First Name:
Sharon
Last Name:
Naismith
Email:
Title:
Prof
Organization/Affiliation (no abbreviation):
University of Sydney
Short Biography:
Prof Sharon Naismith, AM, is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Leadership II Fellow and holds the Leonard P Ullman Chair at the University of Sydney.
She leads the Australian Dementia Network Memory Clinics Initiative, aiming to improve equitable access to health services for people experiencing cognitive decline and dementia. She has mapped nationwide services, created new memory clinic guidelines and has designed and implemented novel virtual memory clinics for regional and rural areas. Prof Naismith is passionate about research with impact. She works with policy makers and government investment to improve dementia diagnosis and post-diagnostic support. In 2025, she received an Order of Australia for her work in dementia and neuropsychology.
Prof Naismith also leads an NHMRC Synergy Program 'Synergise Integrate and Enhance Sleep Research to Transform Brain Ageing' (SIESTA), with a specific focus on MCI and Alzheimer’s disease. Using gold-standard methods, she is examining the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in brain health. She also leads the Neuromusic trial, seeking to examine if music based interventions can improve memory, slow neurodegeneration and improve wellbeing in older people with Mild Cognitive Impairment.
She leads the Australian Dementia Network Memory Clinics Initiative, aiming to improve equitable access to health services for people experiencing cognitive decline and dementia. She has mapped nationwide services, created new memory clinic guidelines and has designed and implemented novel virtual memory clinics for regional and rural areas. Prof Naismith is passionate about research with impact. She works with policy makers and government investment to improve dementia diagnosis and post-diagnostic support. In 2025, she received an Order of Australia for her work in dementia and neuropsychology.
Prof Naismith also leads an NHMRC Synergy Program 'Synergise Integrate and Enhance Sleep Research to Transform Brain Ageing' (SIESTA), with a specific focus on MCI and Alzheimer’s disease. Using gold-standard methods, she is examining the role of sleep and circadian rhythms in brain health. She also leads the Neuromusic trial, seeking to examine if music based interventions can improve memory, slow neurodegeneration and improve wellbeing in older people with Mild Cognitive Impairment.
Website:
Supported by NIH/NIA cooperative agreement U24AG084436