The Australian Psychological Society (APS) recognised Scientia Professor Kaarin Anstey, CEPAR Co-Deputy Director, with the 2018 APS Distinguished Contribution to Psychological Science Award.
The award honours Anstey’s distinguished theoretical and empirical research contributions to psychology. Her achievements have also been recognised by the Division of Psychological Research, Education and Training (DPRET) of the APS.
Kaarin Anstey is one of Australia’s leading researchers in cognitive ageing and dementia. Her research programs focus on the causes, consequences and prevention of cognitive ageing, dementia, and common mental disorders in adulthood. She has worked extensively with longitudinal studies, and leads the PATH Through Life Project, a large cohort study focussing on common mental disorders and cognitive function, based in the ACT and surrounding regions. She also conducts research into driving and road safety in later life.
“I am honoured and delighted to receive this award,” said Scientia Professor Anstey. 
“This award is further recognition of the research into the causes, consequences and prevention of cognitive decline and dementia that my group is doing here in CEPAR, UNSW Sydney and NeuRA.”
“Dementia is the leading cause of disability among Australians over 65. The longer one lives the greater the risk of developing dementia. Australia’s ageing population is leading to an increasing number of Australians with the disease which will further impact individuals, society and the economy over the next decade. Research into cognitive ageing and dementia is now more urgent than ever.”
Kaarin Anstey is Scientia Professor of Psychology at UNSW Sydney, Co-Deputy Director of CEPAR and Senior Principal Research Scientist at NeuRA. She leads the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Cognitive Health and is a Director of the NHMRC Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration and the UNSW Ageing Futures Institute. From 2012-2017 she was the founding Director of the Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing at the Australian National University where she is now an Honorary Professor.
Scientia Professor Anstey is the Chair of the International Research Network on Dementia Prevention, a Director of the Board of the Dementia Australia Research Foundation, a member of the World Health Organisation Guideline Development Group cognitive decline and dementia, and a member of the Governance Committee of the Global Council on Brain Health, an initiative supported by the American Association of Retired Persons and AgeUK.
She is a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, the Gerontological Society of America, the Australian Association of Gerontology, and the Australian Psychological Society.