Julie Byles

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Professor Julie Byles BMed PhD FAAHMS, is Director of the Research Centre for Generational, Health and Ageing – a Priority Research Centre at the University of Newcastle. As a clinical epidemiologist, Professor Byles interests are in risk determination, health assessment, other health care evaluation, and measurement of health outcomes. As a Gerontologist and Fellow of the Australian Association of Gerontology, Professor Byles’ research interests in ageing include the role of health services, preventive activities, and treatments in maintaining quality of life for older people, and in determining physical, psychological and social factors associated with optimal physical and mental health of men and women as they age. Her work has included health assessment, medications used by older people, sleep disturbance, health effects of alcohol, nutrition screening and interventions, health and retirement, and prevention of falls in residential care. Professor Byles is Director (Newcastle) of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health; and Co-investigator, NHMRC Centre of Excellence in Women’s Health in the 21st Century, which includes translation of evidence about ongoing health and health care use of women. She is also closely involved with the NSW 45 and Up Study, a longitudinal study involving over 266,000 men and women across New South Wales, as a member of the Scientific Steering Committee, and as a co-investigator on an NHMRC funded project to follow-up the first 100,000 participants to determine social, environmental and economic factors and their relationships with health and ageing.          Professor Byles is a Past President of the Australian Association of Gerontology (2011-2013), and contributes to government and non-government programs relating to ageing research and health care for older persons. In 2016 she is honoured to be the AAG Glenda Powell Traveling Fellow.         In October 2015, Professor Byles was recognised for her outstanding achievement and significant contribution to the field of public health and health services research by being accepted as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and in November she was recognised as the Hunter Medical Research Institute Researcher of the Year.         Since completion of her PhD in 1994 she has successfully applied for over $30 million dollars in external research grants including the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH). Out of these projects she has authored over 250 publications in peer reviewed refereed journals as well as numerous book chapters, official reports to government and other agencies. She has also delivered over 150 conference presentations, and numerous interactive conference workshops. Teaching ExpertiseProfessor Byles has taught Clinical Epidemiology at a post-graduate level since 1994 (EPID6410). She also convened a national faculty for development of a postgraduate course on Public Health Implications of an Ageing Population (EPID6660). Professor Byles also has excellent experience in training researchers at doctoral level. Under her supervision 27 students have completed research higher degrees at PhD level and 6 student