ADVISOR

Dr Philippe Robert is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry,  co-director of the CoBTeK (Cognition Behavior Technology) laboratory at Université Côte d’Azur. CoBTeK focuses on mental health from birth to end of life and artificial intelligence. He is also the scientific coordinator of the CreaPolis (Research, Education and Support Center Sophia Antipolis at the JL Noisiez Fondation). As clinician he was  ex-Director of the Memory and Research Center (CMRR)  at the CHU  Nice University Hospital.  His areas of expertise relate to behavioural  symptoms, the assessment and treatment of apathy, and the use of art and technologies.

ADVISOR

Emma is a registered mental health nurse who has specialised in dementia throughout her nursing career. She has worked in various settings, hospital, aged residential care and the community.

She currently works for Tu Ora as a Health Improvement Practitioner, based in a medical practice. In this role she continues to work with people living with dementia and their families as well as educating health professionals to become better at recognising and responding to changes in cognition. She has a particular interest in psychosocial supports for people affected by dementia.

ADVISOR

Cameron May is an artist and programmer. In his art practice, Cameron uses machines, electronics and simulations to create artworks that are indeterminate and unstable.

Cameron completed his MFA at Massey University in 2018, and has exhibited across New Zealand and Australia. For the MedArt project, Cameron is applying his coding experience to create a series of unique digital drawing applications.

ADVISOR

Darral is the CEO of Dementia Canterbury, an organisation passionate about providing creative opportunities for people living with Dementia/Mate Wareware to engage and connect through meaningful activities .

She trained as a social worker and has worked much of her career in health, holding a range of clinical leadership and management positions, and teaching in university settings, before joining Dementia Canterbury.

ADVISOR

James Bushell is a leading strategist in incorporating ethics and sustainability into commercial models. He has worked across a range of industries, scales and countries, applying data driven and systems-thinking approaches to create impactful solutions. 

He has had governance and executive experience in developing, emerging and developed economies. He cares deeply about people and is driven to create a more equitable and sustainable world

ADVISOR

James Gould is a director and corporate advisor with extensive experience across investment banking, governance and strategic finance.  James has served in board and leadership roles spanning telecommunications, hospitality, private investment and community organisations. As the founding partner of Tonnant Partners, he advises boards and senior executives on mergers and acquisitions and capital strategy, drawing on a career that includes senior roles with Lehman Brothers and Nomura in London and Sydney and an early foundation in corporate law.

Ngāti Tukorehe, Rauakawa ki te Tonga

Tumatarau Turu, 2026‍ ‍Photo by Erana Baker-Arapere for Witipū exhibition March to July 2026, Te Manawa Art Gallery, Palmerston North

Huhana is Professor at College of Creative Arts, Massey University, Wellington. She co-leads multidisciplinary, Māori-led collaborations for freshwater, wetlands/saltmarshes, and climate change concerns within Kuku, Horowhenua. Via indigenous research methods, artistic sensibilities, design, scientific data and mapping technologies, all visuals expand solutions for Te Taiao. She is a member of artist group Te Waituhi ā Nuku: Drawing Ecologies.

PROFESSOR EMERITUS

Dr Philippe Robert is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry,  co-director of the CoBTeK (Cognition Behavior Technology) laboratory at Université Côte d’Azur. CoBTeK focuses on mental health from birth to end of life and artificial intelligence. He is also the scientific coordinator of the CreaPolis (Research, Education and Support Center Sophia Antipolis at the JL Noisiez Fondation). As clinician he was  ex-Director of the Memory and Research Center (CMRR)  at the CHU  Nice University Hospital.  His areas of expertise relate to behavioural symptoms, the assessment and treatment of apathy, and the use of art and technologies.

PSYCHOLOGIST

Christelle Filleau, psychologist specializing in neuropsychology.

Employed at the Nice University Hospital, France since 1987, she is involved in research projects, evaluation, monitoring and management of patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease or related syndromes.

RESEARCHER

Dr Alexandra König currently works at the Memory Clinic, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, France at the Research Lab Cobtek (Cognition, Behaviour, Technology) at the University Côte d'azur and the French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (INRIA), Sophia Antipolis. Alexandra does research in Neuropsychology, Geriatrics, Neurology and Psychiatry with a focus on the intersection with technology development and the use of Artificial Intelligence.

Her current projects are on the use of automatic speech analysis for assessing cognitive function and emotional disturbances in elderly people and the design of non-pharmacological interventions involving assistive technologies

SPEECH LANGUAGE THERAPIST

Nikita graduated in 2023 with a Bachelor of Speech and Language Pathology(Hons), and is now a speech-language therapist currently working towards completion of her Masters of Science, specialising in speech and language sciences. She is currently working at Timaru Public Hospital covering a range of inpatient, outpatient, and domiciliary work to support the South Canterbury community. Nikita has a clinical interest in acute stroke and stroke recovery, and both facilitation and encouragement in utilising all methods of communication to support the stroke recovery process.

THEORETICAL CHEMIST/PHYSIOLOGIST

I am revealing biomolecular mechanisms at spatial and temporal scales that remain difficult to observe experimentally, using numerical approaches. My research project is focused on the prediction of the odor, and/or the emotion induce by a molecule using its chemical structure as input. The long-term objective is to learn a computer how to smell.

As theoretical chemist, I am applying various methods of molecular modeling and chemoinformatic to investigate at the atomic scale the interactions between ligands and receptors. These researches are always conducted in the perspective of linking in sillico observations to in vitro or in vivo results.

As a physiologist, I am measuring human physiological variations induced by olfactory stimulations. These experiments are made to identify mood modulator.

PSYCHIATRIST

Dr Gary Cheung (PhD, FRANZCP, MBChB) is an academic old age psychiatrist. He currently holds a joint appointment between Auckland District Health Board as a community old age psychiatrist and the University of Auckland as an Associate Professor.

His research interests are centred on improving health outcomes and quality of life and care of older people living in aged residential care and community. He co-leads the translation and research of cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) for mild to moderate dementia in New Zealand.

MENTAL HEALTH NURSE

Emma is a registered mental health nurse who has specialised in dementia throughout her nursing career. She has worked in various settings, hospital, aged residential care and the community.

She currently works for Tu Ora as a Health Improvement Practitioner, based in a medical practice. In this role she continues to work with people living with dementia and their families as well as educating health professionals to become better at recognising and responding to changes in cognition. She has a particular interest in psychosocial supports for people affected by dementia.

SOCIAL WORKER

Tina Carter is a Social Worker, who has worked in the elderly space in New Zealand since 2019. Tina currently enjoys working at Dementia Wellington in her role as a Dementia Advisor supporting people who are living with dementia as well as their whanau. Previously, Tina worked in Childhood Development as well as being a teacher and facilitator for various education and non-profit organisations, as well as facilitating the MinDArT sessions.

BIOSTATISTICIAN

I am a biostatistician and statistical researcher who has lectured in the Statistics Department since 2017. My work involves collaborating with clinicians, epidemiologists, and statisticians on clinically focused research, and I was awarded the New Zealand Statistical Association’s Worsley Early Career Research Award in 2018. I work extensively with health data from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI) and have a strong interest in mental-health applications, serving as the biostatistician for the LiDiA (Living with Dementia in Aotearoa) initiative. My research also focuses on developing valid statistical inference methods for complex and routinely collected data, including longitudinal analyses using survival models, mixed Cox models, GEE, and GLMM techniques.

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST

Tracey Hawkes is an Occupational Therapist with over 2 decades of clinical experience and a Dementia Educator at Canterbury District Health Board based in Christchurch, Canterbury, Aotearoa New Zealand. She facilitates the ‘Walking in another’s shoes’ dementia education programme for home-based support staff. Tracey also holds a role at Hohepa Canterbury.

Her focus is helping care staff to develop the confidence and person-centred tools to support older people to live more independent and fulfilled lives.

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Catharina supports MindArt as our Graphic Designer, developing physical and digital layouts, visual concepts, and brand-aligned compositions.

She has been part of our team for five years and graduated four years ago with a Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communication Design from Massey University. Catharina currently works at About Face, Auckland’s skin experts with 40 years of experience, and also designs for The Beauty Assembly, New Zealand’s leading beauty distributors.

VIDEOGRAPHER/EDITOR

Molly Power is a filmmaker based in Wellington, New Zealand. She received her Bachelor of Screen Arts from Massey University in 2024. Molly assisted with the filming and editing of MindArt's instructional modules and trailers. Having been diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, she is interested in how art and neuroscience can collaborate to create healthy minds and expansive creative practices. She enjoys engaging with nature by taking winter swims in Wellington's bays, or doing life drawings in the Botanical Gardens.

WEB DESIGNER

Harry is in his final year studying a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Visual Communication Design at Toi Rauwhārangi Massey University. He is responsible for the creation and maintanence of the MindArt website, ensuring it is engaging and informative for audiences. He is especially passionate about accessibility, particularly how design can enrich experiences for those with neurological conditions. Harry has interned at Ocean Design, one of Wellington’s longest running branding agencies, and continues to excel in his studies.

SOUND ARTIST

Fred Small is an artist working within sound and curation, he holds a BFA (First Class Hons) from Toi Rauwhārangi Massey University. Through his sound making practice he explores both ambient and dance-oriented genres, building sonic landscapes from acoustic instruments, field recordings and modern synthesis. Fred releases music under the moniker raptAGOG, he has released on Bristol-based label Common Ancestors with further projects in development. 

Fred has exhibited in both solo and collaborative projects at play_station artist run space, the Audio Foundation, and Artspace Aotearoa among others. He is currently based in Oslo, Norway and works as the Head of Curation for Monument Festival.