the investigators
Professor Osvaldo Almeida
Osvaldo Almeida is the Professor and Chair of Geriatric Psychiatry at the University of Western Australia and consultant geriatric psychiatrist at the Royal Perth Hospital. He completed his undergraduate and specialist medical training at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and his research postgraduate training (PhD) at the Institute of Psychiatry, Maudsley Hospital, in London. The work arising from his PhD contributed to better characterise the psychotic states of later life and led to a series of manuscripts and invited editorials that attracted 293 ISI citations. This work further contributed to the development of new guidelines for the diagnosis of psychotic states in later life. Between 1994 and 1998 Professor Almeida worked in Brazil, where he turned his attention to the potential role of sex hormones in modulating physical and mental health. In collaboration with Dr Claudio Soares, a PhD student working under his supervision, Professor Almeida demonstrated that oestradiol has measurable and clinically relevant antidepressant properties during the menopausal transition.
Professor Almeida moved to Australia in 1998 and has since been running a research program designed to identify and, whenever possible, modify risk factors associated with poor mental health outcomes in later life. He and his colleagues demonstrated, in a series of observational studies and RCTs, that chemical castration leads to an increase in the serum concentration of beta-amyloid, but that oestradiol replacement therapy fails to reduce cognitive decline or depressive symptoms in women older than 70 years. The group has also shown that high plasma homocysteine is associated with cognitive impairment and depression in later life, and that treatment with vitamins B6, B12 and folate reduces total plasma homocysteine and the serum concentration of beta-amyloid (particularly amongst those with low B12), but has no obvious effect on cognitive function or mood. His most recent research has focused on cardiovascular risk factors associated with depression and improvement of health outcomes for older people with depression.
Professor Almeida has published 53 original research papers since 2002. These publications have appeared in leading international clinical and basic science journals. In addition, he has published 16 scholarly reviews, 4 invited articles, 8 book chapters, 29 abstracts, 1 web-based clinical/research tool, and 3 health booklets for older adults. He has over 250 scientific publications. Professor Almeida has been awarded numerous grants over the past 5 years in competitive research funding (mostly from NHMRC project grants and special programs). He has been a panel member of the NHMRC Project and Program Grants, and has reviewed project and program grants for various national and international research agencies. He also reviews manuscripts for numerous scientific journals. He is an Associate Editor of International Psychogeriatrics, the journal of the International Psychogeriatric Association.
Professor Almeida has made a significant contribution to the development of the training program in psychiatry of old age in Western Australia. He served two terms as the Chairperson of the Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in Western Australia and was a Member of the Board of Research of the Royal Australian College of Psychiatrists and Executive Committee of the Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age. He chaired the Strategic Mental Health Plan 2003-8 of the Department of Health of Western Australia (older adults) and was Head of the School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences of the University of Western Australia between 2002 and 2004. He is the inaugural Director of Research of the WA Centre for Health & Ageing.
This project is funded by an ARC/NHMRC Ageing Well, Ageing Productively Strategic Award.
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