Dr Wei-Hsuan (Michelle) Chiu

Michelle Chiu

BBiomed (Hons), GDipPsych (Adv), PhD

Research Fellow

Dr Wei-Hsuan (Michelle) Chiu is a Research Fellow in the Aged Care and Social Gerontology Division at the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI). Her work focuses on the BEFRIENDING with GENIE project, developing and evaluating a social intervention to reduce loneliness and enhance social support and service access for people living with dementia and their caregivers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Michelle completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne, Department of Psychiatry, and also holds a Research Fellow position at the Neuropsychiatry Centre, Royal Melbourne Hospital. Her research explores the interplay between neuropsychiatric symptoms, cognition, and biomarkers in young-onset neurodegenerative disorders and primary psychiatric disorders. She has extensive experience working within multidisciplinary clinical research teams and is passionate about improving psychosocial wellbeing and quality of life for people affected by dementia. Michelle currently serves as an Executive Committee Member of the National Younger Onset Dementia Special Interest Group (YOD-SIG).

Further Information: ORCiD

Email: [email protected]

Latest

2025 Highlights Report

The National Ageing Research Institute's 2025 Highlights Report
Pinyi Zou

Pinyi is a Research Assistant with a Bachelor of Biomedicine from the University of Melbourne, majoring in Human Structure and Function. She is interested in healthy ageing, dementia research, and culturally inclusive healthcare, with experience in healthcare administration, volunteering, and participant support.
Seminars in Ageing: Associations between female sex hormones and skeletal muscle ageing

In our June Seminar in Ageing, Professor Séverine Lamon discussed the role of sex hormones in female skeletal muscle adaptation to health and disease, with a focus on ageing.
Seminars in Ageing: Sarcopenia - Epidemiology, Diagnosis and Treatment

In the May Seminar in Ageing, Dr Ben Kirk presents a timely overview of the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of sarcopenia, with a focus on practical clinical relevance for ageing, health, and aged care contexts.

Pinyi Zou

Pinyi is a Research Assistant with a Bachelor of Biomedicine from the University of Melbourne, majoring in Human Structure and Function. She is interested in healthy ageing, dementia research, and culturally inclusive healthcare, with experience in healthcare administration, volunteering, and participant support.
Kanishka Iddawela

Kanishka is a Projects and Communications Officer working with NARI’s Commercialisation and Consultancy team. He has a background in medical research and designing, implementing and evaluating public health programs in Government and non-Government sectors.
Stephanie Chen

Stephanie is a Project and Communications Officer on the Consultancy and Commercialisation team. Stephanie is experienced in communications and community development practice and research in Australian and international contexts. She is skilled at clearly communicating complex topics and working with diverse stakeholders to achieve strong outcomes.
Dr Jeew Hettiarachchi

Dr Jeew Hettiarachchi is a Research Fellow in the Social Gerontology Division at NARI and an Accredited Practising Dietitian specialising in nutrition and ageing. Her research examines nutrition strategies to optimise muscle mass and physical and cognitive function in older adults across clinical and community settings, supporting independent living.
Jin Li

Jin Li is a Research Assistant at NARI working on the Befriending with GENIE project. She is completing a PhD in medical anthropology at the University of Melbourne, with research on ageing, dementia care, and end-of-life experiences among Chinese migrants in Australia.
Dr Celene Yap

Dr Celene Yap is a Research Fellow at the Clinical Gerontology Division, specialising in emergency care for older people. She is a health services researcher with expertise in program evaluation, implementation science, and mixed methods, with extensive research experience across emergency care, vulnerable populations, and complex health interventions including Safewards.
Dr Zhichao Wang

Zhichao is a research fellow at NARI and Centre for Health Services Research, University of Queensland. As a health economist, his research focuses on the efficiency of hospitals, the quality of aged care, and the performance of healthcare systems in general.
Dr Tofunmi Aworinde

Dr Tofunmi Aworinde is a Research Fellow at NARI. Tofunmi has experience in dementia care research, shared decision-making, intervention development and evaluation. He currently works on dementia and aged care related projects.
Dr Alyssa Welch

Alyssa is NARI’s Director of Commercialisation and Consultancy. She has an extensive background in project management, communications, research and consultancy. Her research interests include evaluation of public health and health policy initiatives, and she holds a PhD in Public Health at The University of Queensland.
Danyang Dai

Danyang is a third year PhD student at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on COVID and Acute Kidney Injury. She has a background in statistics and econometrics.

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.
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.
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.
Where are the seniors exercise parks?

Seniors exercise parks are located across Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Healthy Ageing Quiz

If you're 50 or over, take our Healthy Ageing Quiz to find out if you're on the right track to age well.
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.
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.
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NARI's exercise videos can help older people stay active at home, particularly during times when you may not be as physically active outdoors. The exercises were developed by allied health professionals with expertise in exercise for older people.
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Research participants

Make a difference in the lives of older people and those who care for them by volunteering to be involved in research.