Profile – Dr Russell Chander, University of New South Wales

I am currently a postdoctoral research officer at the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) at the University of New South Wales. My work is on clinical and neuroimaging biomarkers for vascular dementia. My thesis work focused on social cognition in older adults, and how they relate to genetics, hormonal and neuroimaging markers, and risk of cognitive decline. My other work includes clinical research in dementia and memory disorders, with a focus on clinically viable in vivo biomarkers and predictive factors of Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, stroke, and cerebrovascular disease.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself:

I occasionally stream on Twitch where I play video games and chat about sci-fi, popular culture, and sometimes we talk about life and mental health

Why did you choose to work in dementia research?

I found a job in dementia research through a friend right after my undergrad studies, and I grew a passion and interest in working with people with dementia

What single piece of advice would you give to an early career researcher?

Talk to as many people as you can, and not necessarily with an objective. Meet people just to gain new insights, make friends, and maybe in the future you will have opportunities and collaborations open up for you. You never know what might come up!

Favourite ways to unplug and unwind?

Hitting the gym, going for a run, catching up on my Netflix backlog, or some choice video games where I get to build stuff

Favourite film of all time?

Hot Fuzz is always worth a rewatch!