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16 The Neurological Foundation DR NEIL ANDERSON In 1985 I was very fortunate to be the first recipient of a Neurological Foundation VJ Chapman Fellowship. I can still remember receiving a phone call from the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee on a Friday afternoon. I was doing a clinic at Auckland Hospital, when I was called out of the clinic room to take the call from Chris Heath to tell me I had been awarded a Chapman Fellowship. The Chapman Fellowship gave me the opportunity to work in the Neurology Department at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York. My supervisor was Dr Jerome B. Posner, the founding father of neuro-oncology and, in the opinion of many, one of the leading neurologists in the world. In addition to clinical work in the wards, a large part of my time was spent in the clinic and in the laboratory studying patients with remote effects of cancer on the nervous system (paraneoplastic syndromes) and looking for anti-neuronal antibodies in these people. Initially we thought these antibodies may cause neurological disease and, while this has now been shown not to be the case, these antibodies are still used throughout the world in the diagnosis of neurological paraneoplastic syndromes. The clinical experience at MSKCC supplemented my excellent clinical training in Auckland and my work in the laboratory provided a new perspective into neurological research. The experience provided by the Chapman Fellowship helped to establish my career as a clinician, teacher and researcher in New Zealand. I was able to bring some expertise in clinical neuro-oncology and autoimmune neurology back to New Zealand. I AM VERY GRATEFUL TO THE NEUROLOGICAL FOUNDATION FOR THE OPPORTUNITY I WAS GIVEN BY THE CHAPMAN FELLOWSHIP. PROFESSOR JOHN REYNOLDS My interest in neuroscience research developed during formative time I spent working as a house officer in the rehabilitation unit of Whangarei Hospital. With the hope that more gains could be made for people living with stroke and Parkinson’s patients than is available through current treatments, I wanted to take some time to understand more about the brain areas underlying these disorders in order to understand how better to treat them. Through the V J Chapman Fellowship from the Neurological Foundation, I had the unique opportunity to undertake full-time research towards a PhD, and in 1996 I made the transition from medic to neuroscientist. Since then, I have been an applicant on six successful applications to the Neurological Foundation for project funding. These have impacted on myself and my colleagues immensely by allowing us to develop our ideas beyond a better understanding of how particular areas of the brain function normally, towards applying this knowledge on developing novel approaches to treating brain disorders. One of these has been tested in people recovering from chronic stroke with early promising results, and another is in the translational pipeline, with the ultimate aim of becoming a commercially available treatment for Parkinson’s disease. In addition, I have acted as mentor for four young Miller PhD scholars and a Wrightson postdoctoral fellow, who themselves have launched their careers in neuroscience, thanks to donations received by the Neurological Foundation. FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET STARTED IN RESEARCH, AND FOR ONGOING SUPPORT FOR OUR PROJECTS AND OUR NEW ZEALAND RESEARCH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, I AM EXTREMELY GRATEFUL TO THE FOUNDATION AND TO YOU AS SUPPORTERS, THROUGH WHOSE GENEROSITY THIS HAS BEEN ABLE TO HAPPEN. THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT MY CAREER DIRECTION HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE AND SHAPED BY THE SUPPORT OF THE NEUROLOGICAL FOUNDATION. The Legacy of V J Chapman