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Helen is a post-doctoral research fellow funded by the Health Education Trust and Brain Research New Zealand. She completed her PhD. at the University of Auckland with Professor Maurice Curtis and her thesis investigating how plasticity is altered in Alzheimer’s disease was nominated as one of the top 20 for the University of Auckland Best Doctoral Thesis award in 2017. Her post-doctoral research involves a unique collaboration between the Centre for Brain Research in Auckland and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, USA. Since 2018, she has divided her time between these two institutions to study how the olfactory system is affected in neurodegenerative conditions. As olfactory dysfunction is one of the earliest symptoms in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, her research investigates the first brain changes that occur in these diseases. Helen has started working on a new project that will use novel tissue- labelling techniques to study the brains of former athletes donated to the Neurological Foundation Sports Human Brain Bank. Dr Helen Murray My inspiration to study the brain was a lecture by Sir Richard Faull during my undergraduate biomedical science degree. This one-hour exploration of human brain anatomy shaped my pathway of postgraduate education toward a career in neuroscience research. I first completed a Biomedical Science Honours project with Sir Richard and Associate Professor Henry Waldvogel studying Huntington’s disease. I subsequently went on to complete my PhD. with Professor Maurice Curtis studying a marker of brain plasticity and how it is altered in Alzheimer’s disease. At the same time, I was playing for the NZ women’s ice hockey team and I have captained the team since 2016. After completing my PhD. I received a post-doctoral fellowship funded by the Health Education Trust and Brain Research New Zealand that allowed me to build a unique collaboration with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, USA. Since 2018 I have divided my time between the Centre for Brain Research in Auckland and the NIH to study how the olfactory system is affected in neurodegenerative conditions. As olfactory dysfunction is one of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, this research is investigating the first brain changes that may occur in these diseases to try identify potential targets to delay disease progression. This collaborative project allowed me to encounter new research techniques and opportunities. During my time at the NIH I worked with researchers who developed a new method of fluorescent labelling that allows us to extract 10x more information from a single piece of brain tissue. It’s been exciting to bring this technology back to New Zealand and share it with researchers across the country. My expertise in studying the human olfactory system also led me to a project with my NIH collaborators studying the neurological effects of COVID-19. This study found there were microvascular changes in the brains of patients with COVID-19 and was recently published in the world’s most prestigious medical journal – the New England Journal of Medicine. I’ve now returned to New Zealand to transition my research toward my other passion – sports. Having seen many of my ice hockey teammates suffer multiple concussions, I have a keen interest in understanding the changes that are associated with these injuries and how they may lead to dementia later in life. In 2021 I will be starting a new project funded by a Health Education Trust fellowship that will use my novel tissue labelling techniques to study the brains of former athletes that were affected by repetitive sport- related concussion. I’m excited that the next stage of my career will focus on uniting my experience as an athlete with my expertise in anatomy and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr Helen Murray will be speaking in Napier in March to celebrate Brain Awareness Month! If you’d like to join us, please RSVP for a ticket today. Date: 11 March 2021 Time: 6.30 pm Location: The Ocean Suite, East Pier Hotel, 50 Nelson Quay, Ahuriri, Napier Register for a ticket using one of the options below. Phone: 0508 BRAINS (0508 272 467) Email: RSVP@neurological.org.nz Online: events.humanitix.com/BAM- Napier Headlines 19