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Project grants Incidence study of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy in New Zealand Dr Peter Bergin, Neurology Department, Auckland Hospital $122,988 – Co-funded by the Auckland Medical Research Foundation (AMRF) Peter will undertake a prospective study to identify all people who die from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in New Zealand over the next five years. He will identify patients from multiple sources: doctors, coroners, pathologists, ENZ (Epilepsy New Zealand) field workers, and the NZ Health Information Services. Potential cases will be reviewed by two neurologists and at least one pathologist. Patients who are deemed to have died from SUDEP will have information about their epilepsy and the circumstances of their deaths entered into the EpiNet database.The team will monitor the incidence of SUDEP over five years. A neuroimaging investigation of the long-term impacts of exposure to the Canterbury earthquakes in healthy adults Dr Nadia Borlase, New Zealand Brain Research Institute, Christchurch $137,232 New Zealand is vulnerable to earthquakes. Most people exposed to disasters do not develop mental health disorders and are often described as “resilient”. However, some show significant alterations in brain structure and function but not generally recognised as requiring psychological support. The previous work identified impaired neuropsychological functioning 2-3 years after the earthquakes in a group of 89 resilient participants. Nadia’s project will now use neuroimaging to compare 60 resilient people from this group with a matched, non-exposed group six years after the earthquake sequence.This will be the first neuroimaging study to investigate the long-term neural impacts of earthquake exposure. Examining development and function of the auditory cortex in Autism Spectrum Disorder with in vivo two-photon imaging Dr Juliette E Cheyne, Centre for Brain Research & Physiology Department, University of Auckland $196,412 Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterised by sensory, learning, social, and motor deficits, which are replicated in mouse models of ASD. An understanding of the cellular underpinnings of ASD requires high-resolution imaging techniques in live animals. Juliette’s project will utilise our new two-photon imaging system to examine brain activity in vivo in a mouse model of ASD. It will examine how development and function of the auditory cortex differ in ASD, to directly reveal cellular changes that underpin sensory deficits with ASD.This will be the first application of two-photon microscopy to image brain activity in vivo in New Zealand. Polyamines and tauopathies Dr Ping Liu, Department of Anatomy, University of Otago $242,710 Tauopathies refer to a number of neurodegenerative disorders (such as Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia) characterised by abnormal microtubule protein tau aggregation in the brain. Polyamines putrescine, spermidine, and spermine (the downstream metabolites of L-arginine) are critically involved in microtubule assembly and stabilization and can block tau aggregation. Ping’s project aims to systematically investigate how the brain arginine metabolism (polyamines in particular) changes in tau transgenic mice and patients with Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia.This work will enhance our understanding of the mechanisms of tauopathy and may lead to the development of future preventive and therapeutic strategies. Targeting brain tumour cell migration in the face of radiation DrThomas I-H. Park, Department of Pharmacology & Clinical Pharmacology, University of Auckland/Centre for Brain Research $187,864 Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and fatal brain tumour with current treatment consisting of surgery, followed by chemo- and radiation-therapy. Despite these therapies, the poor outcome is due to the invasion of the surrounding normal brain tissue by the residual treatment- resistant GBM cells.Thomas’ study seeks to understand the migratory mechanisms of these tumour cells, before and after radiation, by using patient-derived GBM cells irradiated with clinically relevant doses of radiation.This project will also investigate anti-tumour drugs that are prescribed in New Zealand for their anti-migratory properties in GBM to provide better treatment options for this intractable disease. Latest grant funding – 2018 Round B The total awarded across all 2018 grants, fellowships and scholarships was over $3.8m. 8 / Headlines