Centre for Brain Research

18/09/2025

We were thrilled to join the Neurological Foundation of NZ for the inaugural Dementia Roadshow 🫶. Senior Research Scientist Erin Cawston and PhD student Harriet Spoelstra shared some of the latest advances in dementia research with a packed room of enthusiastic locals.

A few takeaways from Erin and Harriet’s presentations:

🔬 New blood tests – cutting-edge technology now allows measurement of key dementia-related proteins, such as p-tau217, down to a single molecule.

🧪 Building a national blood biobank – Erin is helping create a large-scale resource of blood samples from Dementia Prevention Research Clinic participants to track changes and discover new biomarkers over time.

🧠 Brain imaging breakthroughs – advanced MRI and PET scans are revealing new insights into amyloid and tau buildup in the brain years before symptoms appear.

🌿 Inflammation and vascular changes – Harriet’s PhD research is showing how inflammation and vascular damage contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, and how these blood markers change over time.

Together, their work is moving New Zealand closer to earlier detection and better support for people living with mate wareware/dementia 👏

17/09/2025

As part of our dementia/mate wareware kaupapa, we were warmly welcomed to Huria Marae in Tauranga for an open kōrero about brain health and the support available to whānau. We were blown away by the response. Thank you to everyone who shared stories – your insights help shape our research so it reflects the needs and aspirations of Māori communities.

The visit is part of a nationwide outreach to marae led by Associate Professor Makarena Dudley and Sir Richard Faull, whose goal is to bring kōrero about dementia into Māori spaces. Thank you to the Neurological Foundation of NZ CEO Rich Easton who joined us to share more about the Foundation’s mahi, and to Poutiri Wellness for the awesome photos below.

08/09/2025

If you live in or near Tauranga, this is for you!

Can we Stay One Step Ahead of Dementia?
📍 Trinity Wharf, Tauranga
📅 Wednesday, 10 September
🕕 6:30pm

Dr Erin Cawston and PhD candidate Harriet Spoelstra from the Dementia Prevention Research Clinic in Auckland will share their groundbreaking work on detecting the earliest signs of dementia.

This free in-person event hosted by the Neurological Foundation of NZ is a chance to hear directly from two of New Zealand’s most promising dementia researchers, ask your own questions, and learn how science is helping us understand and prevent dementia earlier than ever before.

See what events we have coming up, and even add your own for consideration.

05/09/2025

Meet the incredible Dr Justin Rustenhoven, who is on a mission to discover a drug that could help people recover from traumatic brain injury.

Justin recently received a $1.2 million Health Research Council grant to drive forward research into this condition, which affects around 35,000 New Zealanders every year.

Read more about his journey from a postdoc in the US to leading his own lab at the Centre for Brain Research here in Aotearoa:
https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/news/2025/09/01/quest-for-a-cure-for-brain-injuries-gains-1m-grant.html

Finding a drug that will help people recover from brain injuries is front of mind for University of Auckland senior research fellow Dr Justin Rustenhoven.

04/09/2025

🎉 And that’s a wrap on AWCBR 2025!
The biggest neuroscience conference in Australasia took place in Ōtautahi Christchurch this week, bringing together brain researchers from across New Zealand and Australia.

Here’s a snap of some of our early career and post-doc researchers who presented their work - a glimpse of the exciting future of brain research and the talent coming through at the CBR. 🧠✨

01/09/2025

A new clinical trial at the Centre for Brain Research, in collaboration with the Pacific Clinical Research Network, is testing a potential treatment for a rare form of muscular dystrophy. For people living with this condition, it offers something they haven’t had before — hope.

A groundbreaking genetic treatment for a rare form of muscular dystrophy is being trialled at the University of Auckland’s Centre for Brain Research.

26/08/2025

Great to see Professor Maurice Curtis, a former Thames High School student, back in Thames sharing the latest on Parkinson’s research with the Rotary Club.

Fascinating talk by Professor Maurice Curtis at the Rotary Club of Thames. An old boy of Thames High School, Professor Curtis now leads a team of scientists working on methods for the early detection and diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease at the Centre for Brain Research in Auckland.

25/08/2025

What if we could turn skin cells into brain cells to better understand and treat multiple sclerosis? That’s exactly what Dr Amy McCaughey-Chapman and her CBR team are closer to achieving thanks to a successful Health Research Council of New Zealand grant.

Amy received the Emerging Researcher First Grant for promising researchers at the start of their careers.

She was one of 7 CBR research to have secured over $7.4 million from the HRC to tackle some of the biggest challenges in brain health.

Here’s a snapshot of the funded projects:

Dr Amy McCaughey-Chapman, Prof Bronwen Connor, Dr Jennifer Pereira – $400,000
Developing a human oligodendrocyte platform to model multiple sclerosis and create NZ’s first MS skin cell repository.

Prof Bronwen Connor, Dr Amy McCaughey-Chapman, Dr Jenny Malmström, Prof Louise Parr-Brownlie, Dr Bruce Harland – $1.2 million
Using 3D bio-fabrication and cell replacement therapy to restore brain function in Huntington’s disease.

Dr Emma Scotter, Assoc Prof Richard Roxburgh, Dr James Cleland, Dr Nicole Edwards and team – $1.19 million
Investigating NOTCH2NLC-related brain and muscle disease, partnering with Māori whānau to improve diagnosis, care, and treatment.

Dr Joanna Hikaka, Miss Tuakana August, Prof Ngaire Kerse, Dr Alana Cavadino, Mr Iriapa Williams – $1.2 million
Developing new community-led models of aged care, beginning in Wairoa where aged residential care services have closed.

Dr Victor Dieriks, Dr Christina Buchanan, Dr Justin Rustenhoven, Dr Viswas Dayal and team – $1.2 million
Harnessing tears as a simple, low-cost test for earlier and more accurate diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.

Dr Justin Rustenhoven, Prof Michael Dragunow, Dr Simon O’Carroll and collaborators – $1.2 million
Targeting brain scarring after traumatic brain injury to restore waste clearance and improve recovery.

Dr Angus Grey, Dr Julie Lim, Prof Paul Donaldson, Prof Charles McGhee and team – $1.2 million
Studying how diabetes leads to cataract development, aiming to reduce the burden of diabetic eye disease.

12/08/2025

We’re proud to share that our founder, Sir Richard Faull, has been named the inaugural Patron of Gisborne’s Mātai Medical Research Institute.
The newly named Mātai Arataki Room honours his leadership and guiding principle: “What’s the right thing to do?”
Sir Richard’s discovery that the adult human brain can grow new cells continues to inspire our work and shape the future of brain research.

Mātai Medical Research has named a world-renowned neuroscientist as its patron.

29/07/2025

A stunning 30-minute documentary about Distinguished Professor Sir Richard Faull and his journey in brain research aired on TVNZ over the weekend. It was part of the Pathfinders series, which profiles Aotearoa’s living legends — Māori leaders who were raised during the challenging years when te reo Māori was shunned.

The episode beautifully captures Sir Richard’s lifelong dedication to the power of research to change lives. There's a few other familiar CBR faces too!
Watch the full episode here:

Sir Richard Faull is a world-renowned neuroscientist whose re-search on the human brain has been profoundly influenced by his Māori and Pāheka heritage.

17/07/2025

Ngā mihi nui to Te Ao Māori News for sharing this important kaupapa led by Dr Makarena Dudley and Sir Richard Faull to support Māori whānau living with dementia.

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Too many rural whānau are caring for loved ones with mate wareware in silence. The Centre for Brain Research at Waipapa Taumata Rau is working to change that, with a simple mission: to reach and support the whānau who have been overlooked.

The answer? Marae-based research clinics.

08/07/2025

We’re incredibly proud of Dr Makarena Dudley (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kahu), whose outstanding mahi is helping whānau navigate the challenges of dementia mate wareware.
Thank you Te Karere and Stuff for shining a light on this kaupapa.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360748765/marae-visits-highlight-urgent-need-dementia-support-remote-maori-communities