Associate ProfessorAlex Bahar-Fuchs

I am a clinician-researcher trained as a clinical neuropsychologist and specialise in the field of cognitive ageing, particularly the development, evaluation, synthesis, and translation of evidence related to cognitive interventions for people with cognitive decline and dementia. I am among the most cited researchers globally on cognitive training in dementia and my synthesis of the evidence in this area has had an impact on clinical practice guidelines in Australia and in the UK.

After completing my undergraduate training in Psychology at Ben-Gurion University in Israel, I went on to complete my postgraduate and postdoctoral qualifications at the University of Melbourne, Monash University and the Australian National University. Specifically, I completed my clinical training and PhD at Monash University, and my postdoctoral training at the Centre for Research on Ageing, Health, and Wellbeing at the Australian National University. Between July 2014 and December 2016, I was based at the Joseph Sagol Centre for Neuroscience at Sheba Medical Centre, Israel, as part of an NHMRC Overseas-Based Clinical Early Career Fellowship. In 2017, I was awarded a Boosting Dementia Research Leadership Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

I joined the School of Psychology at Deakin University in 2023, while maintaining an honorary appointment as A/Prof in the Department of Psychiatry and School of Psychology at the University of Melbourne. My research group at Deakin (The ALE research group) includes students, research assistants, interns and placement students, and I collaborate widely with other researchers in the School of Psychology, at Deakin University, nationally and internationally.

My earlier research focused on early detection of cognitive decline and dementia, with a particular focus on the role of olfactory processes. Since 2011, my research focus shifted to the development, evaluation and synthesis of non-pharmacological interventions aimed at primary and secondary prevention of cognitive decline and dementia. See my Google Scholar Profile for a full list of publications. 

My work has been funded by the Australian NHMRC, Dementia Australia, the Alzheimer's Association, and the NIH. Between 2016 and 2019 I served as the Chair of the nonpharmacological interventions Professional Interest Area of the ISTAART (the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment). Since 2021, I co-chair the Cognitive Interventions Working Group of ADNeT (the Australian Dementia Network). I also continues working in private practice where I support clients with or at risk of dementia and their families.