Deirdre McLaughlin is a Research Fellow in the Men, Women and Ageing Project. The project, funded by an NHMRC/ARC Ageing Well, Ageing Productively grant, is comparing data from two longitudinal studies – the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health and the Perth Health in Men Study.
Deirdre is a registered psychologist with a special interest in ageing. She completed her PhD – on the psychosocial impact of epilepsy in late adulthood – while at the Australasian Centre on Ageing. Deirdre, whose son, Antony, is a third-year UQ medical student, came to psychology after 20 years running her own management accountancy practice. She explains: “One day I found myself doing a trust audit and thought ‘There must be more than this!’”.
Prior to joining SPH, Deirdre worked at the School of Veterinary Science exploring the relationship between humans and animals, particularly companion animals (cats and dogs). She was involved in studies that looked at the effects of animal-assisted therapy on people with dementia and the effect that ‘pups in prison’ had on inmates and prison staff.
Deirdre’s interest in animals extends to another species – cows. Dexter cows, to be precise. Until recently she has bred, sold and shown the small cattle, originally bred to provide milk and meat to poor Irish farmers (Dexters’ milk is prolific and high in fat).
“They have marvellous temperaments and a little ‘bovine therapy’ is highly recommended as a stress reducer,” says Deirdre, although she adds: “One must take care to avoid rumination….”
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