Dr. Perminder Sachdev

Biography

Perminder Sachdev is a Scientia Professor of Neuropsychiatry at UNSW Sydney and Co-Director of the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA). He graduated from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi in 1978 and completed his MD in Psychiatry in 1983. After migrating to New Zealand, he relocated to Australia where he completed his psychiatric training and earned his PhD in 1991, focusing on ethnopsychological concepts within Maori culture. His early research centered on drug-induced movement disorders such as akathisia, tardive dyskinesia, and neuroleptic malignant syndrome. In more recent work, he has focused on dementia and pre-dementia syndromes, employing neuroimaging, neuropsychology, and biomarkers to understand risk factors. As past-president of the International Neuropsychiatric Association and inaugural Chair of the Section of Neuropsychiatry for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, he has contributed significantly to the field. He co-founded CHeBA in 2012, which promotes brain health and dementia prevention, and has led multiple longitudinal cognitive ageing studies. Professor Sachdev has authored five books, edited three books, and published over 600 peer-reviewed papers, boasting an H-index of 90 and over 29,000 citations. His awards include the NSW Scientist of the Year in Biomedical Sciences (2010) and being appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (2011) for his service to medical research.

Research Interests