UNSW Ageing Futures Institute 2020 Seed grants awarded

14 April 2020

Following a robust application and review process, eight new Seed Funding Grants have been awarded to UNSW Ageing Futures Institute members.

The pilot projects encompass investigations into a broad array of areas impacting on ageing including gut bacteria, sleep, physical activity and ways to detect cognitive decline, support older people with special needs and identify unmet needs in aged care. All eight projects have great potential to create tangible impact for older people’s wellbeing.

The grants of up to $50,000 aim to support interdisciplinary research addressing the current global challenges and opportunities of an ageing society and facilitate leadership development in ageing research. A key requirement was that the applications should be led by an Early to Mid-Career researcher, with co-lead investigators from different Faculties.

22 applications were reviewed by a cross-Faculty panel of experienced academics with applications assessed on their research quality, potential for benefit and the quality of the research team and their potential to form a lasting collaboration.

The eight funded projects incorporate 24 Institute researchers and 17 other UNSW staff with representation across all Faculties: Art & Design, Arts & Social Sciences, Built Environment, Business, Engineering, Law, Medicine and Science. Importantly, the projects also include at least 20 external collaborators ranging from industry, hospitals and care services, and other national and international research institutes.

We very much look forward to updating you with the outcomes of these projects which will take place across 2020.

2020 Seed Grants:

Photo: Dr Lidan Zheng	The Autism ASSIST Project (Aiding and SuStaining Independence through Smart-home Technology) - Lead by Dr Lidan Zheng (Science), with Dr Jane Hwang (Medicine) and Dr Scott Brown (Art & Design) - This project will develop and evaluate a smart home platform for older people on the autism spectrum, increasing independence in activities of daily living.
Photo: Dr Ruth Peters	The INTERGENERATION INTEGRATION project; supporting the building of intergenerational programs within communities - Led by Dr Ruth Peters (Neuroscience Research Australia, School of Psychology), with Dr Stephanie Ward (Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, Prince of Wales Hospital), Dr Myra Hamilton (Social Policy Research Centre,) and Dr George Kudrna (Centre of Excellence for Population Ageing Research) - The project will provide a novel, evidence-based, user-friendly toolkit to support the development of community-based intergenerational integration programs tailored directly to local Australian communities.
Photo: Dr Yoshiro Okubo	Understanding and improving fall risk in older people with cognitive impairment using augmented reality – Led by Dr Yoshiro Okubo (Neuroscience Research Australia) with Professor Nigel Lovell (Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering) - This study aims to develop and use an augmented reality (AR) system to examine hazard recognition and hazard avoidance during everyday life scenarios in older people with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to reduce the risk of falls.
Photo: Dr Ying Xu	Eye biomarkers for cognitive impairment – Led by Dr Ying Xu (Neuroscience Research Australia) with Professor Lisa Keay (School of Optometry) – By comparing retinopathies to brain structure changes, this project will develop fundus photography as a tool to identify those with greater risk of developing cognitive decline with a view to early intervention and risk reduction.
Photo: Dr Trish Hill	Understanding unmet need in aged care: an interdisciplinary approach – Lead by Dr Trish Hill (Social Policy Research Centre) with Dr Myra Hamilton (Social Policy Research Centre) and Professor Carmelle Peisah (School of Psychiatry) - This project will conduct a critical review of measures of unmet need, informed by an interdisciplinary approach encompassing social science, health, gerontology and human rights perspectives to understand unmet needs and equitable access to quality aged care in Australia.
Photo: Dr Adrienne Withall	Can we modify the gut microbiome through nutritional intervention to beat inflammaging and reduce the risk of frailty in later life? – Lead by Dr Adrienne Withall (School of Public Health & Community Medicine) with Professor Kaarin Anstey (School of Psychology) - This pilot project will examine the interplay between the gut microbiome and inflammatory markers in pre-frail community dwelling older people aged 60-70 years, and help us to better understand how dietary interventions can modulate the microbial composition of the gut and influence physical and cognitive function.
Photo: A/Prof Soufiane Boufous	Cycling, Mobility and Safety in Older People – Lead by Associate Professor Soufiane Boufous (Transport and Road Safety Research) with Professor Rebecca Ivers (School of Public Health & Community Medicine) and Dr Rona McNiven (School of Public Health & Community Medicine) - This project will investigate the cycling experience of older Australians and provide knowledge about aspects that support and promote cycling as a viable strategy to improve mobility and safety in older people, including the built environment and cycling technology.
Photo: Dr Lauriane Jugé	Poor sleep, neurovascular injury and cognitive decline – Lead by Dr Lauriane Jugé (Neuroscience Research Australia) with Dr Ruth Peters (School of Psychology) - Poor sleep quality increases the risk of dementia and cognitive decline. This project will use advanced MRI techniques to investigate the role of nocturnal cardiovascular surges and hypoxia, due to normal ageing and sleep breathing disorders, in the development of small vessel vasculopathy.