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Contact us Neurological Foundation of New Zealand PO Box 110022, Auckland Hospital Auckland 1148 Phone: 09 309 7749 Free call: 0508 BRAINS (0508 272 467) Email: admin@neurological.org.nz Website: neurological.org.nz If you are moving, please let us know your new address so that you don’t miss the next issue of Headlines. Donor Relations Contacts Upper North Island Donor Relations Specialist Theresa Liebenberg theresa.liebenberg@neurological.org.nz 027 233 0710 Lower North Island Donor Relations Specialist Margie Carter margie.carter@neurological.org.nz 021 042 8114 South Island Donor Relations Specialist Kellie Bain kellie.bain@neurological.org.nz 027 478 8536 Contents 2 Message from our Chief Executive 3 Being brainy never looked so good! 4-8 Celebrating our Women in Science 9 Meet our Brain Awareness Month speakers 9 A study into Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy 10 Lost in space... Which way is it to the city? 11 Clot-busting drugs - extending the effective time window and making them readily available worldwide 12 Earthquake brain: A neuroimaging investigation of the long-term impacts of exposure to the Canterbury earthquakes in healthy adults 13 Cognitive health in Parkinson’s disease 14 An update on Parkinson's disease research from the New Zealand Brain Research Institution 15-19 Latest grant round 2019B Message from our Chief Executive Happy NewYear! We hope you have had a relaxing holiday break with family and friends, and that 2020 has gotten off to a marvellous start! Here at the Foundation we have jumped into the NewYear with a renewed spirit and cannot wait to get back into the swing of things. We're kicking off 2020 with our Women in Science event series in February to celebrate ‘International Day of Women and Girls in Science and Technology’. We’re proud to support our female researchers with a special event series showcasing panels of women we have funded. In February they’ll be discussing their work, their decision to become a researcher or work in the science field and how they can inspire younger female researchers and scientists to do the same. We’re thrilled to be able to share their stories with our supporters and encourage future generations of female scientists and researchers. In March we’ll be celebrating everything brain related during our Brain Awareness Month event series. This time we’re heading to over 15 locations with researchers from the areas we have funded speaking about their latest research, sharing their work with the Supporters who help fund them. Brain Awareness Month is also a fantastic opportunity for our team to visit the communities that support the Foundation and meet our supporters! Due to the popularity of last year’s events, we suggest getting your tickets early to ensure you have a seat. Check out the full schedule and more information about the events on page 3 of this edition of Headlines. Before 2019 came to an end our Scientific Advisory Committee met to discuss which projects we would be funding in our last grant round of 2019. The Personal Awards Committee also met to interview all our Fellowship and Scholarship applications. We’re pleased to report we were able to fund over $2.3 million of new neurological research! These new projects, Fellowships and Scholarships are a start to a bright future for potential neurological treatments and therapies. To find out more details about what specifically was funded please go to page 12, where the full list of the grants and descriptions is available. We are ready for what this year has in store and we can’t wait to share with you all our upcoming activities and engagement opportunities we have planned! Thank you for all your generosity in 2019 and we look forward to your continued support throughout the year to come. Mā te wā Rich Easton, CEO 2 Headlines