The Ageing Well: Self-care – mind and body one-day conference brings together academics industry partners and community members to explore what ageing well means, and the diversity of factors that influence the individual experience of an otherwise intangible concept.
The program includes academic presentations by leading researchers in the field of ageing and physical activity mindfulness, a lived experience panel discussion, and an interactive workshop on mindfulness, ageing and body-mapping.
Professor Sunil Bhar
Professor of Psychology
Swinburne University of Technology
Sunil Bhar is a Professor of Psychology at Swinburne University of Technology and is the director of the Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults, a geropsychology counselling service for older adults living in residential aged care facilities. For more than a decade, he has led research on the outcomes and mechanisms of psychological treatments for older adults. His research program adopts a comprehensive approach to the development and delivery of effective and sustainable interventions to promote wellbeing in later life.
Professor Helen Rawson
Deputy Head of School, Monash Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University
Helen Rawson is a Registered Nurse, a Professor and Deputy Head of Monash University Nursing and Midwifery. Helen’s clinical and academic career is dedicated to enhancing wellbeing and promoting safe evidence-based care for older people across all care settings especially residential aged care. Helen has extensive clinical, research and engagement experience in gerontological nursing and the aged care sector. Helen’s research has involved older people, family members/care partners and the workforce in hospital and residential aged care.
Professor Pazit Levinger
Professor of Research
National Ageing Research Institute
Pazit Levinger is a Professor of Research and Principal Researcher at NARI. She has over 15 years of experience, skills and expertise in active ageing, physical activity and falls prevention, gait analysis and clinical biometrics. Her current research focuses on research translation and community work with local government engagement and she leads the ENJOY Seniors Exercise Park project – a VicHealth Award finalist for 2019 for Promoting Health through Physical Activity and Sport category.
Dr Christina Ekegren
Senior Research Fellow
Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living Research Centre, Monash University
Christina Ekegren is a Senior Research Fellow within the Rehabilitation, Ageing and Independent Living (RAIL) Research Centre. Her research focuses on physical activity in clinical populations, specifically hospitalised patients, older adults and people recovering from traumatic injury.
Dr Danny Hills
Monitoring and Evaluation Manager - Health Care Solutions, Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association
Adjunct Professor - Monash University and Federation University
Danny Hills is the Monitoring and Evaluation Manager with the Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA), where he is focussed on supporting programs and research of relevance to primary health care nursing and midwifery. He concurrently holds Adjunct Professor appointments at Federation University and Monash University.
The University of Melbourne Contemplative Studies Centre
The purpose of the Centre is to facilitate and foster truly interdisciplinary, evidence-based research into contemplative practice and methodology. In the public interest of helping to identify and promote authentic and efficacious contemplation-based offerings. Develop and lead the delivery of outstanding education and lifelong learning to encourage the pursuit of knowledge for the wellbeing and flourishing of society.
Cameron Marshman
Registered Nurse (Credentialed mental health)
Lecturer in Nursing Monash University, PhD Candidate
Cameron Marshman is a credentialed mental health nurse, educator, PhD candidate, and an avid surfer and snowboarder. Cameron is passionate about the potential of art-based health research and continually seeks to innovate research approaches, education, and dissemination strategies. His PhD research explores embodied understandings of compassion using body mapping as a visual art-based approach to discover how we might cultivate compassion for a flourishing mental healthcare system.
Teresa Donegan
Graduate Researcher
University of Melbourne
Teresa Donegan is a Social Worker with over 30 years' experience in aged and disability services in Australia and the United Kingdom, across government and not for profit organisations. Currently she is a graduate researcher with the University of Melbourne exploring mindfulness and ageing. Teresa is passionate about the opportunities and challenges that ageing presents, to reconcile and transform ourselves.
Dr Cullan Joyce
Insight Fellow at the Contemplative Studies Centre
University of Melbourne
Cullan Joyce is a passionate collaborator, environmental activist, meditation researcher, practitioner, and (future) MBSR teacher. He taught philosophy, and spirituality for over a decade at the University of Divinity and the ACU before joining the Contemplative Studies Centre (CSC) at the University of Melbourne. He is an Insight Fellow at CSC, where his main interest is applying contemplative research and practices to support vulnerable Australian communities. He has helped develop CSC’s future educational offering, the Graduate Certificate in Contemplative Care (GCCC).
His research collaboration covers several disciplines, primarily health, psychology, and the humanities in CSC’s projects: A) Contemplative practices and social change and B) Mapping contemplative experiences across and within meditation traditions.
Cullan has a Bachelor of Theology (ACU) and a Doctorate in Philosophy from the University of Tasmania and is completing his training as an MBSR instructor.
