Cassandra (Cassie) Danckert is a PhD candidate at the University of Newcastle, Australia.
Studying a PhD in music research, co-supervised in Music and Psychology focuses on music, emotions and ageing. Her PhD research project is in the field of creative ageing and aims to identify how creative engagement activities enhance brain functioning and promote cognitive and emotional wellbeing in older adults, hoping to find out how music can help offset the onset of dementia and other age related diseases.

Cassie is an accomplished woodwind player, regularly performing on alto saxophone in university ensembles and around the Hunter. She enjoys performing all genres, especially that of jazz and wind orchestral arrangement.