People
Meet the team at G-TRAC.
We are committed to improving health and aged care delivery and providing graduating doctors with the necessary geriatrics and gerontology skills that will translate to better quality for older people in our community.
Our people
Professor Renuka Visvanathan
Centre Director
Professor Renuka Visvanathan is an academic geriatrician with the University of Adelaide, a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and is the Clinical Director of the Aged & Extended Care Services at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Central Adelaide Local Health Network.
See Professor Visvanathan feature in a video about her work.
Dr Neha Mahajan
Senior Lecturer
Dr Mahajan has held various senior academic and research position both in Australia and abroad. She is a practicing clinical psychologist as well as an academic health psychologist with primary clinical and research interest in the provision of culturally and spiritually sensitive care for older adults.
Dr Kareeann Khow
Senior Lecturer
Dr Kareeann Khow is a consultant geriatrician and newly joined the team as a senior lecturer. She is currently undertaking her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) study on “Fractures and Outcomes in Older People” under the supervision of Professor Renuka Visvanathan and Associate Professor Solomon Yu. The focus of her research is to identify effective ways of improving the outcomes of fragility fractures in older people.
Dr Joanne Dollard
Research Fellow - Gerontology and Technology
Dr Joanne Dollard's PhD was in psychology, using a mixed methods approach to examine the common belief held by many community dwelling older people that they have a lower chance of falling than other older people. Jo’s research continues to focus on health related issues for older people. Currently, Jo is coordinating the clinical trial called Ambient Intelligent Geriatric Management (AmbIGeM) system, which aims to prevent falls in hospitalised older people, through the use of wearable technology. She is also investigating sedentary behaviour and strategies to reduce to this in hospitalised older people. Jo is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the the Adelaide Geriatric Training and Research Care (G-TRAC) Centre,University of Adelaide, based at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and in the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Frailty and Healthy Ageing.
Dr Agathe Daria Jadczak
Research Fellow- Exercise Physiology & Frailty
Dr Agathe Daria Jadczak is an exercise physiologist and sports scientist from Germany. She holds a postdoctoral position within the Adelaide Geriatric Training and Research Care (G-TRAC) Centre. She is currently coordinating the FIRST Study (Frailty In Residential Sector Over Time), a prospective cohort study in cooperation with Resthaven Inc. The study will help to validate a new frailty screening tool for residential aged care and investigate residents’ health over time, associated health outcomes and health care costs. Agathe just finished coordinating the EXPRESS Study (EXercise and PRotein Effectiveness Supplementation Study), a community based intervention study in cooperation with CSIRO. She investigated the feasibility and the effects of exercise in combination with protein supplementation on physical function in frail older adults. The results are currently being analysed. Agathe also continues her research into exercise advice provided by general practitioners and the impact of medical education programs.
Clinical titleholders
Associate Prof Solomon Yu
Deputy Director
Associate Professor Yu is currently a senior consultant geriatrician and Deputy Director of Aged and Extended Care Services (AECS) at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Central Adelaide Local Health Network.
He is also a clinician researcher and completed his PhD study with Dean’s commendation, University of Adelaide, in 2014 on the topic of “Sarcopenia in Older People” under the supervision of Professor Renuka Visvanathan. The focus of his study looks at developing a tool for detecting sarcopenia at an early stage, so that preventive intervention can be introduced before detrimental effects set in. He has presented his study both nationally and internationally and is continuing to refine his work in this area.
- Dr Faizal Ibrahim FRACP
- Dr Pazhvoor Shibu FRACP
- Dr Shailaja Nair MPhil FRACP
- Dr Fin Cai FRACP
- Dr Khai Tam FRACP
- Dr Bavand Bikdeli FRACP
- Dr Ronaldo Piovezan PhD FRACP
Adjunct titleholders
- Dr Mark Thompson PhD
- A/Prof Graeme Tucker PhD
- Prof David Wilson PhD
- Dr Danielle Taylor PhD
Current postgraduate candidates
| Program | Name | Thesis |
|---|---|---|
| PhD | Dr James Farrell Smyth | The utility of frailty and activities of daily living (ADL) assessments in the management of emergency department (ED) patients from nursing homes (NH) |
| PhD | Dr Anupam Datta Gupta | Use of botulinum toxin A in improving health outcomes in neurological patients with spasticity and dystonia |
| PhD | Mr Melkamu Bedimo Beyene | An investigation into the genetic basis of human intrinsic reserve |
| PhD | Dr Tomomichi Sakai | Studies of depression and frailty risk in nursing homes |
| PhD | Dr Sally Suriani Ahip | Predictive Validity Assessment of the Pictorial Fit-Frail Scale- Malay Version |
| MPhil | Dr Reena Tewari | TBA |
Completed higher degree students
PhD with Deans Commendation
| Name | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Dr Solomon Yu | Sarcopenia In Older People |
| Dr Elsa Dent | An Investigation into Under-nutrition and Frailty in Hospitalised Older Persons |
| Mr WMASB Wickramasinghe | Highly Accurate Human Activity Classifier to Mitigate the Risk of Falls in Elderly Based on Wearable RFID Technology |
| Dr Mark Thompson | Frailty in Older Adults: Findings from Longitudinal Studies |
| Dr Beatriz Martins | Physical Activity and Frailty: Exploring Cross- cultural and Neighbourhood Influences |
PhD
| Name | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Dr Agathe Jadczak | Exercise and Older People: Strategies to Prevent, Treat and Delay Frailty |
| Dr Clare McNally | An Exploratory Investigation of the Oral Health of Hospitalised Older People |
| Dr Rachel Ambagtsheer | Assessing the Appropriateness of Frailty Screening in the Australian General Practice Context: Ethics, Accuracy, Feasibility and Acceptability |
| Dr Michael Lawless | 'Mind your Mind': Representations of Dementia Risk-prevention in News and Digital Media |
| Dr Ruth Teh | A Health Information Tool To Prevent Falls |
| Mr Unyime Jasper | Preventing frailty, immobility and sedentary lifestyle in older people |
MPhil
| Name | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Dr Shailaja Nair | Post-prandial Hypotension, Gait and Exercise In The Elderly |
Honours - First Class
| Name | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Ms Zoe Kopsaftis | Postprandial hypotension and falls in the elderly |
Leonie Baker
Centre Manager
Leonie is the centre manager providing research and administrative support for the research team. She has a background in molecular biology and worked as a researcher in surgical, immunology and population health research before becoming a CRE and Program Grant Manager in public health with UniSA and a Research Manager at SAHMRI.