The Summer 2014 edition of the NeuRA Magazine is ready to read! This quarter, we discuss potential medical uses of cannabis with researcher Assoc Prof Tim Karl, a timely topic given Australia’s cannabis clinical trial plans. You can also read about current results and new phases of the Koori Growing Old Well Study and a strange hand illusion that explains the workings of our […]
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Jessica Lazarus, PhD candidate and 2014-2015 Co-Chair of the NeuRA Early Career Committee, enthuses about research, networking, and building professional skills. I began my PhD at NeuRA in March 2014 after finishing a Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours) at the University of New South Wales. My current research focuses on the potential role that epigenetic modification plays in extreme longevity. […]
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Dr Vibeke Sørensen Catts is a schizophrenia researcher. Her interests lie in exploring the biological factors that help brain cells grow and die, and how these pathways might be altered in schizophrenia. Here she describes her discovery that certain types of brain cells are inflamed in some people with schizophrenia. This recent finding opens new understanding of what goes wrong in […]
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When thinking about frontotemporal dementia, we often focus on cognitive and behavioural symptoms. Memory loss, personality changes, and trouble speaking and understanding language are among some of the more recognised FTD symptoms. However, there is a physical side to neurodegenerative illnesses that is the subject of Dr Rebekah Ahmed’s research at NeuRA. Eating abnormalities are present in 6 out of […]
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Margarete (Gretel) Ainsworth and Len Ainsworth have been selected as joint recipients of the 2014 The Macquarie Group Foundation Great Australian Philanthropy Award by Research Australia. Mrs Ainsworth’s major contribution allowed us to continue the fit out of our new building […]
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Siobhan Fitzpatrick and Jim Nuzzo are testing methods that may have the potential to improve existing connections between motor neurons within the spinal cord in people with neurological injury. People who have experienced spinal cord injury or stroke often lose the ability to activate their muscles, as a result of damage to neural pathways involved in motor control. Siobhan and […]
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In the final installment of Richard Schweizer’s blog series, he describes his vision for the future and why speaking out about schizophrenia is so important to him. For this, the last section of my blog I would like to convey the ups and downs of my life since being successfully medicated. I would also like to talk about my PhD […]
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Bettina Bartos is the architect who designed NeuRA’s Margarete Ainsworth building. She shares how the building’s design was developed, and how the innovative vision of Artbank and its collection of Australian art put the finishing touches on this much-welcomed facility. There is nothing new about the synergy between art and science. Indeed, Leonardo Da Vinci is probably best known for his […]
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In Part Two of Richard Schweizer’s blog, entitled ‘The Road to Wellness’, he takes us into the Sydney Clinic where he was admitted not long after his schizophrenia diagnosis. I spent about 3 months in the Sydney Clinic; a private mental health facility in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. My time there was not that bad. I have good things to say about the […]
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Bipolar disorder affects 350,000 Australians, and has been ranked in the top 20 most disabling disorders globally, making it even more disabling than depression. Dr Jan Fullerton‘s research aims to better understand how genes contribute to bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is characterised by oscillating periods of mania and depression. These changes in mood are sometimes accompanied by psychotic episodes and escalating impulsive and […]
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