NeuRA Podcasts

Dr Julie Brown investigates which sort of injuries are most commonly suffered by Australian children, and how we can best prevent them from occurring. Specifically, her group is studying how injuries occur in children when they are involved in car crashes, and how changes to the types and design of restraints used by children can reduce serious injuries and death.

Read more about her work here.

Professor Vaughan Macefield has explored the neural basis of hypertension in healthy individuals and in different disease states in order to find out how we can better control blood pressure. His most recent study has uncovered why some people experience an increase in blood pressure after being exposed to long-lasting pain, while others experience a decrease in blood pressure.

Read here for more information on the study.

Amanda speaks about her personal story of finding out that she has the genetic mutation that will cause her to have Alzheimer’s disease in the future.

Richard Schweizer is a musician, radio presenter and PhD student at Sydney University. He also has schizophrenia. He discusses what life post-diagnosis is like, and the importance of family and friends in the process of healing, acceptance and re-defining the self. Richard also discusses identity reformation in schizophrenia – the topic of his thesis.

NeuRA’s Executive Director Professor Peter Schofield talks about what the Medical Research Future Fund means for medical research, particularly neuroscience. He also gives his thoughts on the grant process in Australia and discusses the recent merger between NeuRA and the Schizophrenia Research Institute.

The Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) is an international research partnership of leading scientists determined to understand and defeat Alzheimer’s disease through studying a rare form that is caused by a gene mutation. The Site Principal Investigator for the clinical trial at NeuRA is Dr Bill Brooks who has been working with families who carry the gene since 1988.

NeuRA is in the unique position of being able to tackle the growing problem of falls in our community using a dynamic mix of disciplines.  With a background in physiotherapy, Kim is passionate about assisting an ageing population to minimise their falls risk. Falls and fractures account for more than half of all injury-related health care costs in Australia, estimated at over 500 million dollars to the economy each year. Kim has created a number of exercise based iPad apps specifically designed to minimise falls risk.

Having been a clinical neurophysiologist for three decades, Simon’s interests are broad. Here he explains his life as both a clinician and a researcher, and how one part of the job feeds into the other. Simon also explains his most recent Government funded program looking into motor impairment.

Dr Paul Foley is a neuroscience historian, an author, philosopher and an Honorary Associate at NeuRA. Here he talks about how the relationship between philosophy and science has changed. Dr Foley believes that science and philosophy must always go together, particularly into the future where we face unique ethical and philosophical challenges around technological advancements.

NeuRA’s Prof Tony Broe is the lead author of the Koori Growing Old Well Study (KGOWS), that found the prevalence of dementia in older Aboriginal Australians is three times higher than in non-Indigenous Australians of the same age. Before this study, little was known about the rates of dementia in older Aboriginal Australians. Here he offers his unique perspective on how we can better grow our brains into old age.