Dr Antonia (Tania) Thodis

BSc (Hons Nutrition), MSc (Nutrition & Dietetics), PhD (Nutritional Epidemiology)

Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) and Research Fellow

After 15 years as a clinical dietitian, Tania transitioned to research dietetics facilitating randomised control trials (RCT) to test the traditional Med Diet pattern vs a standard care diet as a model for prevention and/or management of chronic diseases. Her research interests lie in combining evidence-based dietary patterns, cuisines, and lifestyle interventions to improve the health outcomes of adults in their advancing years.

In 2019, after completing her Ph.D., Tania joined NARI’s Social Gerontology division as a bilingual Greek-speaking researcher to work on the Moving Pictures Project and ADAPT short films for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. She is a Research Fellow and the Project Manager for the DrawCare study to facilitate the co-design of culturally adapted, multilingual digital resources and a randomized control trial to test these resources aimed at reducing carer burden and improving the quality of life for CALD family carers and their loved ones living with dementia. Tania is an advocate for improving diet quality to support older people living at home or, in residential aged care factoring in cultural background and traditional cuisines.

ResearchGate

MedWalk

MovingPictures

Drawing out care study

Email: [email protected]

Latest

Help researchers test culturally adapted, multilingual online resources

Are you a family carer of a person living with dementia? Are you from a culturally and linguistically diverse community group? We want your help to test our online resources in your language!
In memory of Efthymia (Mitsi) Kouris

The Kouris family invites friends and loved ones of Efthymia 'Mitsi' Kouris to leave a donation to the National Ageing Research Institute in lieu of flowers.
A new chapter for Professor Briony Dow and NARI

NARI would like to express its deepest thanks to Professor Briony Dow, whose leadership has shaped NARI’s role in the sector, leading to life-changing translational research projects and consumer-led innovation. After almost a decade leading the organisation, Professor Dow will step down from her role as Director in May 2024.
Research Officer/Fellow A: Closing date Sunday 17 December 2023

NARI is seeking a Research Officer/Fellow A to work in the Aged Care Division.

Associate Professor Catherine Said

Associate Professor Said is the inaugural Associate Professor Physiotherapy, Western Health and The University of Melbourne, and a program director with the Australian Institute of Musculoskeletal Science. Her research focuses on fall prevention and rehabilitation of older people and people with neurological disorders.
Professor Lee-Fay Low

Lee-Fay is an Honorary Fellow at NARI and Professor in Ageing and Health at the University of Sydney. She is a psychologist who conducts research into dementia, healthy ageing and aged care, with a particular interest in working with diverse communities.
Marla Stone

Marla is a research assistant working on the ENJOY IMPACT Project in Mitchell Shire. She has a background in Education, Logistics and Neighbourhood House services.
Kira Kezia-Pearl

Kira is a Research Assistant within the Clinical Gerontology Division at NARI. She is working on the ENJOY IMP-ACT project which aims to improve older people’s health through physical activity.
Nyssa Clarke

Nyssa Clarke is a Research Assistant working on the MINDSET project at NARI. She has experience in public health research, primarily in the areas of health literacy, traumatic injury and sustainable transport.
Professor Sigrid Nakrem

Professor Sigrid Nakrem is an academic at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She holds a MSc in health sciences and a PhD in public health. Her main research topics are patient safety and quality of care, elder abuse, and eHealth, and has teaching competence in related areas.
Associate Professor Samantha Loi

Associate Professor Samantha Loi is an old age psychiatrist and neuropsychiatrist working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuropsychiatry Centre and Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne. Her research interests include ageing, mental health and cognition in middle aged and older adults.
Professor Claudia Cooper

Professor Cooper collaborates with NARI on a number of studies, including PITCH, No More Shame and Moving Pictures India. She leads the Queen Mary University of London Centre for Psychiatry and Mental Health, where she is a professor of Psychological Medicine.
Dr Lidia Engel

Lidia Engel is a Honorary Fellow at NARI and a Senior Research Fellow at Monash University. She is a health economist and specialised in the measurement and valuation of quality of life and informal care, as well as the economics of mental health and ageing.
Professor Leon Flicker

Leon Flicker is the inaugural Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Western Australia since 1998 and Executive Director of the Western Australian Centre for Health and Ageing. He has published extensively on falls, depression, cognitive impairment, dementia and frailty, as well as successful ageing.

Falls risk for older People in the community: FROP-Com

The Falls Risk for Older People in the Community (FROP-Com and FROP-Com Screen) are tools used in the community for assessment or screening of falls risk.
What is the Seniors Exercise Park?

The Seniors Exercise Park is an outdoor exercise equipment includes multiple stations specifically designed for older people to improve strength, balance, joint movements, mobility and function.
Indigenous Cognitive Assessment: Regional and Urban KICA

The regional and urban KICA is an instrument to assess dementia in older Aboriginal people in regional and urban settings.
Age-positive language guide

As part of our commitment to combatting ageism, NARI has developed an age-positive language guide. The guide provides practical examples of how words, phrases, and images can better portray older people and combat ageism.
Victorian falls and balance service directory

The Victorian Falls and Balance Service Directory provides details of the clinics and programs operated by public hospitals and community health services in Victoria for older people who have had a fall or are at risk of falling.
Research participants

Make a difference in the lives of older people and those who care for them by volunteering to be involved in research.
Grief in Older People and its Effect on Healthcare Use

Examines the effects of grief in older people on healthcare use from the perspective of (a) the older bereaved person who is experiencing grief and (b) GPs who are treating grieving older people.
BEFRIENDAS

BEFRIENDAS investigates the impact of befriending on levels of depression, anxiety, social support and loneliness in older people living in residential aged care when provided by trained volunteers.
Elder abuse and dementia

These three short films demonstrate how to respond where the carer abuses the person with dementia; where the person with dementia abuses their carer; and where there is unintended neglect related to advancing dementia. They were co-produced with providers and older people, with funding from the State Trustees Australia Foundation.
A Best Practice Model of Continence Care for Residential Aged Care

This research co-designed and evaluated a best practice model for delivering continence care in Australian residential aged care homes. The model helps residential aged care providers deliver high quality continence care that is consistent with the Aged Care Quality Standard.