He kōrero whakapuaki | From the Director

Others have poured blood, sweat and tears into Health Research Council proposals; still others received disappointing news. Please don’t lose heart: this is another familiar research pattern. We regroup, learn and begin again.

Our strategy working groups have begun their work with enthusiasm. Their ideas are helping our strategic plan take shape as we move towards the end of the year. This, too, signals a pattern we intend to change: from 2027, we will organise some aspects of CBR differently. Our aim is not change for its own sake, but to build on our successes, work more effectively together, and ultimately improve the lives of more people living with brain conditions.

Fortunately, some patterns should never change: our collegiality, our commitment to collaboration, and the compassion that guides our work. I look forward with excitement and curiosity to what the rest of this year brings.

Hanneke
Director, Centre for Brain Research
Te Huinga Hinengaro
The University of Auckland

Hugh Green Foundation backs four CBR
projects with $1.4m boost

Four Centre for Brain Research projects have received almost $1.4 million from the Hugh Green Foundation, supporting research spanning autism, neurodiversity and Alzheimer’s disease.

The Hugh Green Foundation is a longstanding CBR supporter, focused on funding initiatives that deliver meaningful, long-term, and scalable impact for communities across Aotearoa New Zealand.

This latest contestable funding was awarded specifically to CBR researchers. Priority was given to innovative research addressing pressing health challenges and with the potential to make a significant difference for New Zealand communities, particularly underserved and vulnerable populations.

Congratulations to the four successful research teams:

Expanding equitable access to genetic testing for autistic people

Associate Professor Jessie Jacobsen (School of Biological Sciences) and her team will use the funding to provide genomic testing for autism to 180 individuals across New Zealand, prioritising families who face barriers to accessing clinic-based services.

Previous studies at the CBR’s Autism Research Clinic have identified a genetic diagnosis in around 30–40% of families tested.

“A refined genetic diagnosis can help guide support that reflects an individual's strengths and needs,” Jessie explains.

The team will also investigate new genes and genetic variants, helping build knowledge of the genetic basis of autism.

Finding a way to deliver new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease

Gene therapies which target brain disorders hold great promise as future medicines. However, a major obstacle to their effectiveness is the inability of such therapies to enter the brain due to the brain's protective sheath – the blood brain barrier (BBB).

Professor Zimei Wu (School of Pharmacy) and Professor Mike Dragunow, a globally renowned neuropharmacologist, will lead a team developing tiny nanoparticles designed to cross this barrier and deliver a gene treatment directly to microglia, the brain’s immune cells.

While the results will be applicable to many brain disorders, the research will focus on Alzheimer’s disease, specifically targeting the PU.1 gene.

Mapping neurodiversity in the brain

Professors Karen Waldie and Ian Kirk (School of Psychology) and their team will work directly with people with autism, ADHD and dyslexia to investigate how their brains process information.

Neurodiverse and neurotypical participants will complete cognitive tasks while EEG measures their brain activity.

The researchers will measure how quickly information tracks throughout the brain's known networks, both between and within the two cerebral hemispheres.

The results will be synthesised with decades of existing information about participants' development and life experiences. The aim is to find valid and reliable biomarkers of neurodivergent conditions to improve diagnosis and treatment.

Taking zinc research towards a clinical trial for autism

Professor Johanna Montgomery (Department of Physiology) and her team will build on years of research investigating the role of zinc in brain development and function.

The team will run a pilot trial, the first of its kind, with families in New Zealand with Phelan-McDermid Syndrome (PMD), which leads to severe autism as well as intellectual disability.

“Zinc deficiency is common in people with ASD and PMD. In this study, we will advance from mouse to human studies to examine the therapeutic benefits of increasing zinc in the diet in PMD. These data will set the scene for potential future trials for people with ASD,” Johanna says.

A lasting legacy: Tony Petrasich

Aphasia, recognising his leadership and contribution to the aphasia community. He also made a significant contribution to aphasia and music therapy research.

Dr Alison Talmage, who leads the CeleBRation Choir, remembers Tony as “proactive in maximising his own communication abilities, in supporting and encouraging people in his community and in raising awareness of aphasia in the wider community”.

“Tony was a supportive friend to many, always the first to greet and welcome new people. His infectious humour, positivity and uncomplaining attitude to health challenges inspired us all and have left a lasting legacy.”

Pictured: Tony Petrasich with Distinguished Professor Sir Richard Faull.

From the newborn brain to dementia
$1.9 million for CBR research

The Neurological Foundation has awarded more than $1.9 million to nine CBR-led projects, supporting research across the lifespan – from protecting the brains of newborn babies to improving our understanding and treatment of stroke, Parkinson’s disease, motor neuron disease and dementia.

Recipients include Dr Fiona McBryde ($300,000), Professor Bronwen Connor ($299,956), Dr Daniel Conole and Dr Amy Smith ($299,907), Dr Simerdeep Dhillon ($469,773 across two awards), Dr Chelsie Osterman ($241,333), Dr Christi Essex ($20,000), Dr Blake Highet ($20,000) and Linh Nguyen ($16,974).

Dr James Hucklesby also received a $247,845 Philip Wrightson Fellowship to investigate ways to protect the brain from postoperative delirium.

Read more about James’s research below.

Protecting the brain after surgery

Dr James Hucklesby (School of Biological Sciences) has begun new research to identify medications to treat postoperative delirium.

After surgery, up to 40 percent of older and higher-risk patients experience postoperative delirium.

Delirious patients may become agitated, confused, or unable to concentrate. These symptoms may persist for weeks or months, making postoperative delirium a disconcerting experience for patients and their whānau.

Concerningly, there are currently no medications approved to prevent or treat postoperative delirium.

CBR researcher Dr James Hucklesby (School of Biological Sciences) has begun new research to identify medications to treat postoperative delirium.

James will focus on testing medications already used to treat other conditions, as repurposed drugs can reach patients far sooner than entirely new medicines.

To test these medications, James will grow brain blood vessels in the lab before adding the inflammatory factors found in the blood after surgery.

By measuring how much these factors damage the blood vessels, both with and without various medications, James will determine which drugs can best protect the vessels from the surgical-associated damage leading to delirium.

“Postoperative delirium is currently a massive problem, forcing patients and their carers to deal with a disconcerting mental state whilst navigating the critical period of healing directly after surgery," says James, whose previous research has centred on how cancer and stroke affect the brain.

“If successfully translated to the clinic, a medication able to reduce the effects of surgery on the brain would have a huge impact; reducing patient suffering, family burdens and the resource-intensive long-term care these patients currently require.”

James received a Philip Wrightson Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Neurological Foundation for the study. The fellowship helps emerging researchers pursue innovative research into neurological conditions.

Brainstorming finale: the fight against MS

Over the past three months, we have been thrilled to contribute to six episodes of Newstalk ZB’s hugely popular Brainstorming podcast series, hosted by journalist Clare de Lore.

The final episode was particularly special for the CBR. It focused on multiple sclerosis (MS), Professor Hanneke Hulst’s research specialty, and a condition that has touched her family personally.

Hanneke joined neurologist Dr Jennifer Pereira and psychology student Sarah Collins, who lives with MS, to discuss advances in research and treatment.

Watching her mother live with MS helped shape Hanneke’s research into the condition and its less visible cognitive effects, including forgetfulness, difficulty processing information and struggling to keep up with conversations.

While these changes can seem small in isolation, their cumulative impact can profoundly affect everyday life, Hanneke says, adding that it is important to keep the brain active by regularly trying new and unfamiliar activities.

The working theory is that these experiences help create new brain connections, potentially making the brain more resilient to future damage.

The episode, and the series, ends with Hanneke outlining her vision for the CBR: to promote lifelong brain health, identify and treat neurological conditions earlier, and help change the trajectory of brain disorders.

Listen to Brainstorming

Across the series, CBR researchers have shared their latest work on Huntington’s disease, dementia, MND, brain and spinal cord injuries, stroke and MS, alongside people living with each condition.

We are immensely grateful to Clare for her vision in creating Brainstorming and for bringing these stories to life with such warmth, insight and compassion.

Train Five, Keep Five

Did you know New Zealand trains just five neurologists each year, but there are only around three funded public hospital positions available for them to enter the workforce?

The Neurological Alliance of New Zealand has launched its Train Five, Keep Five campaign, calling on the Government to fund two additional public hospital neurology positions each year so New Zealand can retain more of the specialists it trains.

The campaign comes as demand for neurological services already significantly exceeds supply.

“Delays in diagnosis and treatment are placing increased pressure on emergency departments, primary care and the wider health system, ultimately costing more,” says Neurological Alliance Chair Rich Easton.

The Alliance is also calling for a national neurological workforce strategy to address training, recruitment and retention, regional access, follow-up care and growing demand for neurological services.

The message is simple: if New Zealand trains five neurologists, we need to be able to keep five.

Read more about the campaign on the Neurological Alliance website.
 

Vital motor neuron disease research to continue

Serey's research is helping determine whether specific genetic changes increase the risk of developing MND.

This vital work helps families better understand genetic test results and inherited risk, and may help identify people who could benefit from emerging gene-targeted therapies.

We are incredibly grateful to the Bruce & Florence Emery Memorial Fund for its support of this important work.

Generous donor gives to dementia research

Four CBR dementia research projects will each receive $10,000, thanks to a generous anonymous gift.

Support like this can make a real difference, giving our researchers the opportunity to test new ideas, access specialist equipment or expertise, and lay the foundations for future research.

The four projects to receive funding are:

Validating imaging biomarkers of dementia (Associate Professor Miriam Scadeng)

This project aims to improve our ability to detect and understand different forms of dementia by linking what we see on brain scans with what is happening in the brain tissue itself. The funding would support specialised imaging resources that can be reused across many future studies, creating a lasting research capability for the CBR.

Capacity building for dementia detection using non-invasive electroretinography (Associate Professor Monica Acosta)

Researchers are exploring whether a simple, non-invasive eye test could help identify early cognitive decline and dementia. The funding would bring international expertise to New Zealand and help build local capability in this promising new area of dementia detection via workshops and training.

Gamified auditory-cognitive training tool for older adults with mild cognitive impairment (Doctoral Candidate Reese Ducusin)

This project aims to develop an engaging, game-based training programme for older adults with mild cognitive impairment, a condition that can increase the risk of developing dementia. The tool will be co-designed with older adults, their families and healthcare professionals to ensure it is both useful and enjoyable to use.

Genetic testing for rare forms of dementia (Associate Professor Emma Scotter)

This project would bring new genetic testing capability to New Zealand, allowing researchers to study rare inherited forms of dementia, including frontotemporal dementia, locally rather than relying on overseas facilities. In the longer term, this could help develop faster diagnostic pathways for patients and families.
 

20 years of inspiring young neuroscientists

This year we marked the 20th anniversary of Brain Bee – an incredible programme that introduces Year 11 students to neuroscience at school.

By completing neuroscience assessments throughout the school year, students explore the brain in far greater depth than the standard curriculum – with a competition to find the Brain Bee champion adding to the challenge!

We invite 140 of the top-scoring students from the Brain Bee school assessments to spend a day at the CBR and take part in a live quiz to crown the North Island Brain Bee champion.

Congratulations to this year's champion, Tianyi Lu from Rangitoto College, who was the top scorer in a closely contested live final. She will go on to represent the North Island at the New Zealand Brain Bee National Final.

This year, 20 students were also selected for exclusive Neurological Foundation-funded internships at the CBR during the September school holidays, giving them the opportunity to experience neuroscience research firsthand alongside our scientists.

We hope some of our Brain Bee students left inspired to study neuroscience at university and perhaps one day become the brain researchers of tomorrow.

A huge thank you to the teachers who supported their students, our volunteers who made the day possible, and our supporters, the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand and Freemasons New Zealand, for helping make Brain Bee possible.

Top-scoring individuals:
1st: Tianyi Lu – Rangitoto College
2nd: Yehara Epa – Epsom Girls' Grammar School
3rd: Robert Baker – Auckland Grammar School

Top-scoring teams:
1st: Epsom Girls' Grammar School
2nd: Auckland Grammar School
3rd: Rototuna High School & Rosmini College
4th: Rangitoto College

North Island Brain Bee winner Tianyi Lu from Rangitoto College with Neurological Foundation CEO Rich Easton.

In the news

The hunt to find the one in a billion molecule

Associate Professor Jack Flanagan is leading a $1m Drug Discovery programme, funded by the Neurological Foundation and supported by a team of CBR scientists. The team is screening hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions, of molecules to find a candidate to be developed into a drug to treat neuroinflammation. 

Known as ultra-large-scale drug screening, this ambitious project is profiled in the University's Mātātaki | The Challenge series, which explores how researchers are taking on the big challenges facing New Zealand and the world.

World-first Auckland study finds zinc has future potential in autism treatment

Professor Johanna Montgomery spoke to the New Zealand Herald about her team’s research into whether zinc could reduce the severity of symptoms associated with Phelan-McDermid syndrome, a severe form of autism. Her research is supported by almost $145,500 from the Auckland Medical Research Foundation, and has just received a further $365,000 from the Hugh Green Foundation.

How singing in a choir hits the right note for people living with a neurological condition

There is growing evidence that singing in a choir can improve life for people living with neurological conditions. In a new article in The Conversation, Dr Alison Talmage explains the strong link between singing in a choir and self-reported quality of life for people living with brain injuries and dementia.

To help others wanting to start their own neurological choir, Alison created the VOCCAL Handbook as part of her doctoral research. 

Cool new research aims to improve stroke patients’ recovery

Professor Alan Barber spoke to Newstalk ZB, as part of the Brainstorming podcast series, about research investigating whether cooling the brain could limit damage and improve recovery following an ischaemic stroke.

The approach uses a specially designed cap to cool the brain while doctors remove the blood clot causing the stroke. An initial New Zealand–Canadian study involving 40 patients found the technique was feasible and well tolerated, paving the way for larger clinical trials to determine whether it can improve patient outcomes.

Upcoming events

Celebrating 10 years of the DPRC

This September, the CBR’s Dementia Prevention Research Clinics (DPRCs) will celebrate a very special milestone – 10 years of bringing people together to better understand the factors affecting the development of dementia.

Since the clinics were established by leading dementia expert Professor Lynette Tippett, hundreds of people have taken part in the longitudinal study, generously giving their time to complete clinical and cognitive assessments, and provide lifestyle information, brain scans, and blood samples to the study.

With novel and clinically relevant findings emerging from the study, this has created an incredibly valuable resource for researchers working to understand the earliest signs of dementia and find better ways to diagnose and ultimately prevent it.

The anniversary event will bring participants, whānau, clinical staff, researchers and funders together to celebrate the DPRC community and everything it has achieved over the past decade.

Myotonic Dystrophy Awareness Day

To mark International Myotonic Dystrophy Awareness Day, the CBR will host a special seminar showcasing myotonic dystrophy research in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Speakers will include Richard Roxburgh, Polona Le Quesne Stabej and Sarah Mollet, with more details to come.

Tuesday 15 September, 12–3pm
CBR Seminar Room and online

Register to attend by email to dianne.stacevicius@auckland.ac.nz 

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