Written by Associate Professor Rita Krishnamurthi Stroke is the third highest cause of death in New Zealand, after cancer and coronary heart disease. But our new research shows very few people are aware of the risk, particularly in Pasifika...
Your Brain Health
Assoc Prof Joanna Williams: The clues in our blood
Associate Prof Joanna Williams’ work at the University of Otago is all about blood – and the clues hidden within that might tell us what is going on in the brain. Using the blood as a window into the brain, Joanna aims to find biomarkers that can help us diagnose...
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae and Brain Research New Zealand | Matariki Awards
It has become an annual tradition for Brain Research New Zealand to sponsor the Health and Science Award of Māori TV's annual Ngaā Whetū o Matariki Awards. For this occassion, Māori TV has produced a video piece showcasing the relationship of BRNZ and our Māori...
Isaac Samuels: How equal is access to stroke reperfusion therapy?
“As a young Māori health professional in training, it is crucial to me that I do everything I can, whenever I can, to ensure I am providing for my communities all across Aotearoa.” As a fourth-year medical student at the University of Auckland, Isaac Samuels (Tainui)...
Assoc Prof Ping Liu: Detecting Alzheimer’s through targeted metabolomics
Assoc Prof Ping Liu has been researching L-arginine, a highly versatile semi-essential amino acid, for almost 20 years – and it doesn’t sound like she’ll get tired of it anytime soon. L-arginine is widely present in our bodies, including our brains. What makes...
Prof Valery Feigin: Neurological disorders are the leading cause of global disability
BRNZ Principal Investigator Prof Valery Feigin, Director of AUT's National Institute for Stroke and Applied Neurosciences, is New Zealand's most cited scientist and a world-leading stroke researcher. For the occasion of World Brain Day 2020, Valery was interviewed by...
$1.2m Funding Boost For Parkinson’s Disease Study
University of Canterbury-led research that could help Parkinson’s disease patients learn more about their risk of dementia has received a million-dollar funding boost. The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC), a Crown agency, has awarded a project grant of...
Empowering Māori to fight dementia
Even though Māori are diagnosed with dementia much younger than non-Māori, and it is predicted that they will make up 8% of New Zealanders living with dementia by2038, little is known about how this disease affects Māori. Most research is still conducted through a...
Your nose: the window to your brain
The nose and sense of smell provide early indicators of Covid-19 and neurodegenerative diseases, and could be important in determining the cause of diseases, writes Professor Maurice Curtis of the University of Auckland. Have you ever experienced a momentary smell...
Improving hearing health across the Pacific
Professor Peter Thorne is working to improve hearing health across the Pacific by developing a better understanding of perceptions of hearing loss and to create a clearer, more equitable route for them to access hearing health services.
Alehandrea Manuel: Thinking beyond the booth
In her PhD at Brain Research New Zealand, Alehandrea Manuel is looking at how older Māori and whānau experience hearing loss and hearing services in New Zealand.
‘Crazy’ idea leads to brain disease breakthrough
How a hunch led to a new way to grow human brain cells in the lab to investigate an array of challenging disorders. When it comes to the brain disorders that occur with ageing – Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases – there is no cure. The illnesses are...