Directorate

Expert in synaptic plasticity, metaplasticity and the neural mechanisms of memory and Alzheimer’s disease.

Professor Abraham is the Founder of the Brain Health Research Centre at the University of Otago. He has been continuously funded by the MRC/HRC for 26 years, during which time he has served as Director of HRC Programme grants for 16 years (1994-2004, 2010-2015), spanning seven departments and two academic Divisions.

Professor Abraham has attracted and managed over $60million in research grants, including multiple HRC and Marsden grants, a Human Frontiers grant and a subcontract to an NIH Javits award.

He also has extensive leadership experience, having served as the Chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Otago (2003-2005).

Professor Abraham is a founding member (since 1983) and then Chair for eleven years of the Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research.

Expert in diseases of the inner ear and the effects of noise and consequences of ageing on the auditory system.

Professor Peter Thorne has a joint appointment in the Section of Audiology and Department of Physiology at the University of Auckland. He is a Director of the Eisdell Moore Centre and Co-Director of Brain Research New Zealand.

Professor Thorne completed his PhD at the University of Auckland and post-doctoral studies at the University of Auckland and at the Kresge Hearing Research Institute, University of Michigan. His research is in the area of sensory neurobiology particularly inner ear homeostasis and the influence of noise exposure and ageing on hearing. He is the Chairman of the National Foundation for the Deaf and is on the Board of the Deafness Research Foundation.

In 2009, he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to audiology and auditory neuroscience.

Expert in neurodegenerative diseases of the human brain.

Sir Richard, founding Co-Director of BRNZ, has also directed and developed the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland since its inception in 2009 creating one of the pre-eminent neuroscience research centres in Australasia.

Sir Richard has extensive leadership and management experience at the University of Auckland (Head of Department of Anatomy with Radiology 1988-2000, Council Member 2001-2009, numerous senior academic committees), and has made major leadership contributions to international neuroscience societies and scientific advisory organisations. He has attracted and managed external research and philanthropic funding, and established the internationally recognised Neurological Foundation of New Zealand Douglas Human Brain Bank.

Sir Richard continues to be actively involved (as Patron and sponsor) in a wide range of community organisations associated with supporting patients with neurological disorder.

The clinical and neuropsychological effects of neurological disorders.

Lynette Tippett is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Auckland. A major focus of her research programme involves clinical and neuropsychological investigations of individuals with neurological disorders, particularly neurodegenerative diseases (Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Motor Neuron Disease and Parkinson’s disease). Central to the success of this research are strong multi-disciplinary research teams, linking bench-top neuroscience with clinical science and patients.

Associate Professor Tippett is the Director of BRNZ’s network of Dementia Prevention Research Clinics, and co-director of the Auckland clinic alongside geriatrician Dr Phil Wood. The establishment of New Zealand’s first Dementia Prevention Research Clinics will greatly enhance research into Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in New Zealand.

Expert in the role of neuromodulation and synaptic plasticity mechanisms in brain areas affected by Parkinson’s disease and stroke.

John Reynolds is a Professor in Neuroscience in the Department of Anatomy at University of Otago. His research team studies the application of neuroplasticity approaches to Parkinson’s disease and stroke. His interest is in applying the principles of neuromodulation to modify synaptic plasticity and recover function in affected brain areas. Professor Reynolds graduated in Medicine in 1994, and then returned to the University of Otago after a few years in practice to undertake PhD studies. 

He has received an international Brain Research Young Investigator Award and a National Tertiary Teaching Award, and has held a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship from the Royal Society of New Zealand. Professor Reynolds served five years as chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Neurological Foundation of NZ and is a member of the Directorate for BRNZ.

Professor Tim Anderson is the Clinical Director at the New Zealand Brain Research Institute. Tim also holds the Van der Veer Chair in Parkinson’s disease and Movement Disorders at the University of Otago, Christchurch. As a neurologist with the Canterbury District Health Board, Tim has extensive experience in the neurology, differential diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders. He also has considerable experience establishing biomarkers of cognitive decline to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, particularly advanced MRI markers in Parkinson’s disease, but also other dementias. Tim regularly conducts clinical pharmaceutical trials in Parkinson’s and other neurological disorders, enabling patients not only to have early access to new treatments but also regular clinical review and oversight.

From  Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupouri, Te Rarawa and Ngāpuhi, Dr Hinemoa Elder is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland and Professorial Fellow of Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi. She currently holds a Health Research Council of NZ Eru Pomare Post Doctoral Fellowship implementing her theoretical work in developing a Māori needs assessment tool and approaches to working with whānau experiencing traumatic brain injury. Dr Elder has many years of experience in the areas of indigenous issues pertaining to mental health and rehabilitation, child and adolescent psychiatry, neuropsychiatry and youth forensic psychiatry.  She is an internationally recognised researcher and author.

Ruth Empson is a Professor in Neuroscience in the Department of Physiology at the University of Otago. Her research team aims to understand how the connections between brain cells, called synapses, work together to change the neural output patterns of specialist brain regions. Her specific interest is to identify how neuroplasticity drives changes in the brain regions that are critical for perception and movement. Most recently, as a Fulbright Scholar in the USA, she has explored ways to assess how neuroplasticity contributes to changes in eye movements. This work is also helping the search for new targets to treat a variety of age-related movement disorders including cerebellar ataxias and stroke. Throughout her research she applies high-resolution electrical measurements and optical imaging, and is currently pioneering state-of-the-art optical sensors to enable real-time synaptic monitoring in the awake brain. Ruth has served as the NZ representative on Council for the Australian Neuroscience Society and also chairs the Australasian Winter Conference on Brain Research held in Queenstown every year.