DOCUMENT

8 Headlines $2.4minjected into theneuroscience community inour latest grant round Among the fascinating projects to receive a share of $2.4m in our latest grant round, awarded in December 2023, are those looking at epilepsy; rare neurodevelopmental disorders; Parkinson’s disease; oxygen deprivation at birth; post-natal anxiety, and ethnic bias in big data sets. Five small project grants have also been awarded to support small-scale or pilot studies that may lead to larger project funding requests in the future. As always, it is wonderful to be able to support the careers of young researchers in our grant rounds. We are pleased to announce the First Fellowship recipient is Dr SamMcCullough, who will be supported in his efforts to explore the potential of stem cells found in the skull to treat concussion. A huge congratulations is also extended to Dr Alex Berry- Noronha, a neurology trainee who has been awarded the VJ Chapman Fellow for 2024 to travel to the University of Melbourne to further his research into anti-seizure medications taken in pregnancy to treat epilepsy. And three emerging researchers have been awarded our sought-after Doctoral Scholarships to complete their PhDs. Yuge Liu will investigate treatments for glioblastoma; Harriet Spoelstra will contribute to the work of the Dementia Prevention Research Clinics (DPRCs); and Danica Hamilton will explore Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), caused by repetitive head knocks. More in depth stories about some of these exciting projects are included throughout this edition of Headlines. In total, 28 grants were awarded amounting to $2,425,409. When we include mentors, supervisors, co-investigators, students and other personnel, our 2023B grants involve at least 60 people! Of the 28 grants awarded: • 25 (89%) involve early career researchers • 14 (50%) of the principal investigators are female Topic areas awarded General neuroscience $326,849 Brain cancer $152,727 Brain injury $701,530 Dementia $313,454 Dysphagia $14,700 Epilepsy $258,422 Mental health $256,740 Neuropathology $8,472 Parkinson's disease $52,879 Rare genetic disorders $321,194 GRANT ROUND 2023B Project Grants Associate Professor Caroline Beck University of Otago Seeking order from chaos: brain development in severe childhood epilepsies $258,422 This project aims to find the common points-of-failure in brain development that result in developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) in early infancy. DEE is caused by a genetic error (variant) in one of hundreds of genes, leading to seizures and developmental delays. Investigators will replicate New Zealand patient DEE variants in tadpoles, confirm they develop seizures, and then investigate how brain development has been altered. Finding common mechanisms that cause DEE will help to identify potential targets for future drug therapies, and will help to improve clinical management of DEE. The full title of this project is Order from chaos: seeking common points- of-failure in brain development that result in developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) . Associate Professor Louise Bicknell University of Otago Genetic answers for families with rare neurodevelopmental conditions $298,194 Dr Louise Bicknell’s research group is passionate about finding answers for families with rare genetic disorders that affect children’s development and potential. This project will supercharge their genetic analysis by integrating cutting-edge computational tools, and enabling better connections between diagnostic and research labs, freeing up more time and support to study alterations in the lab. As a result, they will be able to help more New Zealand families affected by neurodevelopmental disorders, and through their international connections, more families from around the world.