Frini Karayanidis

Professor, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Newcastle

Frini Karayanidis is a Professor in the School of Psychological Sciences, University of Newcastle (UON), Australia and Senior Research Affiliate with the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI).

As Director of UON’s Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Frini Karayanidis’ cognitive neuroscience research is helping to craft a clearer picture of how we efficiently and adaptively apply cognitive control processes across the lifespan. She has strong cross-disciplinary collaborations with national and international research teams that apply neuroscience methods to clinical questions relating to healthy ageing, early detection and prevention for cognitive decline, and cognitive recovery post-stroke. She is lead investigator on three current projects. The Age-ility Project is an ARC-funded project that examines variability in cognitive control ability across the life course. The ACTIVate Project seeks to characterise the optimal combination of lifestyle approaches that provide protection against cognitive decline and dementia in older adults. The ABC Study examines whether enrichment programs can produce structural changes in brain arteries that protect against cognitive decline.

As co-Director of HMRI’s Healthy Minds Research Program, she is leading the Community Healthy Ageing Initiative, which aims to translate research knowledge and interventions to become accessible to wide sectors of the community and inform people’s approach to healthy ageing.