Samaras Lab

Our interest is in how adverse metabolic effects may be prevented or reversed. We are undertaking a number of projects, including:

• The MetMemory Study: a five-year randomised controlled study which repurposes a commonly prescribed diabetes medication, metformin, to understand if it may prevent cognitive decline and brain ageing in older people without diabetes. The study is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
• The Sydney Memory and Ageing Study Mark 2: a five-year longitudinal study of determinants of health ageing, which extends the studies of our original Sydney Memory and Ageing Study – a 15-year study of how metabolism (blood glucose, blood fats, inflammation and other biomarkers) impacts ageing,
• Vascular contributors to dementia: a five-year Centre of Research Excellence program which includes collaboration with leading Australian institutes, such as the Centre of Healthy Brain Ageing (UNSW Sydney, The University of Sydney and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute). The study is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
• The impact of diabetes and obesity on epigenetic programming: altering the expression of our genetic code
• The gut microbiome in type 1 diabetes and the impact of nutritional interventions.