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Neurotrauma

Here at the Perron Institute the Neurotrauma Research Group conducts leading research into TBI. The team has two streams of research, a pre-clinical research team identifying mechanisms of damage following neurotrauma, and a clinical research team, identifying predictors of outcome following both mild and moderate to severe TBI.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is the most common form of traumatic brain injury (TBI), accounting for approximately 70-85% of these injuries in Australia and worldwide. The CREST Concussion study is identifying ways to predict recovery after these injuries.

Research Focus

Our TBI Neurotrauma Research Group is led by Professor Melinda (Lindy) Fitzgerald whose previous contributions include identifying the cells that are particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage that occurs as degeneration spreads following injury to the central nervous system.

The group hope to understand whether oxidative damage to the DNA of oligodendrocytes (the cells that make insulating myelin in the brain) is a feature that unifies neurotrauma, neurodegenerative and demyelinating disease. The research may identify a potential target for early preventative treatment in all three conditions.

In addition, the team are engaging in clinical initiatives to fill gaps in knowledge surrounding TBI of all severities. Our group will design a way to confidentially gather data on treatment and outcomes of TBI in all states and territories in Australia, including those in rural, remote and Aboriginal communities. This information will help to personalise care for individuals who experience TBI and determine which treatments work best for specific symptoms and individuals, to improve the lives of Australians with TBI.

Researchers

Awards

  • 2021 Graduate Australian Institute of Company Directors, Company Director's Course (Prof Melinda Fitzgerald)
  • 2021 10x Genomics and Millennium Science Start Single Cell RNA Sequencing Fellowship (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2021 Business Events Perth Aspire Award (Dr Sarah Hellewell)
  • 2020 Perron Institute 3 Minute Thesis Competition (Lillian Toomey)
  • 2020 3rd prize of poster presentation in the Early Career Research Category at the 2020 Symposium of Western Australian Neuroscience (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2018 Mark Liveris 3 Minute Thesis Competition (Aleksandra Gozt)
  • 2017 1st prize of the Cover Page Image Competition of the Journal of Immunology and Cell Biology (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2017 CSL 1st prize of the Scientific Photography Exhibition, Australasian Society for Immunology (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2016 Homeward Bound, an international leadership and strategy program for women scientists to Antarctica, designed to increase the proportion of women in the higher levels of science. (Prof Melinda Fitzgerald)
  • 2016 Best of Posters Runner-up Award, Australasian Gastro-Intestinal Trials Group (AGITG) Annual Scientific Meeting (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2013 Australian Society for Medical Research symposium best oral presentation platinum prize (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2013 Australasian Society for Immunology, Perth conference best oral presentation prize (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2013 UWA Graduate Research Student International Travel Award (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2013 National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases International Conference Travel Grant (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2012 UWA Graduate Research Student Domestic Travel Award (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2012 National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases Domestic Conference Travel Grant (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2011 UWA Research Training Scheme Scholarship (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)
  • 2010 UWA Scholarship for International Research Fees (SIRF) (Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu)

Grants

  • Fitzgerald, Young & Anyaegbu. Neurotrauma Research Program for "The effectiveness of a 12-week remote-delivered green-blue light therapy intervention on daytime sleepiness, fatigue, work productivity and quality of life outcomes in individuals following traumatic brain injury" (2021)
  • Fitzgerald, Lins, Anyaegbu. MediCann "Effects of cannabis extracts on the pathophysiology of mild traumatic brain injury (Phase 2)" (2021)
  • Takechi, Fitzgerald, Lavender, Anyaegbu. Neurotrauma Research Program for "Prevention of cerebrovascular dysfunction and neuromotor deficits induced by repeated sub-concussion" (2021)
  • CIA Fitzgerald, 49 other CIs. Medical Research Future Fund Mission for TBI for "An informatics approach to predict outcomes and monitor intervention efficacy following moderate to severe traumatic brain injury" (2021)
  • CIA Ziebell, Fitzgerald (CIF). Medical Research Future Fund Mission for TBI for "Transforming Awareness, Literacy & Knowledge of Traumatic Brain Injury (TALK-TBI)" (2021)
  • CIA Udy, Fitzgerald as CIJ. Mission for TBI. PRECISION-TBI for "Promoting evidence-based, data driven care for critically ill moderate-to-severe TBI patients" (2021)
  • CIA O’Reilly, Fitzgerald (AI). Mission for TBI for "the Australian Traumatic Brain Injury National Data Project (ATBIND)" (2021)
  • CIA McNamara, Fitzgerald (CIB). "Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Management of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (AIMS-TBI) – a MASTER-TBI subproject. Research Translation Projects" (2021)
  • CIA Anyaegbu. Perron Institute Pump Priming Grant. Single-cell RNA profiling of the gut heritage of brain-infiltrating T cells associated with traumatic brain injury (2021)
  • Enticott, Fitzgerald, Barlow, Hickie, Licari, Rogasch, Middeldorp C, Clark, Vallence, and Boulton. Medical Research Future Fund Neurological Disorders, Led by Deakin University "Does repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), compared to sham rTMS, improve social communication in adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder?" (2020-2024)
  • Fitzgerald, Herrup and Young. NHMRC Project Grant for "Defining the unifying mechanisms of oxidative damage to oligodendrocyte DNA in neurotrauma, neurodegenerative and demyelinating disease." (2019-2021)
  • Fitzgerald M, Young K, Anyaegbu C. Neurotrauma Research Program Grant. "Is oxidative damage to OPCs at the blood brain barrier a contributor to pathology following neurotrauma?" (2019)
  • AIC Anyaegbu. The Tonkinson Colorectal Cancer Research Fund Grant. "Exosomes and circulating tumour DNA as biomarkers of colorectal cancer metastasis." (2019)
  • CIA Anyaegbu. The Tonkinson Colorectal Cancer Research Fund. "The role of dendritic cells in colon cancer recurrence". (2018)
  • CIA Anyaegbu. Cancer Council WA Suzanne Cavanagh Early Career Investigator Grant. "Catching immune cells in the act of fighting bowel cancer". (2017)

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