Sessions & Session Chairs
Sessions
S1. Biological foundations of healthy ageing
S2. Brain, cognition, and mental health in ageing
S3. Nutrition, lifestyle, and disease prevention in ageing
S4. Technology, healthcare systems, and age-friendly societies
School of Medicine and Biosciences, University of West London, London, UK
Dr Snorri Bjorn Rafnsson is Associate Professor of Ageing and Dementia in the Geller Institute of Ageing and Memory (GIAM) in the School of Medicine and Biosciences at the University of West London. Dr Rafnsson is GIAM's Director of Postgraduate Education.
His current research focuses on three broad aims: 1) To enhance understanding of the role of biopsychosocial determinants of health and well-being in older age, including cognitive decline and dementia, and their interaction with relevant environmental characteristics; 2) To better understand the impact of chronic diseases on psychosocial well-being in later life and how to support older people living well with chronic conditions; and 3) To better understand the barriers to, and facilitators of, high-quality, evidence-based, person-centred dementia care.
Dr Rafnsson regularly collaborates with UWL and external colleagues in preparing research grant applications and submissions to peer-reviewed ageing journals and conferences. His research, which has been published in academic journals, edited books, and policy reports, continues to inform diverse ageing and dementia research efforts, evidence-based recommendations (eg the WHO guidelines on risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia), and patient education and awareness initiatives. Dr Rafnsson’s recent study on social contact and memory function in older adults in England also had a wide press and media coverage in the UK and internationally.
Dr Rafnsson trained in epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh and later conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Edinburgh and University College London (UCL). He was Research Fellow at the Centre for Population Health Sciences at the University of Edinburgh from 2007-2010; Senior Epidemiologist at the Hellenic Health Foundation (HHF) in Athens, Greece, from 2010-2013; Research Associate in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, UCL, from 2013-2016; and Senior Lecturer in public health in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, London Metropolitan University, from 2016-2019
National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
Clinical Professor Prakash Kumar is a Senior Consultant Neurologist at the National Neuroscience Institute. He is based at Singapore General Hospital, where he is Head, Department of Neurology, NNI@SGH.
Prof Prakash obtained his undergraduate and postgraduate medical qualifications from Malaysia and subsequently underwent neurology specialist training in Singapore. Following that, he pursued a fellowship in Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders at Toronto Western Hospital, one of the largest and most reputable centres in North America.
His areas of clinical and research interest include motor and non-motor problems in Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders and Clinical Neurophysiology. He has published extensively in these areas.
Department of Geriatric and Orthopaedic Sciences, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy
Francesco Landi is Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the Catholic University of Rome, School of Medicine. He is the chief of the Geriatric Internal Medicine Unit of the Geriatrics Department of the A. Gemelli University Hospital. He has been a visiting Assistant Professor at Brown University School of Medicine, Department of Community Health.
Contributions to advance scientific knowledge and medical practice include active involvement in research and the application to patient care. Main research interests are in geriatric assessment, nutritional problems, sarcopenia, models of health services for elderly care, and geriatric pharmaco-epidemiology. Prof. Landi serves as a President of the Scientific Committee of the Italian Geriatric Society, on the Editorial Board of several international geriatric journals, and as a peer reviewer for numerous international medical journals. He has acted as the Principal Investigator in many multicenter national and international trials. In addition, he is a member of national and international expert groups that work on guidelines in the field of nutrition, sarcopenia and functionality in older adults.
Prof. Landi has over 300 peer-reviewed original papers in international medical journals, many of which are in the area of frailty and functional status of older people. He is particularly interested in the role of nutrition as part of the integrated care of older adults, and participated in the development of the European consensus on sarcopenia definition and diagnosis.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
Prof. Schofield is a registered general nurse. She has worked in academia since 1992 in a number of institutions around the UK including Sheffield, Aberdeen, Greenwich and Anglia Ruskin.
Prof. Schofield has maintained her clinical expertise in a number of ways including acting in the role as governor for Medway Foundation Trust, more recently as a vaccinator on the COVID programme for Dorset health and as a member of a number of pensioner forums including Chelsea and Westminster and Lewisham and a steering group member for Positive Ageing in London.
Prof. Schofield is recognised in the field of Pain and Ageing and was invited to co-chair the Global year against pain in the vulnerable population and chaired the European Year against pain in the vulnerable population. She has recently been awarded a distinguished award for contribution to the field of pain and ageing by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP).
She is a member of the examination board for the European Diploma in Pain Medicine and on the curriculum development team for the European Diploma in Pain Nursing. She has been awarded an honorary Diploma in Pain Medicine in recognition of professional contribution. Prof. Schofield is an honorary Professor at Abertay University and Sheffield Hallam University.