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Conjoint Professor of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney

Brian Draper MBBS (Hons) UNSW, MD (UNSW) FRANZCP is the Senior Old Age Psychiatrist in the South East Sydney Local Health Network and has worked in the Academic Department for Old Age Psychiatry at Prince of Wales and Prince Henry Hospitals, Sydney since 1992. He is Deputy Director and a member of the core management group of the Australian Government’s Primary Dementia CRC based at UNSW and a Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Neurosciences Research Australia.

Dr Draper is Chair of the Australian Government’s Psychogeriatric Care Expert Reference Group and immediate Past Chair of the Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age, RANZCP. He is a member of the Board of the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA), Chair of the IPA BPSD Taskforce, Deputy Editor of the IPA Website and is the Assistant Editor (Internet) of the IPA Bulletin. He is an Associate Editor for the journal Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior. He is an assessor for many national and international journals, publishers and granting bodies. He is a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Panel for Alzheimer's Disease International. He has served on local, state and national committees for mental health services and provided consultations on psychogeriatric services in Australia and overseas.

Dr Draper has had a long term involvement with vocational training in psychiatry. He was the foundation Chair of the Committee for Advanced Training in Psychiatry of Old Age, RANZCP and was responsible for developing its curriculum and training program. He was also the foundation Psychiatry Clinical Chair for the NSW Institute of Medical Education and Training and foundation Chair of the NSW Psychiatry Network Oversight Committee.

Dr Draper’s research interests are diverse. He has published over 200 scientific articles and book chapters on topics that include psychogeriatric service delivery, suicidal behaviour in old age, clinical aspects of dementia care including BPSD, carer stress, depression in old age, and professional development. He is the lead author of a 2004 WHO Health Evidence Network synthesis of the effectiveness of mental health service delivery to older people. He has co-edited two academic books on Geriatric Consultation Liaison Psychiatry (2001) and Psychogeriatric Service Delivery: an International Perspective (2005). His book for the general public ‘Dealing with Dementia’ (2004) has been extensively revised as 'Understanding Alzheimer's and Other Dementias' (2011). He has also published a popular culture book about the rock group Yes - 'Yes in Australia' (2010).

Experience

  • 1992–present
    Assistant Director, Academic Department for Old Age Psychiatry, Prince of Wales and Prince Henry Hospitals, Randwick, NSW
  • 2009–present
    Conjoint Professor of Psychiatry, University of NSW
  • 2003–2009
    Conjoint Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of NSW
  • 1985–1992
    Staff Specialist Psychiatrist, St George Hospital, Kogarah, NSW

Education

  • 2002 
    UNSW, MD
  • 1985 
    RANZCP, Fellowship
  • 1978 
    UNSW, MBBS (Hons)

Research Areas

  • Psychiatry (Incl. Psychotherapy) (110319)
  • Aged Health Care (111702)
  • Mental Health (111714)
  • Residential Client Care (111718)
  • Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Health (111701)
  • Epidemiology (111706)
  • Health And Community Services (111708)