amy tiberio: current PHD STUDENT
ParkC successfully secured a Curtin Scholarship for Amy's PhD, which is entitled "Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and Parkinson's Disease". BDNF is a protein secreted by brain cells and can be measured in the blood. Amy's PhD will be the first to examine BDNF in a large Australian Cohort of people with Parkinson's. Amy will examine the complex relationships between motor symptom severity, cognition, psychological wellbeing, autonomic functioning, sleep, quality of life, activities of daily living, and BDNF levels to determine if BDNF plays a role in the symptoms and progression of Parkinson's. Amy's PhD is supervised by Associate Professor Andrea Loftus, Dr Virginie Lam, and Professor Natalie Gasson.
Amy has just started the data collection phase of her study. For more information about her study, please email Amy at amy.tiberio@curtin.edu.au or call her on 0429 925 416.
ramishka Thilakaratne: current PHD STUDENT
Ramishka completed her Honours in Speech Pathology and decided to pursue a PhD in ParkC with Dr Naomi Cocks, Associate Professor Andrea Loftus, and Dr Karen Wylie. Ramishka’s PhD project will develop a conversation partner training program for people with Parkinson’s and their partners to have better conversations with each other. During the first phase of her PhD project, she will be conducting focus groups with people with Parkinson's and their partners to explore the strategies they use to support their conversations as well as the barriers they experience. This information will be used in the second phase of her PhD project, where she will codesign a conversation treatment program with people with Parkinson's and their partners. The program will then be trialled and evaluated.
If you are interested in finding out more about Ramishka's study please contact her at ramishka.thilakaratne@student.curtin.edu.au or call her on 0424 337 557.
matthew han: current phd student
Matthew completed his Honours project in 2018, which explored sleep quality in those with Parkinson's. Matthew has a keen interest in the ageing process and neurodegenerative conditions, and decided to pursue a PhD with ParkC. Matthew’s PhD project examines the nature of language pragmatic problems and its association with thinking skills in those with Parkinson’s. Matthew is supervised by Dr Naomi Cocks and Professor Natalie Gasson. Matthew has completed his data collection and is currently writing up his PhD thesis.
If you are interested in finding out more about Matthew's study, please contact him at j.han@postgrad.curtin.edu.au
DR leon booth: previous phd student
Leon completed his PhD at the start of 2021. Leon's PhD thesis was entitled "The Measurement and Nature of Impulsivity in Parkinson’s Disease" and he was supervised by Associate Professor Andrea Loftus and Professor Natalie Gasson. Leon received a competitive scholarship to undertake his PhD with ParkC. To our delight, Leon is now in a research position with the esteemed George Institute for Global Health in New South Wales. Leon has always had a keen interest in public health policy, and has joined the food policy team. Leon continues to be a valuable contributor to ParkC research and is in the process of publishing and communicating his PhD findings. We hope to develop PhD projects with Leon examining diet in Parkinson's.
DR andrew johnson: previous phd student
Andrew completed his PhD in 2020 with ParkC. Andrew's PhD thesis was entitled " A Bayesian Evaluation of Subtyping Methods in Parkinson’s Disease", and he was supervised by Professor Natalie Gasson, Professor Romola Bucks, and Associate Professor Andrea Loftus. During his PhD, Andrew was awarded the 'Best Paper Award' by the Mark Liveris Conference Committee. Immediately following his PhD, Andrew took up a position as a Research Fellow working with Dr Peter McEvoy examining suicide prevention. More recently, Andrew started a position as a postdoctoral researcher in health science at Aalto University, Finland.
Andrew continues to be a valuable contributor to ParkC research and is in the process of publishing and communicating his PhD findings.
Dr Blake lawrence: previous phd student
Blake completed his PhD with ParkC under the supervision of Associate Professor Andrea Loftus and Professor Natalie Gasson. Blake's PhD thesis was entitled "Nonpharmacological Interventions for Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease", and explored cognitive training and non-invasive brain stimulation for improving cognition in Parkinson's. Following completion of his PhD, Blake completed a number of postdoctoral research roles in Adelaide, Sydney, and Perth. Blake has returned to his roots and is now an lecturer and researcher at Curtin University. Blake continues to contribute to ParkC research and is a valued collaborator and supervisor.
dr maria pushpanathan: previous phd student
Maria completed her PhD in 2016 with ParkC. Maria's PhD thesis was entitled "Sleep Disruption and Cognitive Dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease: Does Sleep Disturbance Exacerbate Cognitive Symptoms?" and was supervised by Professor Romola Bucks, Associate professor Andrea Loftus, and Professor Natalie Gasson. Following her PhD, Maria worked as a Research Fellow with Professor Romola Bucks at UWA examining sleep and cognition.
eve, libby, amy, and shelby
Eve, Libby, Amy, and Shelby were speech pathology students conducting their Honours studies in Parkinson's. Their group project asked people with Parkinson's to think about whether drooling impacted upon their lives. They conducted and analysed a series of online interviews with people with Parkinson's. Their findings are currently being written up for publication and will be available for you to read soon.