Biography & Research:
Dr Helen Macpherson is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University, Australia, where she leads the Exercise and Nutrition for Brain Health group. Dr Macpherson has a background in cognitive neuroscience and completed her postdoctoral training at Swinburne University, Australia. Dr Macpherson is the recipient of a National Health and Medical Research Council and Australian Research Council Dementia Training fellowship. Her work examines the potential for modifiable lifestyle factors to optimise cognition and brain health in older people at risk of dementia. She has extensive experience conducting randomised controlled trials investigating the impact of diet and physical activity on cognition, neuroimaging markers of brain health and dementia risk factors. She has worked with large scale population data sets including the UK biobank to examine nutritional determinants of brain health. Dr Macpherson supervises a range of PhD students looking at the links between healthy ageing, lifestyle factors, cognition and mental health.