DIETARY INTERVENTIONS INFLUENCING NEUROLOGICAL OUTCOMES
Carolina Blagojevic Castro
Dietician/Nutritionist,
PhD Candidate at Murdoch University, Western Australia &
Research Assistant, Alzheimer’s Research Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | September 2024
With over a decade of experience as a dietitian and nutritionist, Carolina Blagojevic Castro specialises in providing personalised dietary guidance and customised meal planning tailored to meet each client’s unique health needs. She is known for her engaging and educational presentations on topics related to health and nutrition, sharing practical, evidence-based insights with both community groups and professional audiences.
Currently, she works as a Nutritionist and Research Assistant at Alzheimer’s Research Australia, supporting studies on the links between diet and cognitive health. This role deepens her expertise in neurology-related nutrition, allowing her to explore how dietary interventions may influence neurological outcomes. She is also a PhD candidate at the Centre for Healthy Ageing at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, where she merges her hands-on experience with academic research, contributing practical insights to the field of nutritional science. Her research focuses on the interplay between diet and aging, bridging real-world applications and theoretical knowledge to advance the understanding of nutrition’s impact on healthy aging.
In addition to her role at Murdoch University, she holds a postgraduate qualification in Neurological Diseases from Philadelphia University/UniFil in Brazil, further enhancing her capacity to address complex dietary needs. Her commitment to professional development ensures that she stays at the forefront of advancements in nutrition, providing care to her clients and contributing meaningfully to her field.
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Dr Jade Murray
DR JADE MURRAY, POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOW
TURNER INSTITUTE FOR BRAIN AND MENTAL HEALTH, MONASH UNIVERSITY
VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA -
Biopsychosocial approaches to obsessive-compulsive, body image and eating disorders
Dr Nicola Acevedo is a Neuroscientist and Research Fellow with extensive expertise in developing novel therapeutics for neurological and psychiatric disorders, contributing to more than ten clinical trials. She specialises in brain stimulation and psychedelic treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related conditions, with a strong commitment to advancing personalised, evidence-based neurobiological therapies for severe psychiatric illness. Her approach integrates biopsychosocial and person-centred principles to improve treatment access and mental health outcomes.
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Infections and other lung diseases using models of human lung tissue grown from stem cells
Dr Rhiannon Werder is a Team Leader at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute leading a multidisciplinary team, combining expertise in stem cell biology and immunology, to develop new therapies for lung diseases. Her research centres around induced pluripotent stem cells to investigate respiratory diseases, spanning acute respiratory infections to chronic lung diseases. Using stem cells, Dr Werder’s team creates models of human lung tissue. With these models, Dr Werder is investigating how human-specific pathogens infect different regions of the lung, the ensuing immune responses, and how the lung repairs itself after infections, especially in people with preexisting lung diseases.
