About the Ageing Research Unit

Officially formed in 2004 as part of the Centre for Mental Health Research, the mission of the Ageing Research Unit (ARU) is:

"To discover how to optimise wellness over the lifespan, through innovative, high quality psychological and epidemiological research, so that individuals may age well with their families and communities."

The ARU projects are funded by various sources, with large population-based longitudinal studies forming a core resource for several studies. The most central to these is the PATH Through Life Project based at the Centre for Mental health Research which provides information on mental health and wellbeing, cognition, genetics and brain ageing. Additional experimental work, clinical trials and studies of biomedical aspects of the ageing process contribute to our broader research program.

The ARU's research is drawn from strong methodological and theoretical traditions in psychology and epedimiology. One of our strategic goals is to apply this knowledge in practical ways by developing research outputs with direct clinical application, tools that may be used by consumers, or by producing information for use by policy makers. Another key focus of the ARU is to develop capacity in ageing research nationally, through postgraduate and postdoctoral training. We aim to produce researchers with outstanding methodological skills in addition to a sound grounding in key theoretical frameworks of lifespan development and ageing.

Download the Ageing Research Unit booklet.

The Nautilus shell, lined with mother-of-pearl, grows into increasingly larger chambers throughout its life, starting from the middle and wrapping around into a beautiful spiral. The spiral pattern of the Nautilus shell is commonly found in nature such as in the development of a human embryo, in cloud patterns, and star clusters.