Te Huinga Hinengaro
Centre for Brain Research enews
June 2026
Pipiri 2026
He kōrero whakapuaki | From the Director
Kia ora koutou,
You blink, and suddenly six months have passed.
One of the unexpected joys of this role has been discovering just how many inspiring people call the Centre for Brain Research home. Every week I meet someone new doing extraordinary work, and the good news for me is that they all seem to belong to the CBR.
Since arriving in New Zealand, I have had the privilege of meeting researchers, clinicians, professional staff, students, community partners and people with lived experience who share a common ambition: to better understand the brain and improve the lives of those affected by neurological conditions. It is a remarkable community, and a fantastic place to work.
Last month, more than 100 members of that community came together for our Strategy Day to help shape the future direction of the Centre.
What struck me most was the energy in the room. People were eager to think beyond traditional boundaries and explore where, together, we can make the greatest contribution. Discussions ranged from earlier diagnosis, brain health
across the lifespan and stronger community partnerships, to the importance of curiosity-driven discovery and fundamental research as the foundation for future breakthroughs. Yet one message came through clearly: the most important advances will come from bringing different perspectives together.
That is where the CBR is uniquely placed to lead. By connecting discovery science, clinical expertise and lived experience, we have an opportunity not only to improve outcomes for people affected by neurological conditions, but also to deepen our understanding of the brain itself.
Six months in, I remain enormously optimistic about what lies ahead. The external environment is challenging, but so too is the talent, creativity and commitment of the people who make up the CBR. If the past six months are anything to go by, the future is bright.
Hanneke
Director, Centre for Brain Research
Te Huinga Hinengaro
The University of Auckland
Brainstorming podcast shines spotlight on our research
We are extremely proud to be partnering with NewstalkZB for a new podcast series exploring brain disease, our research, and hope.
Brainstorming is hosted by journalist Clare de Lore and is a series of in-depth interviews with a leading CBR researcher alongside a person living with a brain disorder.
The first three episodes have been released, focusing on Huntington's Disease; preventing CTE
(chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and brain injuries; and dementia.
Subsequent episodes will explore Parkinson's disease, stroke, motor neuron disease, and multiple sclerosis, the latter featuring an interview with CBR Director Hanneke Hulst.
“The podcast combines neuroscientists’ expertise with the experiences of people with brain disorders in a way that reflects the focus of the Centre for Brain Research," Hanneke says.
“Everything we do is focused on bringing us closer to helping New Zealanders with brain conditions."
Brainstorming is available on iHeart radio or wherever you get your podcasts.
A farewell to neuroscience leader
Professor Hanneke Hulst & Distinguished Professor Cliff Abraham
The Centre for Brain Research was honoured to host Distinguished Professor Cliff Abraham for a special farewell seminar ahead of his retirement. Professor Abraham, while based at the University of Otago, has made significant contributions to neuroscience across Aotearoa, and was recipient of the 2025 Rutherford Medal, New Zealand's highest science honour.
Cliff is internationally recognised for his research into the brain mechanisms behind learning and memory, including how the hippocampus helps form memories and how these processes may change in neurological disease.
Alongside his research, Cliff has made an extraordinary contribution to strengthening collaboration across the sector, helping to establish Brain Research New Zealand and its successor the Aotearoa Brain Project to unite the country's leading neuroscientists and clinicians to tackle the growing challenges of brain disease.
We are deeply grateful for Cliff's longstanding contributions to neuroscience in Aotearoa and wish him a very happy retirement and all the best for the future.
Find us at Fieldays
This week, the CBR is part of a brain health stand at Fieldays in Mystery Creek from June 11-14. We are in the Fieldays Health Hub, alongside the Neurological Foundation and the University of Otago, where we will be sharing practical tips on brain health and showcasing some of the fascinating science happening right here in Aotearoa.
Pop by for hands-on activities, brainy conversations, and a chance to meet some of our researchers working to better understand conditions like dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s disease and brain injury.
The healing power of song
Dr Alison Talmage received a King's Birthday Honour 2026 for services to music, therapy and seniors.
We’ve long been singing the praises of Dr Alison Talmage and the choir she helped establish to support people living with neurological conditions, and now the King has recognised her too.
Alison received a King’s Birthday Honour for services to music therapy and seniors, crediting her work as co-founder of the CBR’s CeleBRation Choir.
Since 2009, the therapeutic community singing group has been helping people with communication difficulties related to a neurological condition regain their voice.
Alison has created something very special. The choir sings a variety of familiar and new songs, from folk songs and waiata to pop songs, helping to rewire the brain through singing and connection with others.
The honour comes shortly after Alison completed her PhD with both the Centre for Brain Research and School of Creative Arts, having spent many years researching how choirs can help people recovering from strokes and brain disease. Alison is also a part-time research assistant at the University’s Centre for Co-Created Ageing Research.
Tēnā koe Alison, we are very fortunate to have you as part of our CBR community.
The CeleBRation Choir helps people living with neurological conditions regain confidence.
Can brain scans detect ADHD and autism?
Sonia Gray, Dr Jessie Jacobsen and Dr Ruth Monk. Jessie and Ruth were recently interviewed on the popular No Such Thing as Normal podcast.
Dr Jessie Jacobsen from the Autism Research Clinic recently featured on the No Such Thing as Normal podcast, hosted by Sonia Gray, exploring what science is revealing about neurodivergent brains.
In conversation with Dr Ruth Monk, a Parkinson’s disease researcher and advisor to the Autism Research Clinic, Jessie discusses emerging research into autism and ADHD, from brain imaging studies to the growing understanding of the genetic basis of neurodivergence. Together, they explore how advances in science are helping explain the biological foundations of neurodivergence - not to “cure” people, but to provide clarity, understanding and better support for individuals and whānau.
The episode explores the emerging science behind the genetic basis of autism and why identifying specific genetic variants can be life-changing for families.
Remembering Professor Alistair Gunn
In memory of Professor Alistair Gunn
The Centre for Brain Research acknowledges with great sadness the sudden passing of Professor Alistair Gunn, one of New Zealand’s most respected researchers in newborn brain injury and neuroprotection.
A paediatrician, scientist and mentor, Alistair’s work transformed the care of babies affected by oxygen deprivation at birth, helping establish therapeutic hypothermia (cooling treatment) as a standard of care around the world. He spent decades at the University of Auckland and was internationally recognised for his research into protecting the developing brain and improving outcomes for newborns after brain injury.
Alongside his scientific achievements, colleagues remember him as a generous mentor and deeply curious thinker who shaped the careers of many emerging researchers.
He will be greatly missed by the research and clinical communities in Aotearoa and internationally.
$1.8m boost for CBR neurodegenerative disease research
Dr Lola Mugisho will lead a five-year programme looking at chronic neuroinflammation.
A major new philanthropic investment is set to advance research into Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, with the CBR's Dr Lola Mugisho leading a five-year programme supported by $1.8 million from the Buchanan Charitable Foundation.
Dr Mugisho’s programme focuses on chronic neuroinflammation (ongoing inflammation in the brain), which is increasingly recognised as a key driver of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Her research aims to develop new biomarkers to support earlier diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, alongside treatments that can cross the blood-brain barrier to target neuroinflammation and slow disease progression.
“We are incredibly grateful to the Buchanan Charitable Foundation for their generous support,” says Dr Mugisho, who is based in the Department of Ophthalmology. “This funding will allow us to advance research aimed at developing earlier diagnostic tools and more effective treatments for conditions that have a devastating impact on patients, families and communities.”
The programme brings together expertise in human tissue studies, drug discovery and disease modelling, helping strengthen research capability in neurodegenerative disease while supporting the next generation of researchers.
Researcher spotlight:
Blocking melanoma's path to the brain
Melanoma may begin in the skin, but it is also one of the cancers most likely to spread to the brain.
Dr Akshata Anchan is investigating how melanoma cells breach the blood-brain barrier, the brain’s protective defence system, and what can be done to stop them.
Using patient-derived tumour samples and human brain cells, Akshata recreates the spread of melanoma in the lab.
A key focus of the research is to investigate ways to block the proteins melanoma cells use to attach to the endothelial cells lining the blood-brain barrier.
Akshata is also working on simulating realistic blood flow conditions in her models, helping capture what happens in the body more accurately than many previous studies.
“The most recent thing we’ve been looking at is whether melanoma cells release something that helps them break through,” Akshata says.
“Some of the cancer cells we’ve studied release tiny particles called large vesicular bodies, or LVBs. We don’t fully understand what they are, so we are investigating if they might be carrying material that disrupts the barrier and helps cancer cells get into the brain.”
“If we can prevent cancer cells entering the brain, we have a much better chance of stopping the disease before treatment options become far more limited."
Her work has attracted significant support, including a Rutherford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, a John Gavin Postdoctoral Fellowship for cancer research, and a Neurological Foundation First Fellowship.
Study reveals brain shrinkage after meth use
Researchers from the Centre for Brain Research and the not-for-profit Mātai Medical Research Institute in Gisborne have found significant differences in the brains of people recovering from methamphetamine addiction, compared with healthy people.
The Methamphetamine Recovery Project, led by medical imaging experts Associate Professor Miriam Scadeng (CBR) and Research Fellow Dr Maryam Tayebi (Mātai), found chronic methamphetamine use can cause widespread brain damage, impairing memory, emotional regulation and executive function.
The study offers a snapshot of the brains of people who had been using methamphetamine daily or weekly within 30 days of stopping use.
The next phase of the project, called the Hīkoi programme, is a longer-term study of brain and heart recovery during abstinence, with multifaceted treatment and support provided to participants.
Read more
Noticeable differences appear in the brains of long-term meth users. Image: Mātai Medical Research Institute.
In the news
Living with Dementia in Wairoa
A recent episode of The Hui, which screens on ThreeNow, explored the growing movement to improve awareness and understanding of mate wareware (dementia) within Māori communities. Featuring marae-based initiatives and whānau experiences, the programme highlighted the outreach led by Associate Professor Makarena Dudley and Distinguished Professor Sir Richard Faull.
Richard and Makarena have been visiting marae across Aotearoa to spread the importance of culturally grounded approaches that help people living with dementia stay connected to their communities, identity and whakapapa.
Associate Professor Makarena Dudley and Sir Richard Faull.
From Auckland to the Philippines
Centre for Brain Research researchers have been featured in MindFood magazine for their work helping tackle X-Linked Dystonia Parkinsonism (XDP), a rare and devastating neurological condition affecting communities in the Philippines.
Sir Richard Faull, Associate Professor Henry Waldvogel and Dr Malvindar Singh-Bains have spent years working alongside local communities in the Philippines to better understand the disease, which causes severe movement problems and primarily affects men of Filipino descent. Their research is uncovering how XDP affects deep brain structures and could help pave the way for future treatments.
As Dr Singh-Bains says: “We’re trying to help humanity.”
Sir Richard Faull and Dr Malvindar Singh-Bains
The MS symptoms that get far less attention
Ahead of World MS Day, Professor Hanneke Hulst used a Newsroom opinion piece to shine a light on the often-overlooked cognitive and psychological symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), including memory difficulties, fatigue and slowed thinking.
The piece drew attention to the need for improved access to neurological care in New Zealand and greater recognition of the invisible impacts of the condition. Read more
Getting ahead of Dementia
Dr Erin Cawston
The Listener (6 June) explores the new medicines and diagnostic tests emerging for Alzheimer’s disease, featuring expert commentary from Professor Lynette Tippett and Dr Erin Cawston. The article highlights a decade of work by the Centre for Brain Research’s Dementia Prevention Research Clinics to understand how a reliable, affordable and widely accessible blood test for Alzheimer’s disease could be introduced into New Zealand’s health system. Read more
Everything you want to know about our brains
Sir Richard Faull talks to Jesse Mulligan on Afternoons (Radio NZ) about the Brainstorming Podcast and research advances in Huntington's Disease.
Whakapā mai
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