Meet the team

CHRISTCHURCH CLINIC CO-DIRECTOR, NEUROLOGIST

BSc (Hons), MBChB, MD, FRACP
University of Otago, Christchurch

Professor Tim Anderson is the Co-Director of the Christchurch Dementia Prevention Clinic. He is also Clinical Director at the New Zealand Brain Research Institute and holds the Van der Veer Chair in Parkinson’s disease and Movement Disorders at the University of Otago, Christchurch. As a neurologist with the Canterbury District Health Board, Tim has extensive experience in the neurology, differential diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders. He also has considerable experience establishing biomarkers of cognitive decline to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, particularly advanced MRI markers in Parkinson’s disease but also other dementias. Tim regularly conducts clinical pharmaceutical trials in Parkinson’s and other neurological disorders, enabling patients not only to have early access to new treatments but also regular clinical review and oversight.

CHRISTCHURCH CLINIC CO-DIRECTOR, PSYCHOLOGIST

BSc, PhD
University of Canterbury

John Dalrymple-Alford is the Co-Director of the Christchurch Dementia Prevention Clinic. He is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Canterbury and the New Zealand Brain Research Institute in Christchurch. John’s research interests cover both behavioural neuroscience, where his main focus concerns recovery of function in thalamic lesion models of diencephalic amnesia, and human neuropsychology, particularly cognitive and MRI changes in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW

BA, BSc(Hons), PhD
University of Otago, Christchurch

Tracy is a medical physicist with expertise in brain imaging. He oversees the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) associated with the Dementia Prevention Research Clinic in Christchurch. Tracy is particularly interested in how brain imaging can help us investigate a number of different diseases and conditions, including cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. He has spent the past decade as part of a multidisciplinary team at the NZ Brain Research Institute and University of Otago, Christchurch, working with a great group of participants with Parkinson’s disease.

RESEARCH COORDINATOR

RGON BN
New Zealand Brain Research Institute

Marie Goulden is the Research Coordinator for the Christchurch Dementia Prevention Research Clinic, making her the first point of contact for participants coming into the study, and responsible for coordinating the various appointments. Marie comes from a nursing background and trained at Dunedin Hospital, completing her nursing degree in 1995. Since moving to Christchurch in 2006, Marie has spent ten years working as a Research Coordinator for the Canterbury Child Development Research Group, based in the Psychology Department at the University of Canterbury. She joined the New Zealand Brain Research Institute (NZBRI) as a Research Coordinator two and a half years ago, coordinating a randomised controlled trial investigating whether a combined programme of cognitive and physical activity would improve outcomes for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

RESEARCH FELLOW

BSc (Hons), PhD
University of Otago, Christchurch

Toni Pitcher is a neuroscientist based at the New Zealand Brain Research Institute, where her research has primarily been focused on Parkinson’s disease. Toni’s research team uses a range of methods to help increase our understanding of the progression of Parkinson’s with a particular focus on the development of cognitive (thinking) deficits. She has been directly involved in the assessment of the movement symptoms of Parkinson’s, brain imaging, and the collection of biological samples (blood and urine) for the identification of disease markers. She also leads a Parkinson’s epidemiology research programme.

In her role with the Christchurch Clinic, Toni draws on her experiences with co-ordinating the collection of biological samples from Parkinson’s research participants to help establish a blood biobank for the Christchurch clinic.

NEUROPSYCHOLOGIST

DipClinPsyc

Karelia Levin is clinical neuropsychologist with over twenty five years’ experience. In her role in the Christchurch Clinic, Karelia provides full, expert neuropsychological assessments to study participants, and meets with participants and their families to fully explain their testing results.

CLINICAL TEAM MEMBER, GERIATRICIAN

BMedSc, MBChB(Otago), PhD(Flin), FRACP
Canterbury District Health Board