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Previous Grants

The following grants were approved prior to December 2012.

  • Live cell single molecule imaging of estrogen-induced neuroprotective mechanism on cholinergic neurons

    $205,721

    Dr István Ábrahám, Department of Physiology - University of Otago 2011 - July

    In Alzheimer’s disease, the cholinergic neurons in the brain are affected, causing impairment of intellectual function. The female hormone estrogen exerts a protective action on these cells, but the mechanism is unknown. Using novel time-lapse super-resolution imaging, Dr Ábrahám will examine the mechanisms of estrogen action on live cholinergic neurons at the single molecule level. The proposed work will define a new estrogen signaling pathway in the cholinergic neurons and provide fundamental information for understanding estrogen-induced neuroprotection in Alzheimer’s disease. The results of this study will aid in the design of new treatments for people with Alzheimer’s disease.

  • Neurological Foundation Postgraduate Scholarship – Lysosomal function in childhood neurodegenerative disease.

    $102,600

    Nicole Neverman Department of Biochemistry - University of Otago 2011 - December

    For students who have already completed an Honours or Masters degree to allow them to undertake a PhD course at a New Zealand university.

    To maintain health, cells must constantly renew used components. This is achieved primarily by the lysosome, an acidic intracellular organelle containing over 50 enzymes which digest and recycle cellular waste. Dysfunctional lysosomes contribute to a wide variety of diseases including a group of childhood brain disorders known as Batten disease. Children suffer progressive blindness, cognitive deficits, vegetative state and premature death and there are no effective treatments currently available. This study will determine the function and effects of mutations in one form of Batten disease and test the effectiveness of gene therapy in affected neurons.

  • Neurological Foundation Post-doctoral Fellowship – Perceptual training for the management of neurological speech disorders.

    $122,000

    Stephanie Borrie Department of Communication Disorders - University of Canterbury 2011 - December

    For researchers who have completed a PhD and wish to develop their research careers. This work can be undertaken at either New Zealand or overseas universities or hospitals.

    Fellowship will be undertaken at the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic Arizona.

    Neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and stroke are often characterised by speech which is difficult to understand (dysarthria). Speech therapy to help those with dysarthria traditionally focuses on improving the speech of the patient. However, recent collaborative research between Dr Borrie at Canterbury University and Dr Julie Liss from Arizona State University has demonstrated that people can be trained to better understand this difficult speech. This opens the door to the concept of training the partners or caregivers of those with dysarthria to better understand their speech. Dr Borrie will spend two years in Dr Liss’ department furthering this new approach; specifically examining how improved understanding of dysarthric speech is influenced by ageing and by information provided in the speaker’s face. This research will advance the development of a novel treatment approach that improves understanding of dysarthric speech.

  • Neurological Foundation Repatriation Fellowship – A two pronged approach to improving the development of novel therapies for HD.

    $89,500

    Erin Cawston Department of Pharmacology - University of Auckland 2011 - December

    Repatriation Fellowships are intended to support the repatriation of outstanding young researchers who have recently completed postdoctoral studies outside New Zealand and who propose to return to New Zealand and conduct research in scientific fields of relevance to the Neurological Foundation.

    Dr Cawston will return to New Zealand from her position as Research Fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at the Mayo Clinic Arizona.

    Huntington’s disease (HD) is a hereditary genetic disorder of the brain that involves symptoms of disturbed movement, mood and mental processes. There is no treatment. This project will take two approaches to improving the development of novel therapies for HD. Firstly, to examine the signaling pathways of the specific receptors in HD cell lines to optimise their neuroprotective effect on cells. Secondly, to develop an new human cell model of HD toxicity for further studies into the mechanism of toxicity and potential drug screening.
     

  • Effect of ghrelin on activity of neurons in the brain reward system and on their response to food-reward predicting cues in normal and Parkinson’s disease model rats.

    $168,219

    Associate Professor Brian Hyland Department of Physiology - University of Otago 2011 - December

    People with Parkinson’s disease can suffer weight loss that is treatment-resistant, and which may relate to changes in the activity of brain systems concerned with the rewarding aspects of food. Ghrelin, originally identified in the stomach, has effects in the brain which modify appetite and has been proposed as a possible therapy for weight loss. However, little is known about how ghrelin interacts with the brain’s food-reward system. This research will for the first time investigate the effect of ghrelin on the responses of brain cells to food-related stimuli in the normal brain and in a model of Parkinson’s disease.

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