alone can offer.
Great work highlighting the role of sleep physiology in early cognitive decline. ๐Ÿง ๐Ÿ’ค

Are you a woman aged 40 to 55 going through menopause, or within 2 years of your final period? ๐ŸŒฟThe Healthy Brain Ageing...
13/07/2026

Are you a woman aged 40 to 55 going through menopause, or within 2 years of your final period? ๐ŸŒฟ

The Healthy Brain Ageing Clinic (University of Sydney) is running the MOSAIC Study, looking at how menopause affects memory, sleep, mood, work and brain health.

Taking part means:
โœ” Memory and attention tests
โœ” Blood sample
โœ” Mood, sleep and symptom questionnaires
โœ” Optional sleep tracking with a wearable device
โœ” Optional MRI scan

You'll get personalised feedback on some assessments, plus you'll be helping advance research into women's health.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Take the prescreening survey here:

https://redcap.sydney.edu.au/surveys/?s=CDY49KFFRCTW74L9

๐Ÿ“ 100 Mallett St, Camperdown NSW 2050
๐Ÿ“ง [email protected]

Join us and help make a difference for women's brain health! ๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿงก๐Ÿ’š

Address

Level 2, Building G, Brain And Mind Centre, 100 Mallett Street Camperdown
Sydney, NSW
2050

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