Research Staff
The Neurological and Mental Health Division's multidisciplinary team has many years of experience in clinical and epidemiological research, specialising in stroke, neurodegenerative illness and health outcomes. The team's expertise enables easy integration with the other research divisions of The George Institute and we plan to undertake a number of cross-divisional research projects. We also collaborate closely with health care providers within the acute stroke unit of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney
The Division adopts a holistic approach to research on the spectrum and evolution of neurological and mental health and disability in association with ageing, vascular disease and physical illness. Our aim is improve neurological and mental health, the overall care of individuals and promote active and healthy ageing for all.
Professor Craig Anderson - Director
Professor Craig Anderson is Director of the Neurological and Mental Health Division at The George Institute. He is also Professor of Stroke Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney and the Institute of Neurosciences of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Craig holds specialist qualifications in clinical neurology and geriatrics, and a PhD in medicine and epidemiology from the University of Western Australia. From 1997 to 2004, he was Professor of Gerontology and Co-Director of the Clinical Trials Research Unit at The University of Auckland.
Craig is a member of several specialist societies, is an Editor for the Cochrane Stroke Group, and is currently President of the Stroke Society of Australasia. He has published widely on the clinical and epidemiological aspects of stroke, cardiovascular disease and aged care, and is on the Steering Committee for several large-scale research projects including the Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial (ONTARGET) global trials programme in cardiovascular prevention involving over 30,000 patients in 40 countries.
Candice Delcourt (Clinical Research Fellow)
Candice is a clinical research fellow at the George Institute. She holds a specialist medical qualification in Neurology from the University of Liege (Belgium) and two sub qualifications in Cerebro-Vascular disease (University of Dijon - France) and in Neurophysiology (University of Lille - France). She did a thesis with Professor Giroud in Dijon about: "Mortality in the Stroke Register from 1985-2004". She is a member of the Belgian and France Medical Council and the Belgian Neurological Society.
Nick Glozier - Associate Principal Director, Population Health
Nick Glozier is Associate Principal Director, working with Robyn Norton on initiatives in population health and health systems research. He has a number of coordinating responsibilities within the Principal Director's Office. Nick is a consultation liaison psychiatrist and an active member of the Neurological and Mental Health Division at the Institute. He has strong links with European, Indian sub-continental and World Health Organization (WHO) mental health research.
Maree Hackett - Senior Research Fellow (Mental Health)
Maree is a conjoint Senior Lecturer (course co-ordinator for MIPH 5127) within the Faculty of Medicine of The University of Sydney and holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Medicine from the University of Auckland. Maree has previously worked as a Research Coordinator at the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Auckland Healthcare from 1995 to 1999, and as a Research Fellow at the Clinical Trials Research Unit of The University of Auckland's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences from 1999 to 2005.
Maree's interests are in health outcomes research, particularly psychological problems associated with physical illness and she has been awarded an NHMRC Public Health (Australia) Fellowship to develop strategies to reduce the impact of vascular depression. She has publications in, and conducts reviews for, several key medical journals, is a reviewer for the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the Health Research Council of New Zealand, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is a member of the Stroke Society of Australasia and the Australasian Epidemiological Society.
Maree is the principal investigator on the Psychosocial Outcomes in Stroke - POISE study.
Emma Heeley - Senior Research Fellow (Neurological)
Emma is a Senior Research Fellow at The George Institute and a conjoint Senior Lecturer within the Faculty of Medicine of The University of Sydney. Emma is an epidemiologist with 10 years experience in health related research. Prior to joining The George Institute in September 2006, Emma worked at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the United Kingdom. She obtained a PhD in respiratory physiology at the University of Southampton and a Masters in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Emma’s interests are in health outcomes research, pharmacoepidemiology and primary care research.
Hugh Senior - Senior Project Manager
Hugh is a Senior Project Manager on the SAVE Trial. He has substantial experience, as a project manager and investigator, in the design and implemntation of clinical trials for major health outcomes - especially in stroke, aged care and rehabilitation research.
From 1995 to 2002, Hugh was a senior lecturer in pathophysiology and from 2003-2007 a research fellow at the Clinical Trials Research Unit at the University of Auckland. He has published in, and is a reviewer for, a number of key medical journals. Hugh has qualifications in science and epidemiology.
Dan Jackson - Project Manager
Dan is a Project Manager working with Maree Hackett on POISE and Nick Glozier on SEISMIC providing Project Management expertise. Dan has a background in health information and clinical data management and 10 years experience in clinical research. Prior to joining The George Institute in June 2008, Dan worked for academic research institutions in the capacity of Clinical Trials and Data Manager and was involved in the design and management of large scale multi-centre phase 3 clinical trials and collaborated on a number of research projects with external research centres.
Sonja Sasic - Clinical Research Associate
Sonja is a Clinical Research Associate, working on the SAVE Trial with Hugh Senior and INTERACT 2 with Tian Erho.
She holds a degree in Molecular Biology and Physiology.
Prior to joining The George Institute, Sonja obtained research experience working at the research laboratory for Molecular Genetics, and as a part of a clinical research team doing clinical trials in several different therapeutic areas.
Sonja's interests are in Pharmacodynamics and Neurology.
She is a member of ARCS.