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The ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) is proud to offer this five day workshop for early career researchers hosted by the Centre for Research in Ageing, Health and Wellbeing at the Australian National University.

The main objective of this interactive workshop is to improve the ability of participants to conduct analysis of longitudinal data, as well as to interpret results while following general strategies for successful publication in scientific journals. Each lesson will be accompanied by PowerPoint and other handouts to facilitate discussion. Published articles to demonstrate the practical use of each discussed statistical technique will also be available.

The workshop will focus on the following:

• Hypothesis formulation and testing
• Analysis of variance/repeated measures analysis of variance
• Introduction to regression techniques: Linear regression and logistic regression (this portion will include conditional process modeling [to test mediation and moderation])
• Cox regression; Generalized estimating equations
• Mixed effects modeling

Participants are expected to have their own data and project on which they will work during the workshop. However, practice data will also be available.

Prerequisites

Participants should have at least some experience with quantitative data analysis. Some familiarity with SAS or SPSS is preferable.

Workshop Schedule

The full workshop schedule and further information will be published closer to the date.

Travel Bursaries

A number of travel bursaries valued at up to $750 will be offered to assist interstate participants with travel and accommodation expenses.

Selection

Participants will be selected on the basis of the above prerequisites. PhD students are eligible to apply but preference may be given to Early Career Researchers (researchers who have completed a PhD in the last 5 years).

Cost

There is no charge for the workshop. The workshop is supported by funding provided to CEPAR by the Australian Research Council to support the training of Early Career Researchers.

Enquiries

Annabella McHugh (annabella.mchugh@unsw.edu.au)

Phone: +61 2 9385 6617    

Workshop Presenter:

Associate Professor Ross Andel

School of Aging Studies, University of Southern Florida

Ross Andel's primary research interest is the investigation of modifiable risk factors for cognitive impairment including Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. He is particularly interested in the role of occupational environment in cognitive change and cognitive impairment, but he also studies other factors in this context including leisure activities, education, personality, dietary factors, and blood profile.

More recently, he has been involved in the search for clinical tools capable of identifying early signs of cognitive impairment. This includes collaboration with colleagues from the Czech Brain Ageing Study where they target spatial navigation memory as a potential indicator of cognitive status. It also includes collaboration with the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer's Institute, specifically research on the use of web-based memory monitoring system for older adults, the Cogstate Brief Battery.

Finally, he works with colleagues from the Cognitive Aging and Neurophysiology of Aging Labs at USF where they conduct research aimed at helping older adults maintain their cognitive abilities, particularly those abilities that tend to decline with age such as memory and speed of information processing.