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Targeting the reward network using deep brain stimulation for the treatment of tinnitus DrYiwen Zheng, Department of Pharmacology of Toxicology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago $197,910 Chronic tinnitus, a phantom sound, is a debilitating condition and produces many detrimental effects on the quality of life. Treatment options are very limited and not effective.Yiwen’s research will test a novel treatment strategy by establishing a sense of reward with non-tinnitus sound and dysreward with tinnitus sound, through deep brain stimulation, in an animal model of tinnitus. The results will significantly improve our current understanding of tinnitus and may lead to the development of effective therapies for tinnitus. Small project grants Establishing miniscope technology to measure brain activity during behaviour in freely moving mice Dr Juliette Cheyne, Centre for Brain Research & Physiology Department, University of Auckland $15,000 Recent technological advances in the miniaturisation of microscopes have led to the development of miniscopes, which are mounted on the heads of rodents. Miniscopes allow brain cell activity to be studied in freely moving and behaving rodents. Juliette’s project aims to establish miniscope recordings in mice at the University of Auckland. It will record brain cell activity patterns in freely moving mice.This will allow us to link brain activity with behaviour.This pilot study will allow us to generate preliminary data for future studies where we will apply this technology to a mouse model of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Proof of concept studies: Non-invasive targeted exosomal therapies for preterm brain injury Dr Mhoyra Fraser, Department of Physiology and School of Pharmacy, University of Auckland $15,000 Preterm infants have a high risk of brain injury around the time of birth, resulting in a life-long disability. Sadly, we have no effective therapeutic strategies for the prevention or amelioration of such disability. A limiting factor is the failure of drugs to effectively cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and enter the brain. Small vesicles called exosomes can readily cross the BBB and ferry therapeutic molecules to target tissues. As proof of concept, Mhoyra’s project will evaluate the ability to deliver our bioengineered exosomes intranasally to the injured preterm fetal sheep brain, to sites of injury. Cytokine secretive profiling of human GBM cultures Dr E Scott Graham, Centre for Brain Research, Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology, University of Auckland $15,000 Aggressive brain tumours like glioblastoma multiforme manage to “ingeniously” evade detection by the immune system by producing an immune-suppressive tumour microenvironment.The project believes they achieve this through the expression of a broad range of factors collectively selected to improve the probability of tumour-cell survival. In this research, Scott will use Proteome Profiling technology to identify the novel factors secreted by glioblastoma cells. The goal of this research is to identify what they secrete to better understand how the tumour cells are so successful. O’Brien Clinical Fellowship Refinement of the PREP2 algorithm Olivia Norrie, Department of Medicine, University of Auckland $85,192.32 Recovery after stroke can be difficult to predict. Olivia has developed and validated the PREP2 algorithm for predicting how well people will be able to use their hands and arms after stroke.This project will see whether additional factors can be added to the algorithm to increase its accuracy. It will also collect feedback from clinicians, patients, and family/whanau who are delivering and receiving prediction information. The PREP2 algorithm is already used in routine clinical practice, and this project will further improve it ready for widespread implementation throughout New Zealand. Chapman Clinical Fellowship Prevalence and carrier rates of genetic mutations associated with mitochondrial disease in a healthy cohort and genotype: phenotype correlations Dr EloiseWatson, University of Sydney, Australia $86,208 Mitochondrial disorders, collectively the most common inherited metabolic disorders, may present at any age with a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, frequently involving the neurological system, and may cause multisystem dysfunction. Despite their collective burden, a potential for treatment and implications for affected individuals and their families, accurate estimates of the frequency of genetic mutations associated with mitochondrial disease (MD) and their spectrum of manifestations in the community is limited. Eloise seeks to determine the prevalence of MD genetic mutations through examining a large, healthy, community cohort, and to evaluate their impact on affected persons. Headlines / 9