Mathew Summers

Biography

Professor Mathew Summers, is Professor of Psychology and Discipline Lead of Psychology in the School of Health at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Mathew is an AHPRA registered and endorsed Clinical Neuropsychologist and Fellow of the APS College of Clinical Neuropsychologists. Mathew is an Editor of the journal Neuropsychology Review, and former Executive Steering Committee member on the Cognition PIA of the Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment. Mathew was appointed to the 2018 Australian Research Council (ARC) Excellence in Research (ERA) Medical and Health Sciences Research Evaluation Committee (REC) and has served as a Panel member of various NHMRC and MRFF Grant schemes

Mathew leads Aging and Dementia research within the Discipline of Psychology; a core area of need for the Sunshine Coast community. The research led by Mathew encompasses key themes for research activity and engagement with the Sunshine Coast community, and has attracted in excess of A$12.4 million in research funding and has led to over 170 publications:

1. Diagnosis – Two prospective longitudinal cohort studies resulted in diagnosis of preclinical dementia more than 2 years prior to dementia onset with >84% accuracy. This research has recently been expanded to incorporate biomarker methods to further increase diagnostic accuracy of preclinical stages of dementia,
2. Prevention – evidence based studies of enhancement of function in healthy older adults to prevent age-related cognitive decline (ARCD) and dementia. Mathew is co-project leader of the NHMRC funded Tasmanian Healthy Brain Project, a world-first prospective longitudinal project examining the potential of late life education to prevent ARCD and dementia. In addition, he is leading research investigating the link between cardiovascular diseases and dementia to reduce dementia risk.
3. Intervention – evidence-based studies of non-pharmacological methods to treat dementia and pre-clinical dementia syndromes. Mathew was lead and Principal Investigator of an NHMRC and EU HORIZON2020 funded multinational collaborative project to detect and treat pre-frailty conditions in community residing older adults (my-AHA project). This project utilised ICT based systems to identify and treat frailty in community residing older adults to reduce need for residential care facilities. He also leads a research project examining the potential of non-pharmacological interventions (mindfulness and computer-based cognitive training) to enhance core cognitive functions in older adults. The results of this study will lead to future clinical trials in patients with mild cognitive impairment and early stage dementia.

Teaching areas

• Physiological Psychology
• Advanced Research Methods and Analysis

Professional memberships

• Registered Psychologist, Clinical Neuropsychology endorsed (Psychology Board of Australia)
• Member of the Australian Psychological Society
• Fellow of the APS College of Clinical Neuropsychologists
• Member of the Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer Research and Treatment (ISTAART)
• Member of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) Translational Research Faculty

Expert media commentary

Professors Mathew Summers’ specialist areas of knowledge include the neuropsychological assessment of children and adults for a range of disorders of brain function. In addition, he has extensive research experience in the diagnosis of dementia in older adults and in early detection of adults at increased risk of developing dementia (mild cognitive impairment).