The MARCS Institute

Proud to see our students showcasing their research at the Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) 2026 Conference in Lyon, France.

Eman Shatnawi presented her poster, “Implementing Person-Centred Care in Aged Care: A Narrative Review of Staff Wellbeing & Organisational Influences,” highlighting the critical role of workforce wellbeing in delivering quality dementia care. During the conference, she also had the opportunity to meet and speak with Princess Muna Al Hussein of Jordan, a global ambassador for ADI since 2023.

Mina Aghaei presented her PhD research, “Dementia Care Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Assistive Technology,” as part of the ‘Advancing & Integrating Assistive Technologies’ session. She also contributed to a panel and demo.

Their contributions reflect the depth and impact of research at MARCS in care, technology, and person-centred approaches.

Amid growing public speculation about Donald Trump’s behaviour, researchers at Western Sydney University examine whether conditions like frontotemporal dementia can – or should – be used to explain it.

“Speculation about dementia may feel like a way of making sense of behaviour that is difficult, unsettling or even morally questionable. But it is a poor substitute for clinical rigour.

For those living with frontotemporal dementia, it risks turning a serious neurological disease into a casual metaphor that explains little and harms a lot.”

✨ Read the article: https://tinyurl.com/23pv3946

The Conversation Australia + NZ

We can’t know if Donald Trump has dementia. Even if he did, it wouldn’t excuse his actions Blaming behaviour we don’t like on a disease means less accountability, and is bad for those who live with dementia. It’s also often inaccurate.

Out in the community today! 🤝 Our Age Lab teams were across two locations – the Seniors Expo at Parramatta Library and the Seniors Fair at Wenty Leagues.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to chat with us and share your stories. We hope you enjoyed the reflective origami activity and the live demo of our latest project.

It was especially meaningful to hear participants reflect on their own memories and experiences. These conversations help shape the work we do and ensure it stays connected to the communities we serve. 🙌

Special thanks to the organisers for the wonderful platform to share our research: City of Parramatta and Wenty Leagues