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The Philip Wrightson fellowships: Building world-class neuroscience For nearly three decades, the Neurological Foundation has awarded a unique fellowship (named after New Zealand neurosurgeon Mr Philip Wrightson) to give emerging neuroscientists the opportunity to train at top international research centres – and bring that expertise home. W e catch up with three Wrightson Fellows, each at a different stage of their career, to see how that opportunity has shaped their science and their impact. From the Waitematā to the Mississippi: Dr Taylor Stevenson – current Philip Wrightson Fellow If you weren’t a scientist, you might find Dr Taylor Stevenson’s research title – Targeting Brain Border Immune Pathways to Enhance Waste Clearance in Parkinson’s Disease – a bit hard to decode. So when friends ask what he studies, he explains it this way: “If the brain were a house,” he says, “the lymphatic system is the plumbing you never knew existed. It quietly clears away waste and keeps everything running smoothly. But if those pipes get blocked, toxic clumps start to form – and in Parkinson’s disease, that’s exactly what happens in the brain.” Based at Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research, Taylor is heading to Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, on a Philip Wrightson Fellowship to extend our understanding of how the brain clears away its own waste. It’s a relatively new concept in neuroscience – until recently, Left to right: Dr Blake Highet, Associate Professor Tracy Melzer, and Dr Taylor Stevenson – three PhilipWrightson Fellows, each advancing New Zealand neuroscience in their own way. 16 Headlines