Helen Macpherson

A good-quality diet is vital for healthy ageing and influences dementia risk factors, such as heart health, obesity and type 2 diabetes. To provide clear guidelines around the optimal diet for protecting brain health, there is a need to better-define which type of diet is most protective against developing dementia and which are the best ways to measure diet. 

Dr Helen Macpherson has undertaken a series of visits to key research groups in Europe, developing strong collaborations to better understand how diet influences dementia risk. She attained new outlooks on which issues are most prevalent in dementia prevention. Through these collaborations, Dr Macpherson gained access to international data sets, including The Danish Dementia Biomarker registry and Maastricht Ageing Data set, which she will use to examine dietary factors related to dementia and cognitive decline. This will contribute to international risk reduction initiatives and health guidelines developed in discussion with researchers across the globe as a part of the World Health Organisation’s Dementia Research Community and Blueprint for Dementia Research. This travel has allowed Dr Macpherson to gain a more innovative approach to attract international funding and translate research findings in the Australian context.

The research informed by these visits will ultimately provide a better understanding of the contribution that diet plays in reducing dementia risk. This will lead to the development of more effective interventions to reduce dementia risk and the creation of more precise public health messaging.

At the time of this award, Dr Helen Macpherson was a senior research fellow at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) at Deakin University and led the Exercise and Nutrition for Cognitive and Mental Health group at IPAN.