DEVELOPING UPPER LIMB MOTOR BIOMARKERS OF DEMENTIA
With
Kaylee Rudd,
Junior Research Fellow,
Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre
University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia | February 2026
Kaylee is currently a research fellow with the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre at the University of Tasmania. She has recently submitted her PhD thesis, reporting the findings of her research on developing upper limb motor biomarkers of dementia. She has postgrad degrees in physiotherapy and experience working in the community and aged care across Tasmania for several years, where she worked with people with dementia.
Her experience underlined the importance of detecting cognitive impairment early and prompted her to join the Wicking to research dementia in 2021. Her research aims to better understand how movement is associated with cognition and to identify potential hand motor tests to help detect those at risk of developing cognitive impairment early.
One of the main highlights of her research experience has been close and regular collaboration with participants and team members of the ISLAND Clinic and the Tasmanian ISLAND Project.
Currently she coordinates the TapTalk project, a multi-level RHHRF funded project, which aims to develop a non-invasive screening test to detect risk of Alzheimer’s disease pathology.
Kaylee also contributes to national and international research projects. Examples are her work with the multisite Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT) study investigating the impact of blood-based biomarkers knowledge on clinician’s diagnostic confidence, and her ongoing collaboration with the AI-assisted motor biomarkers team in the University of Leeds, UK.
Collaborations and funding from
- Wicking Dementia research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania
- Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmanian Health Service
- Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation (RHHRF)
Source: Supplied and adapted
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8073-8691
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Gerontological physiotherapy in falls prevention and prehabilitation
Dr Rik Dawson is a gerontological physiotherapist and health leader dedicated to improving healthy ageing through evidence-based physiotherapy, digital health and health system reform. As a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, University of Sydney, and President of the Australian Physiotherapy Association, he combines research and policy to improve access to high quality care for older people.
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Therapies for chronic myeloid leukaemia
Professor Tim Hughes is an international expert in the biology and treatment of leukaemia. He led the establishment of the molecular response criteria that are used world-wide to measure response in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and has led many of the key Global and National trials. His group has successfully developed predictive bioassays and molecular targets that influence the way CML patients are managed world-wide. He has published over 350 papers that have been cited over 65,000 times.
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CASE STUDY High blood pressure and shorter sleep may worsen brain decline
People with high blood pressure who also lack sleep may be at increased risk of reduced cognitive performance and greater brain injury, Monash University research has found.
Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers assessed whether the combined effect of hypertension and short sleep duration had a negative impact on brain health.
