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18 Headlines 2 x Senior Research Fellowships Dr Rachael Taylor, University of Auckland $296,736 Balance disorders The cerebellum is the part of the brain essential for balance and coordination, including eye movements. It is also connected to the balance organs of the inner ear. This research aims to understand how genetic changes affect the way the cerebellum and balance organs work together to influence eye movements. This information could aid diagnosis of cerebellar disorders and provide a basis for developing and monitoring treatments. Dr Sarah Borrie, University of Auckland $282,723 Alzheimer’s disease Immune cells called microglia are the brain’s cleaning crew. This cleaning-up process seems to go wrong in Alzheimer’s disease, leading to a build-up of amyloid in the brain. This project will study what goes wrong with the waste clearance system inside microglia cells during Alzheimer’s disease, paving the way for future drug discovery research targeting these cells. 2 x First Fellowships Dr Susan Li, University of Auckland $248,576 Brain cancer The current standard of care for brain tumours includes radiation therapy, but it can have unwanted effects on healthy brain tissue. Susan’s project at the Centre for Brain Research is looking for ways to protect healthy brain tissue while ensuring radiation therapy is still effective at killing cancer cells. Dr Gretel Major, University of Canterbury $216,923 Duchenne muscular dystrophy Current therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have effects on the nervous system that are not fully understood. Gretel’s project in the Neurology of Myopathies Lab at the University of Canterbury will investigate howDMD treatments are impacting on the nervous system. VJ Chapman Fellowship Dr Joseph Donnelly, Te Whatu Ora Te Toka Tumai Auckland Hospital $208,075 Parkinson’s disease In the western Pacific a form of Parkinson’s disease (known as PINK1 Parkinson’s disease) has been recently discovered that runs in families and affects individuals as young as teenagers. This project will answer fundamental questions about this early onset form of Parkinson’s disease: What does this condition look like? How does it respond to treatment? What can this condition tell us about Parkinson’s disease in the elderly? Senior Clinical Research Fellowship Dr Benson Chen, University of Auckland $166,939 Autoimmune disorders Optic neuritis is a condition where the immune system attacks the optic nerve connecting the eyeball and the brain, resulting in reduced vision. Using advanced eye imaging, this study aims to develop tools to diagnose and monitor optic neuritis that can be introduced into the clinic, to improve outcomes for patients with autoimmune neurological disorders. Philip Wrightson Fellowship Dr Sam Hall-McMaster, Harvard University $135,698 Memory This project will use the latest advances in machine learning and human brain imaging to understand how the brain reorganises memories and learning over time. This will lead to a better understanding of the memory systems impaired in neurological disorders. For more details head to https://neurological.org.nz/research/funded-projects