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Our team, shaping how Australia ages.
Our multidisciplinary team of accomplished academic and clinical researchers, policy experts, and professional services staff come from a range of backgrounds. They include public health specialists, nurses, physiotherapists, exercise physiologists, psychologists, social workers, sociologists, anthropologists, statisticians and health economists.
Our team
Everyone at NARI.
Professor Alison Hutchinson is the Chair in Nursing at Barwon Health, a Professor in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Deakin University, and…
Director, NARI Board Chair of the Finance, Audit & Risk Management Committee Andrew Simpson is a CFO, Non-Executive Director, Chair, Audit and Risk Committee…
Doctor · BSc (Science Scholar) (Hons); DPsych (Clin Neuro)
Anita Goh
Director Social Gerontology and Principal Research Fellow
Associate Professor Anita Goh (MAPS, FCCN) is a clinician researcher, with expertise in mental health, cognition, ageing, and dementia. Anita is a clinical neuropsychologist…
Associate Professor Said is the inaugural Associate Professor Physiotherapy, Western Health and The University of Melbourne, and a program director with the Australian Institute…
Associate Professor · B App Sc (Physio), M Health St, PhD, Grad Cert Public Policy
Frances Batchelor
Director of Clinical Gerontology, Research Lead Melbourne Ageing Research Collaboration
Associate Professor Frances Batchelor is a Senior Principal Research Fellow and Director of the Clinical Gerontology Division. She is also the Research Lead for…
Josefine Antoniades is an Associate Professor in Health Communication at la Trobe University and an Honorary Research Fellow at NARI. She was awarded her…
Kirsten Moore is a social gerontologist and Honorary Fellow at NARI. She returned to NARI in 2020 after six years working at the Marie…
Associate Professor · B.Sc (Hons), Grad Dip (Transcultural Mental Health), PhD
Lucio Naccarella
Honorary Fellow
A/Prof Lucio Naccarella is a leading health systems researcher, evaluator and implementation science educator, with interests in systems change, health system literacy, aged care…
Associate Professor Paul Yates is a geriatrician with Austin Health, Deputy Director of Aged Care Research and Medical Lead for the Residential InReach Program.…
Associate Professor · PhD, FRANZCP, GradCert POA, MPsych, AFRACMA, MBBS, BMedSc
Samantha Loi
Honorary Fellow
Associate Professor Samantha Loi is an old age psychiatrist and neuropsychiatrist working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuropsychiatry Centre and Department of Psychiatry at…
Caitlin is a Research Assistant within the Aged Care Division at NARI. She has a background in public health and is currently working on…
Connie is a Bilingual Research Assistant in NARI’s Aged Care Division. She is a part of the Befriending with GENIE project, an intervention to…
Danyang is a Research Officer working on the IMPART (IMproving PAlliative care in Residential aged care using Telehealth) project, overseeing the management of clinical…
Dr Alyson Sweeney is a Registered Nurse who has specialised in the management of incontinence and care for people with urinary catheters. Her ProfDoc…
Senior Research Policy and Practice Fellow Alyssa is a Senior Research Policy and Practice Fellow at NARI with an extensive background in project management…
Andrew is a Research Fellow in the Aged Care Division at NARI. He currently works on the PITCH First Nations project and a number…
Dr Anna Lane is a Research Fellow in the Social Gerontology Division at NARI and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne. She…
Dr Bronwyn Dreher is a Research Fellow in the Clinical Gerontology Division at NARI, working on the ENJOY projects. She is a registered Physiotherapist,…
Dr Celene Yap is a Research Fellow at Clinical Gerontology division, specialising in the emergency care for older people. Her work focuses on improving…
Christa is a Research Fellow at the National Ageing Research Institute, working on a variety of projects all centred around quality of care for…
BSc (Biomed Sci), B App Sc (Human Movement, Hons), DC (USA), ND (USA), PhD (Human Nutrition), Grad Cert Research & Innovation Management David is…
Research Fellow Dr Ellen Gaffy is a Research Fellow at the National Ageing Research Institute and a PhD graduate from La Trobe University. At…
Dr Jeew Hettiarachchi is a Research Fellow in the Social Gerontology Division at NARI. She is an Accredited Practising Dietitian with research expertise in…
Dr Katrin Gerber is a NARI Honorary Fellow. She is an end-of-life researcher with a PhD in Psychology from the University of Melbourne. Since…
Dr Lidia Engel is an Honorary Fellow at NARI and a Senior Research Fellow at Monash University. She currently holds a Dementia Australia Post-Doctoral…
Dr Monica Trujillo is a Director of the NARI Board. She is Telstra Health’s Chief Health and Risk Officer, combining clinical expertise with digital…
Dr. Paulene Mackell is employed as a casual Senior Research Fellow within the Clinical Gerontology division. She is an experienced social worker with a…
Dr Suzanne Byers is a Senior Research Policy and Practice Fellow with the Commercialisation and Consultancy team at NARI. She brings extensive experience in…
Dr Tiina Vaittinen is a generalist social scientist specialising in care ethics and global political economies of care based in Tampere University, Finland. She…
Dr Tofunmi Aworinde is a Research Fellow at NARI. Tofunmi has experience in dementia care research, shared decision-making, intervention development and evaluation. He currently…
Dr Upasana Baruah is a Research Fellow at NARI in the Division of Social Gerontology. She is a social work and mental health professional…
Dr Wei-Hsuan (Michelle) Chiu is a Research Fellow in the Aged Care and Social Gerontology Division at the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI). Her…
Zhichao is a research fellow at NARI and Centre for Health Services Research, University of Queensland. As a health economist, his research focuses on…
· MNS, B App Sci (Adv Nurs), Grad Cert Mid, Grad Cert Prom Cont., RN, FRCNA
Elizabeth Watt
Senior Research Fellow
Liz is a Senior Research Fellow within the Aged Care Division of NARI. Liz is a Registered Nurse with over 30-years of experience as…
Professor Margaret Gardner was the 9th and first woman President and Vice-Chancellor of Monash University from 1 September 2014 until 4 August 2023. Prior…
Janice Besch is a Director of the NARI Board. Ms Besch is currently the Head of the Grants Development Team at Hunter Medical Research…
Jin Li is a Research Assistant at NARI, working on the Befriending with GENIE project to support people living with dementia and their family…
Kanishka is a Projects and Communications Officer working with NARI’s Commercialisation and Consultancy team. He has a background in medical research and designing, implementing…
Kathryn Squires is a researcher at the National Ageing Research Institute and a PhD candidate in the School of Health and Social Development at…
Kayla Lock is a Research Officer within the Social Gerontology division at NARI interested in program evaluation, including realist evaluation and implementation science. Kayla…
Kylie Cochrane brings to NARI more than 30 years of communications, engagement, media and marketing experience including 15 years on not for profit and…
Liam (pronouns he/him) is a Research Assistant working on the 3C Respite Program project with the Clinical Gerontology Division and also assists with coordination…
Mairead is a Research Officer at NARI working on the ENJOY Seniors Exercise Parks Projects. She is an APA Sport and Exercise Physiotherapist with…
Research Policy and Practice FellowResearch Administration Officer Marcia has a background in psychology and social science and is a Research Practice and Policy Fellow…
Nina Bowes is a senior strategy and innovation leader specialising in enterprise strategy, governance, research and reform. She has over a decade of experience…
Nyssa Clarke is a Research Assistant working on the MINDSET project at NARI. Nyssa has experience in public health research, primarily in the areas…
Dr Patricia Edgar has had a long career at the forefront of media for children nationally and internationally, winning multiple awards for her achievements…
Pinyi is a Research Assistant at NARI. She completed a Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne, majoring in Human Structure and Function.…
Pooi Kheng, also known as PK, is a Bilingual Research Assistant in NARI's Aged Care Division. She contributes to the MRFF-funded Befriending with GENIE…
Professor Briony Dow is the former Director of the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) and Honorary Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and…
Professor Cooper collaborates with NARI on a number of studies, including PITCH, No More Shame and Moving Pictures India. She leads the Queen Mary…
Colleen Doyle is an Honorary Fellow at NARI and Honorary Professor in Psychological Science at Swinburne University. Colleen has received a career total of…
Professor · BMedSci, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, Med FRACP, Honorary FRACMA
Geoff McColl
Chair, NARI Board Professor Geoff McColl is an Emeritus Professor and previous Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland…
Doctor · RN, GCert Cont Prom, GCertHE, MNurs-Res, PhD
Joan Ostaszkiewicz
Aged Care Research Program Director
Joan Ostaszkiewicz is a Program Manager in the Clinical Gerontology Division at the National Ageing Research Institute, Honorary Associate Professor in the Faculty of…
Lee-Fay Low is an Honorary Fellow at NARI and Professor in Ageing and Health at the University of Sydney. She is a psychologist who…
Len Gray is a senior researcher and Professor in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Queensland. He is trained and has extensive experience in…
Leon Flicker is the inaugural Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Western Australia since 1998 and Executive Director of the Western Australian…
Professor Levinger is a Senior Principal Researcher (Accredited Exercise Physiologist) at NARI. She also holds Honorary positions at the Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living…
Professor Sigrid Nakrem is a Registered Nurse and an academic at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Public Health and Nursing.…
Professor Tracy Comans is the Director of the National Ageing Research Institute, a position she leverages to influence aged care policy and quality on…
Professor Tuan Anh Nguyen is a Senior Principal Research Fellow at NARI and an Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at Trinity College…
I have a background in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences, and prior experience working in clinical trials. As part of my role with NARI, I…
Stephanie is a Project and Communications Officer on the Consultancy and Commercialisation team at NARI. Stephanie has a background in communications and community development…
Stephen Thomas has been a Director of the NARI Board since late 2023. He brings an extensive range of experience to the board, having…
Sue Leitch is a company director and visual artist. She is a retired pharmacist with a background in community and consultant pharmacy, and health…
Sue Williams is a Policy and Practice Fellow (Physiotherapist) with over 30 years of clinical practice and research experience working with older people across…
Sunny Huang is a Bilingual Research Assistant at NARI, working on collecting data and completing validated measures with people living with dementia and their…
Zara is a Research Assistant in the Division of Social Gerontology, working on the e-DiVA Project at NARI. She is currently a final year…
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