University of Auckland neurology researchers gain $1.5m funding boost

The Neurological Foundation has awarded more than $1.5 million to University of Auckland researchers in its latest grants round.

Associate Professor Emma Scotter’s motor neuron disease lab group received a total of $485,225, made up of a $242,205 Dawn Fellowship for Kyrah Thumbadoo and a $243,020 First Fellowship for Miran Mrkela.

Thumbadoo will use stem cells from several family members with motor neuron disease to grow motor neurons in the lab. This will help to show how a genetic mutation can cause motor neuron disease and frontotemporal dementia, how it affects men and women differently, and the potential for drug treatment.

Mrkela will create cell models in the lab to observe whether genetic changes disrupt normal cell function and lead to motor neuron disease. Understanding this could help doctors provide better genetic counselling for people with the condition.

A First Fellowship worth $231,460 has been awarded to Dr Sreemol Gokuladhas for research on genetic causes of multiple sclerosis. She also aims to develop a diagnostic model for earlier and more accurate diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

Dr Kelly Zhou received $286,483 for her work researching an immune cell response that contributes to brain damage in babies who are oxygen-deprived at birth.

Three doctoral scholarships, totalling nearly $500,000, have been awarded to Mikayla Chetty for research on Alzheimer’s disease, Jean Yu Lim to study dementia, and Benjamin Watkin for work on glioblastoma.

Dr Renee Handley received a small project grant of $15,000 for her work developing a genetic therapy treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

Grants of $8,500 were made to two Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland summer students – Stanley Cardon, for his work investigating chronic traumatic encephalopathy, supervised by Dr Helen Murray; and Daniel Lavin, for his work on spinal cord injury, supervised by Dr Simon O’Carroll.

The Neurological Foundation is the biggest non-government funder of neurological research in New Zealand and offers two grant rounds each year.

The latest round injected $2.6 million into eight projects, 10 personal awards, and 12 conference and travel grants.

Foundation head of research Dr Sarah Schonberger says they were impressed by the calibre of the applications.

“There’s certainly no shortage of exciting, innovative research in New Zealand.

“We’re proud to be able to invest our donors’ money in areas that could lead to much-needed breakthroughs across a wide range of neurological conditions,” Schonberger says.