BECOME A CURE CRUSADER

Sir Richard is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Auckland and the Founding Director of the University’s Centre for Brain Research. He is the recipient of many accolades over his 40+ years of leadership in brain research, including the Royal Society Rutherford medal, NZ’s highest scientific honour. He is widely recognized internationally for his work on neurodegenerative diseases and for the establishment of one of the best Human Brain Banks in the world, a highly precious resource for brain research that was made possible through the strength of relationships Sir Richard has built between researchers, clinicians, and the families of those with brain diseases. Tissue from this brain bank is used all over the world thanks to the many highly productive international collaborations Sir Richard has built over the years.

Maurice began his career as a radiographer before switching to neuroscience, completing a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of Auckland. Maurice’s research work is focussed on understanding the earliest changes that occur in the brain and other anatomical regions that indicate that Parkinson’s disease is going to strike. The goal of the research is to have degenerative brain diseases detected and treated years before brain cell loss occurs. In this presentation Maurice will talk about his group’s research to detect early changes in the olfactory system in Parkinson’s disease and their experimental therapeutic approaches. Maurice will also highlight recent work using machine learning to solve big challenges in the field of anatomy. Maurice is Professor of Neuroscience, Co-director of the Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank, and a founding Director of the Medical Imaging Research Centre at the University of Auckland.

Dr Victoria Low is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research at The University of Auckland. Victoria specializes in histological anatomy and advanced imaging techniques, and her field of research focuses on the human olfactory system. Victoria leads groundbreaking research combining biomedical sciences, clinical research, and artificial intelligence to investigate Parkinson’s disease and olfaction to assess disease onset, investigate methods for early disease detection, and identify pathways for targeted drug therapies.

Dr. Ruth Monk’s work includes developing a human olfactory cell model to study early cellular changes in Parkinson’s, as well as collaborating on a drug discovery program targeting α-synuclein clearance.