ERA 2017

16th National Conference of Emerging Researchers in Ageing

Digging for gold: Building success in ageing research

6-7 November 2017: Technology Park Function Centre, Bentley, Western Australia

The ERA 2017 conference was hosted by Curtin University and co-chaired by Professor Keith Hill and Dr Elissa Burton. 

Conference materials

ERA 2017 conference proceedings

Keynote speakers

Dr Susan Slatyer 

Dr Slatyer is a Research Fellow with the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, Curtin University, and with the Centre for Nursing Research, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. Her research focuses on the care of older people and their family carers across hospital and community settings.
Dr Nicholas Waldron

Dr Waldron is a consultant geriatrician and clinical researcher and leads the WA Falls Prevention Health Network. By combining these roles and breaking down barriers to innovation uptake, he hopes that patient care can be improved and sustained. 

Post-conference workshops 

Using the media to market yourself
Researchers and communication specialists presented on how to disseminate your research using different forms of media.
Presented by Associate Professor Daniel Gucciardi, Dr Fenella Gill, and Ms Yasmine Phillips.

‘Playing the game’
A diverse group of early career researchers presented on how to build a successful post-doctoral research career.
Presented by Dr Elissa Burton, Associate Professor Anne-Marie Hill, and Dr Belinda Brown.


Local organising committee 

ERA 2017 Hill Keith.pngProfessor Keith Hill (Conference co-chair)
Professor Hill is a Physiotherapist, and Head of the School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science at Curtin University.  He is nationally and internationally recognised for his research in ageing, falls prevention, exercise, rehabilitation, and balance and mobility.  He has a strong track record for successful supervision and completion of Honours, Masters and PhD students, and for mentoring early career researchers.
 
 ERA 2017 Burton Elissa.pngDr Elissa Burton (Conference co-chair)
Dr Burton is an early career research fellow (PhD conferred July 2014) and she currently works at Curtin University’s School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science. Her area of research expertise is healthy ageing, with a particular emphasis on working directly with older people, health and community care organisations, seniors associations, and not-for-profit agencies to translate research into practice.
 ERA 2017 Crevacore Carol.pngMrs Carol Crevacore
Mrs Crevacore is a Lecturer (Healthy Ageing and Communication studies) in the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Edith Cowan University. She has completed her Master’s in Health Professional Education and is currently enrolled into her PhD studying delegation activities of the Registered Nurse in Western Australian hospitals. Carol is interested in educating the nurses of tomorrow how to positively promote and care for the ‘older adult’.
 
 ERA 2017 Francis-Coad Jacqueline.pngDr Jacqueline Francis-Coad
Dr Francis-Coad is a Lecturer and Research Fellow at The University of Notre Dame Australia. She is a titled gerontological physiotherapist with over 20 years’ experience across the aged care sector and has completed postgraduate qualifications in both gerontology and education. Her submitted PhD investigated the impact of a falls prevention Community of Practice in a residential aged care setting and current research interests include falls prevention and education to enhance the safety and well being of older people.
 
 ERA 2017 Josif Cath.pngMs Cath Josif
Ms Josif is a Senior Project Officer with the WA Centre for Health and Ageing, University of Western Australia. Located in Broome, she works with family caregivers of seniors in remote Aboriginal communities. Cath was awarded the 2016 Bob and June Prickett Churchill Fellowship to improve dementia services for remote dwelling Aboriginal people. As a PhD student Cath was part of the 1+1 = A Healthy Start to Life project recognised by the NHMRC in the ’10 of the best research projects 2014′ Cath will submit her PhD at the University of Sydney in April 2017.
 
 ERA 2017 Naseri Chiara.pngChiara Naseri
Chiara Naseri is a physiotherapist and PhD candidate at Curtin University School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science. Chiara is part of the research team led by Associate Professor Anne-Marie Hill’s funded by NHMRC research scholarship to evaluate a falls education intervention for older people returning home from hospital.
 ERA 2017 Scott Brendan.pngDr Brendan Scott
Dr Scott is a Lecturer (Strength and Conditioning) in the School of Psychology and Exercise Science at Murdoch University. He received his PhD from the University of Newcastle in 2016, and has collaborated with several high-performance sporting organisations, including the AFL/WAFL, NRL, A-League and WAIS. While the majority of Brendan’s research to date has focused on novel resistance training strategies for young people and athletes, he is now working to implement these training methods for older people, with the aim of improving muscular development and functional abilities.
 ERA 2017 Slatyer Susan.pngDr Susan Slatyer
Dr Slatyer received her PhD from Curtin University in 2013. She holds a joint appointment as Research Fellow in the Centre for Nursing Research, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, Curtin University. Her research focuses on the care of older adults and their family carers across hospital and community settings. Susan was named 2016 Nurse of the Year and winner of the Excellence in Research award in the 2016 Western Australian Nursing and Midwifery Excellence Awards.
 ERA 2017 Vafeas Caroline.pngDr Caroline Vafeas
Dr Vafeas has been a senior lecturer at Edith Cowan University for the past 10 years. Her teaching and research interests are in the fields of gerontology and dementia. Previous work experience is in the area of District Nursing and education in the UK before a move to WA in 2003.
 ERA 2017 Vallence Ann-Maree (Edit).pngDr Ann-Maree Vallence
Dr Vallence received her PhD from the University of Western Australia in 2013. She took up a postdoctoral position at the Neuromotor Plasticity and Development Group (University of Adelaide) and a Visiting Research Fellowship at the Sobell Department of Motor Neuroscience (University College London). In 2015, she moved to Murdoch University, taking up a NHMRC Early Career Fellowship in the School of Psychology and Exercise Science. Ann-Maree’s current research aims to characterise the neural causes of age-related decline in voluntary movement.