Dr Adam Bentvelzen | UNSW Research

Keywords

Fields of Research (FoR)

Clinical neuropsychology, Memory and attention, Psychology of ageing, Cognitive neuroscience, Geriatrics and gerontology

SEO tags

Neurodegenerative Disorders Related to Ageing

Health Related to Ageing

Ageing and Older People

Biography

Adam Bentvelzen is a Senior Research Associate and Clinical Neuropsychologist currently at the Vascular Contributions to Dementia Centre of Research Excellence (VCD-CRE), Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA). He has worked at CHeBA since 2017 and his current research under the supervision of Scientia Professor Perminder Sachdev is focused on the international harmonisation of neuropsychological assessment and diagnostic criteria for vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). Dr Bentvelzen is also collaborating on other VCD-CRE projects including the development of a research clinic for monogenic causes of VCID (AusCADASIL), and validating the cognitive and biomarker profiles of “pure” cerebrovascular disease using neuropathologically-defined criteria. He is also investigating the validity of computerised neuropsychological methods, and trains and endorses UNSW research staff in paper-and-pencil and computerised neuropsychological assessment methods.

Adam’s other research interests have included developing novel evidence-based resources to help clinicians detect dementia early and accurately, including the ADNeT Neuropsychological Norming Tool (ANNT), an online normative data calculator for a telephone cognitive screening tool (TICS-M), and the Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite (DOMS), a collection of gold standard instruments for the assessment of persons with dementia.

Dr Bentvelzen additionally holds a position as a Clinical Neuropsychologist at MQ Health Neuropsychology, Macquarie University Hospital Clinic and has extensive clinical experience in the diagnosis and management of middle-aged to older adults with ageing-related neurocognitive disorders.

Meet Our Researcher
Click here to read Dr Adam Bentvelzen's ‘Meet Our Researcher’ interview

My Grants

UNSW School of Clinical Medicine Travel Bursary (2024) $563.75

My Qualifications

Professional qualifications

Clinical Neuropsychologist
Member of the Australian Psychological Society (MAPS)
Fellow of the College of Clinical Neuropsychologists (FCCN)
Psychology Board of Australia (PBA) approved supervisor

Academic qualifications

PhD/Master of Clinical Neuropsychology, Macquarie University, 2017
B Psychology (Honours I), University of Sydney, 2007
B Communication (Writing), University of Western Sydney, 2001

My Awards

Macquarie University Postgraduate Research Fund (PGRF) award with DVC Recommendation (2012) $550
University Medal for best student in Psychology Honours, University of Sydney (2006)
Lithgow No VII Scholarship for best student in Senior Psychology, University of Sydney (2006) $1000

My Research Activities

Improving standards and harmonisation of neuropsychological assessment of vascular cognitive impairment and dementia

Adam's current research is focused on the international harmonisation of neuropsychological assessment and diagnostic criteria for vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). This has included completing two international Delphi studies to achieve consensus on updated VASCOG-2 criteria and a neuropsychological battery that allow flexibility of methods (i.e., paper-and-pencil versus computerised). This work will improve the reliability and validity of research and clinical practice into VCID, promoting further insights and development of clinical interventions to improve outcomes in those with VCID.

Develop novel evidence-based resources to help clinicians detect dementia early and accurately

This includes the ADNeT Neuropsychological Norming Tool (ANNT), an online normative data calculator for a telephone cognitive screening tool (TICS-M), and the Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite (DOMS), a collection of gold standard instruments for the assessment of persons with dementia.

Neuropsychological Assessment of Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Reserve

Adam has written a chapter on cognitive ageing with fellow CHeBA researchers for a neuropsychology textbook. This chapter is a comprehensive guide based on the latest quality research aimed to help neuropsychologists understand the cognitive changes that occur with healthy ageing, the protective effects of cognitive reserve, and how best to distinguish age-related changes from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

Telephone-based cognitive screening for older adults

Adam previously worked with the Memory and Ageing Study (MAS) study at CHeBA from 2017 to 2020 as a Research Assistant. He has continued involvement with MAS researching the efficacy of a phone-based cognitive screening instrument used by MAS, the Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status-Modified (TICS-M), for which he has published normative and validation data.

Best practice for measurement of changes related to dementia

Prior to joining MAS, Adam worked at the Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration (DCRC) where he helped Prof Henry Brodaty and colleagues produce the Dementia Outcomes Measurement Suite (DOMS), a set of recommended measures aimed at improving the standard, uniformity and accessibility of dementia assessment measures used by clinicians and researchers: http://dementiakt.com.au/doms/

Improving nonverbal memory tools for the assessment of temporal lobe epilepsy

Adam’s research interests revolve around clinical application, particularly to help Clinical Neuropsychologists detect memory disorders early and accurately in persons with conditions such as temporal lobe epilepsy, stroke, and neurodegenerative conditions. In this vein, his PhD thesis centred around improving the assessment of memory disorders and risk of memory decline in patients with right medial temporal lobe epilepsy that require surgery for the relief of medically intractable seizures.

My Research Supervision

Supervision keywords

Areas of supervision

I am available to supervise students in 2025 (Honours, ILP or Masters only, not PhD).

Currently supervising

I am currently supervising 3 Master of Clinical Neuropsychology students at Macquarie University, and providing assistance as needed to other researchers on projects involving their students.

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