Neuroscience

Neuroscience research in the School of Science and Health concentrates on using a diverse range of techniques and models to address the perplexing questions confounding modern neuroscience.

Neuroscience Research Focus

A particular focus of research involves investigation of why house-keeping like proteins, when mutated, cause sensory neurodegeneration. This involves the identification of common molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in sensory neuropathies.

Further research addresses the effect of the HIV-1 viral ion channel on hippocampal neurons and elucidating the molecular mechanism of this protein in AIDS dementia.

Research also focuses on the effects of ageing and dementia, specifically the neuropathology of ageing and dementia, frontotemporal dementia, and the role of inflammation in such processes. Under this research theme we also examine schizophrenia and antipsychotic drug treatments using proteomics of human and animal brain.

Our strong collaborations in the University of Western Sydney School of Medicine as well as with high profile neuroscience researchers from research centres and institutes across Australia and internationally continue to keep us at the forefront of this highly competitive field.

Current and recent research includes:

• Determining whether changes in electrophysiological signalling are present in neuronal cells expressing neurodegenerative disease causing mutants of SPTLC1
• Is there a common mechanism shared by distal axonal degenerations?
• Consequences of serine palmitoyltransferase long chain subunit 1 mutations on protein and lipid profiles in neuronal cells
• Determining cytoskeletal changes to cellular architecture due to PH domain dynamin 2 mutations
• Do mutations in serine palmitoyltransferase long chain sub unit 1 affect the neuronal cell cytoskeleton?
• The role of protein methylation in neurodegenerative disease
• The role of Vpr in HIV1 in AIDS Dementia
• Proteome profiling of the human brain: a comparison of schizophrenic and antipsychotic
• Biopathways for antipsychotic mode function
• Inflammation in FTD
• Hippocampal degeneration in FTD
• Cortico-spinal tract denegeration in FTD
• Pathological burden in Alzheimers

Contact for Neuroscience Research

Dr Simon Myers – s.myers@uws.edu.au