School of Medical and Health Sciences

Group Leader

• Professor Simon Laws

Deputy Lead

• Tenielle Porter

Lifestyle Enrichment Lead/ Senior Research Fellow

• Travis Cruickshank

• Dr Eleanor O'Brien
• Dr Emmanuel Adewuyi
• Dr Mitchell Turner
• Dr Michael Vacher (CSIRO Adjunct)

• Milcent Tsvangirayi
• Lidija Milicic

Alzheimer’s disease

• Anika Lamisa, PhD
• Heng Zhang, PhD
• Lidija Milicic, PhD
• Mehrane Mehramiz, PhD
• Olasunkanmi David Bamidele, PhD
• Shane Fernandez, PhD
• Shaun Basson, MBR
• Eleanore Daines, MBR

Human Performance

• Maria Grammenou, PhD (SMHS Centre for Human Performance)

Lifestyle Enrichment

• Melanie Clark, PhD
• Philipp Beranek, PhD
• Leah Dempsey, MBR
• Sam Adams, MBR
• Sneha Rajagopalan, MBR

Centre for Precision Health

SMHS Centre for Human Performance:

• Professor Greg Haff
• Dr Kristina Kendall

SPIN Research Program Investigators

For further publications please visit pages of our researcher’s using links above

• Burnham, S., Coloma, P., Li, Q., Collins, S., Savage, G., Laws, S., Doecke, J., Maruff, P., Martins, R., Ames, D., Rowe, C., Masters, C., Villemagne, V., (2019), Application of the NIA-AA Research Framework: Towards a Biological Definition of Alzheimer’s Disease Using Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in the AIBL Study. The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, 6(4), 248-255, DOI: 10.14283/jpad.2019.25.
• Vacher, M., Porter, T., Villemagne, V., Milicic, L., Peretti, M., Fowler, C., Martins, R., Rainey-Smith, S., Ames, D., Masters, C., Rowe, C., Doecke, J., Laws, S., (2019), Validation of a priori candidate Alzheimer’s disease SNPs with brain amyloid-beta deposition. Scientific Reports, 9(2019), Article number 17069, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53604-5.
• Porter, T., Burnham, S., Milicic, L., Savage, G., Maruff, P., Lim, YY., Ames, D., Masters, C., Martins, R., Rainey-Smith, S., Rowe, C., Salvado, O., Groth, D., Verdile, G., Villemagne, V., Laws, S., (2019), Klotho allele status is not associated with Ab and APOE ε4erelated cognitive decline in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiology of Aging, 76(April 2019), 162-165, United States, Elsevier, DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2018.12.014.
• Brown, B., Castalanelli, N., Rainey-Smith, S., Doecke, J., Weinborn, M., Sohrabi, H., Laws, S., Martins, R., Peiffer, J., (2019), Influence of BDNF Val66Met on the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and memory in cognitively normal older adults. Behavioural Brain Research, 362(19 April 2019), 103-108, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.01.013.
• Russell, A., Kepka, A., Trbojevic-Akmacic, I., Ugrina, I., Song, M., Hui, J., Hunter, M., Laws, S., Lauc, G., Wang, W., (2019), Increased central adiposity is associated with pro-inflammatory immunoglobulin G N-glycans. Immunobiology, 224(1), 110-115, DOI: 10.1016/j.imbio.2018.10.002.
• Porter, T., Burnham, S., Milicic, L., Savage, G., Maruff, P., Sohrabi, H., Peretti, M., Lim, YY., Weinborn, M., Ames, D., Masters, C., Martins, R., Rainey-Smith, S., Rowe, C., Salvado, O., Groth, D., Verdile, G., Villemagne, V., Laws, S., (2019), COMT val158met is not associated with Aβ-amyloid and APOE ε4 related cognitive decline in cognitively normal older adults. IBRO Reports, 6(June 2019), 147-152, DOI: 10.1016/j.ibror.2019.05.001.
• Huq, A., Fransquet, P., Laws, S., Ryan, J., Sebra, R., Masters, C., Winship, I., James, P., Lacaze, P., (2019), Genetic resilience to Alzheimer’s disease in APOE ε4 homozygotes: A systematic review. Alzheimer's and Dementia, 15(12), 1612-1623, United States, Elsevier Science Inc., DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2019.05.011.
• Jacob, Y., Hart, N., Cochrane Wilkie, J., Spiteri, T., Laws, S., Jones, A., Rogalski, B., Kenna, J., Anderton, R., (2019), ACTN3 (R577X) genotype is associated with Australian Football League players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, article in press(x), x, United States, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003458.
• Porter, T., Villemagne, V., Savage, G., Milicic, L., Lim, YY., Maruff, P., Masters, C., Ames, D., Bush, A., Martins, R., Rainey-Smith, S., Rowe, C., Taddei, K., Groth, D., Verdile, G., Burnham, S., Laws, S., (2018), Cognitive gene risk profile for the prediction of cognitive decline in presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Personalized Medicine in Psychiatry, 7-8(2018), 14-20, United States, Elsevier, DOI: 10.1016/j.pmip.2018.03.001.
• Rainey-Smith, S., Mazzucchelli, G., Villemagne, V., Brown, B., Porter, T., Weinborn, M., Bucks, R., Milicic, L., Sohrabi, H., Taddei, K., Ames, D., Maruff, P., Masters, C., Rowe, C., Salvado, O., Martins, R., Laws, S., (2018), Genetic variation in Aquaporin-4 moderates the relationship between sleep and brain Aβ-amyloid burden. Translational Psychiatry, 8(1), Article no. 47, United Kingdom, Nature Publishing Group, DOI: 10.1038/s41398-018-0094-x.
• Lim, YY., Kalinowski, P., Pietrzak, R., Laws, S., Burnham, S., Ames, D., Villemagne, V., Fowler, C., Rainey-Smith, S., Martins, R., Rowe, C., Masters, C., Maruff, P., (2018), Association of β-Amyloid and Apolipoprotein E ε4 With Memory Decline in Preclinical Alzheimer Disease. JAMA Neurology, 75(4), 488-494, United States, American Medical Association, DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2017.4325.
• Porter, T., Burnham, S., Dore, V., Savage, G., Bourgeat, P., Begemann, K., Milicic, L., Ames, D., Bush, A., Maruff, P., Masters, C., Rowe, C., Rainey-Smith, S., Martins, R., Groth, D., Verdile, G., Villemagne, V., Laws, S., (2018), KIBRA is associated with accelerated cognitive decline and hippocampal atrophy in APOE ε4- positive cognitively normal adults with high Aβ-amyloid burden. Scientific Reports, 8(1), Article no.2034, United Kingdom, Nature Publishing Group, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20513-y.
• Russell, A., Adua, E., Ugrina, I., Laws, S., Wang, W., (2018), Unravelling immunoglobulin G Fc N-glycosylation: A dynamic marker potentiating predictive, preventive and personalised medicine. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19(2), article no.390, DOI: 10.3390/ijms19020390.
• Porter, T., Burnham, S., Milicic, L., Savage, G., Maruff, P., Lim, YY., Li, Q., Ames, D., Masters, C., Rainey-Smith, S., Rowe, C., Salvado, O., Groth, D., Verdile, G., Villemagne, V., Laws, S., (2018), Utility of an Alzheimer’s Disease Risk-Weighted Polygenic Risk Score for Predicting Rates of Cognitive Decline in Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease: A Prospective Longitudinal Study. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 66(3), 1193-1211, Netherlands, IOS Press, DOI: 10.3233/JAD-180713.
• Porter, T., Burnham, S., Savage, G., Lim, YY., Maruff, P., Milicic, L., Peretti, M., Ames, D., Masters, C., Martins, R., Rainey-Smith, S., Rowe, C., Salvado, O., Taddei, K., Groth, D., Verdile, G., Villemagne, V., Laws, S., (2018), A polygenic risk score derived from episodic memory weighted genetic variants is associated with cognitive decline in preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 10(Dec 2018), Article number 423, Switzerland, Frontiers Research Foundation, DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2018.00423.
• Lim, YY., Rainey-Smith, S., Lim, Y., Laws, S., Gupta, V., Porter, T., Bourgeat, P., Ames, D., Fowler, C., Salvado, O., Villemagne, V., Rowe, C., Masters, C., Zhou, XF., Martins, R., Maruff, P., (2017), BDNF Val66Met in preclinical Alzheimer’s disease is associated with short-term changes in episodic memory and hippocampal volume but not serum mBDNF. International Psychogeriatrics, 29(11), 1825-1834, Cambridge, United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press, DOI: 10.1017/S1041610217001284.
• Laws, S., Gaskin, S., Woodfield, A., Srikanth, V., Bruce, D., Fraser, P., Porter, T., Newsholme, P., Wijesekara, N., Burnham, S., Dore, V., Li, Q., Maruff, P., Masters, C., Rainey-Smith, S., Rowe, C., Salvado, O., Villemagne, V., Martins, R., Verdile, G., (2017), Insulin resistance is associated with reductions in specific cognitive domains and increases in CSF tau in cognitively normal adults. Scientific Reports, 7(1), Article no. 9766, London, United Kingdom, Nature Publishing Group, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-09577-4.
• Lim, YY., Williamson, R., Laws, S., Villemagne, V., Bourgeat, P., Fowler, C., Rainey-Smith, S., Salvado, O., Martins, R., Rowe, C., Masters, C., Maruff, P., (2017), Effect of APOE genotype on amyloid deposition, brain volume, and memory in cognitively normal older individuals. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 58(4), 1293-1302, Amsterdam, Netherlands, IOS Press, DOI: 10.3233/JAD-170072.
• Pietrzak, RH., Laws, S., Lim, YY., Bender, SJ., Porter, T., Doecke, J., Ames, DJ., Fowler, CJ., Masters, CL., Milicic, L., Rainey-Smith, S., Villemagne, VL., Rowe, CC., Martins, R., Maruff, P., (2017), Plasma Cortisol,Brain Amyloid-β, and Cognitive Decline in Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease: A 6-Year Prospective Cohort Study. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, 2(1), 45-52, DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2016.08.006.
• Brown, B., Rainey-Smith, S., Castalanelli, N., Gordon, N., Markovic, S., Sohrabi, H., Weinborn, M., Laws, S., Doecke, J., Shen, K., Martins, R., Peiffer, JJ., (2017), Study protocol of the Intense Physical Activity and Cognition study: The effect of high-intensity exercise training on cognitive function in older adults. Alzheimer's and Dementia, 3(4), 562-570, United States, Elsevier Science Inc., DOI: 10.1016/j.trci.2017.09.003.
• Brown, B., Rainey-Smith, S., Villemagne, V., Weinborn, M., Bucks, R., Sohrabi, H., Laws, S., Taddei, K., Macaulay, SL., Ames, D., Fowler, C., Maruff, P., Masters, C., Rowe, C., Martins, R., (2016), The relationship between sleep quality and brain amyloid burden. Sleep, 39(5), 1063-1068, Westchester, USA, Associated Professional Sleep Societies,LLC, DOI: 10.5665/sleep.5756.
• Burnham, S., Bourgeat, P., Dore, V., Savage, G., Brown, B., Laws, S., Maruff, P., Salvado, O., Ames, D., Martins, R., Masters, C., Rowe, C., Villemagne, V., (2016), Clinical and cognitive trajectories in cognitively healthy elderly individuals with suspected non-Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology (SNAP) or Alzheimer's disease pathology: a longitudinal study. Lancet Neurology, 15(10), 1044-1053, London, UK, Lancet Publishing Group, DOI: 10.1016/S1474-4422(16)30125-9.
• Lim, Y., Laws, S., Villemagne, V., Pietrzak, R., Porter, T., Ames, D., Fowler, C., Rainey-Smith, S., Snyder, P., Martins, R., Salvado, O., Bourgeat, P., Rowe, C., Masters, C., Maruff, P., (2016), Aβ-related memory decline in APOE ε4 non-carriers: Implications for Alzheimer’s disease. Neurology, 86(17), 1635-1642, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000002604.
• Burnham, S., Rowe, C., Baker, D., Bush, A., Doecke, JD., Faux, N., Laws, S., Martins, R., Maruff, P., Macaulay, S., Rainey-Smith, S., Savage, G., Ames, D., Masters, C., Wilson, W., Villemagne, V., (2016), Predicting Alzheimer disease from a blood-based biomarker profile. Neurology, 87(11), 1093-1101, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, DOI: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000003094.
• Turner, M., Reyes, A., Bartlett, D.M., Culpin, S., Hart, N.H., Hardt, L., Feindel, K., Poudel, G.R., Ziman, M. and Cruickshank, T.M., Exploring the brain-body composition relationship in Huntington’s disease.
• Cruickshank, T#., Bartlett, D#., Govus, A., Hannan, A., Teo, W., Mason, S., Lo, J., Ziman, M. The relationship between lifestyle and serum neurofilament light protein in Huntington’s disease. Brain and Behavior. In Press. 2020. Authors contributed equally.
• Bartlett, D., Lazar, A., Kordsachia, C., Rankin, T., Lo, J., Govus, A., Power, B., Lampit, A., Eastwood, P., Ziman, M., Cruickshank, T. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation reduces hypothalamic grey matter volume loss in individuals with preclinical Huntington's disease: A nine-month pilot study. Journal of the neurological sciences 408 (2020): 116522.
• Bartlett, D., Poudel, B., Maddison, K., Lampit, A., Dann, L., Eastwood, P., Lazar, P., Ziman, M., and Cruickshank, T. Effect of multidisciplinary rehabilitation on sleep outcomes in individuals with preclinical Huntington disease: An exploratory study. Annals of physical and rehabilitation medicine, 2019.
• Reyes, A., Castillo, A., Castillo, J., Cornejo, I., Cruickshank, T. The Effects of Respiratory Muscle Training on Phonatory Measures in Individuals with Parkinson's Disease. Journal of Voice, 2019; 33(4), 1-7.
• Bartlett D, Dominguez J, Reyes A, Slater J, Zaenker P, Feindel K, Newton R, Hannan A, Eastwood P, Lazar A, Ziman M, Cruickshank T. Investigating the Relationships Between Hypothalamic Volume and Measures of Circadian Rhythm and Habitual Sleep in Premanifest Huntington’s Disease. Neurobiology of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms. 2019;8:1-8.
• Cruickshank T, Reyes A, Penailillo L, Pulverenti T, Bartlett D, Zaenker P, Blazevich A, Newton R, Thompson J, Barker R, Ziman M. Effects of multidisciplinary therapy on physical function in Huntington’s disease. Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. 2018; 138(6):500-507
• Bartlett, Danielle M., Travis M. Cruickshank, Anthony J. Hannan, Peter R. Eastwood, Alpar S. Lazar, and Mel R. Ziman. "Neuroendocrine and neurotrophic signaling in Huntington’s disease: implications for pathogenic mechanisms and treatment strategies." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 71 (2016): 444-454.
• Cruickshank TM, Thompson JA, Domínguez D, Juan F, Reyes AP, Bynevelt M, et al. The effect of multidisciplinary rehabilitation on brain structure and cognition in Huntington's disease: an exploratory study. Brain and behavior. 2015;5(2).
• Cruickshank TM, Reyes AR, Ziman MR. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Strength Training in Individuals With Multiple Sclerosis Or Parkinson Disease. Medicine. 2015;94(4):e411.