In her lab at the University of Otago, Brain Research New Zealand (BRNZ) Principal Investigator, Associate Professor Ping Liu, asks some big questions. Using a host of different techniques, she is exploring the neurobiology of age-related cognitive decline,...
The University of Otago’s Dr Owen Jones never planned to come to New Zealand. Looking for adventure after completing a psychology and neuroscience degree at the University of Liverpool, he moved to Japan to teach English. There, he met a kiwi woman, “and you can...
The Dementia Prevention Research Clinic has officially opened in Christchurch on July 26 – the third in a national network of clinics established by Brain Research New Zealand - Rangahau Roro Aotearoa (BRNZ). With the launch of the Christchurch Dementia Prevention...
There are said to be more than 60,000 people living with dementia here in New Zealand. But did you know that this number is only an estimate, based on statistics from other countries? To date, there has never been a dedicated, nationally-representative study into the...
“I can’t really remember a time that I wasn’t interested in science,” Sophie Mathiesen (Ngāpuhi) says. “My dad has a background in engineering and mum in chemistry, so they were always keen to help with the elaborate projects I designed.” In high school, Sophie...
Helen’s love for science started when she was very young, a spark ignited by her dad. “We would sit down and he would teach me about molecules as a little six year old,” Helen says. “I think that’s my earliest memory of science.” As a teenager, when her dad got sick...
In Prof. Mike Dragunow’s lab at the University of Auckland, they grow human brain cells – everything from star-shaped astrocytes and neurons, to the focus of his latest research paper, microglia – the brain’s “surveyors”. For the past twenty years, BRNZ Principal...
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is a degenerative brain condition that progressively impairs memory, thinking and reasoning skills. It is estimated that it affects 10% of New Zealanders over 65 years and 25% of people over 85. Currently,...
“Our animal models wander around in paddocks, eat grass, and are well cared for. In many ways, they’re just normal sheep,” says BRNZ Principal Investigator, Prof. Russell Snell. But those sheep are special, because they’re helping Russell and his colleagues at the...
We proudly present Brain Research New Zealand’s contribution to ‘Every Three Seconds’, a news and current affairs style programme that explores the risks, growth and future response to dementia. It tells the stories of those who are impacted by dementia and those who...
Alzheimer’s disease accounts for more than 60% of all dementia cases, and as our population ages it is becoming an even greater societal issue. Huge progress has been made since the identification of Alzheimer’s disease in 1907, however drug trials continue to fail....
Photo Caption: The New Zealand Minister of Health, Hon Dr David Clark, who officially launched Brain Research New Zealand’s Dunedin Dementia Prevention Research Clinic. Dunedin residents now have the opportunity to contribute to potentially ground-breaking discoveries...