Thursday 11 April 2013

See through brains!

Wow, what will they think of next!
A team of Neuroscientists at Stanford University have created a new technique to visualise biological systems. They have found a way to "dissolve" the fatty membranes that surround each brain cell to create See through brains.
The 3D video that accompanies this weblink is extraodinary. People ask why I love Neuroscience, this is why :) These kind of powerful techniques allow us to gain a better understanding of how the cells of the brain develop, are interconnected and allow transmission of neural communication.
Amazing.


Tuesday 9 April 2013

Public lectures hosted by the Alzheimer's Association of Western Australia

Some more lectures open to members of the public.
These lectures are hosted by the Alzheimer's Association of Western Australia. A range of fantastic speakers and topics will be covered-I personally can't wait to hear 2013 Australian of the Year Ita Buttrose AO OBE, a personal heroine of mine :)
You can register online or by contacting Alzheimer's WA.

Public seminar-Professor Alan Mackay-Sim

The NRP is hosting a Public Research Seminar by Professor Alan Mackay-Sim. Professor Mackay-Sim is the Director of the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research at Griffith University (Australia).
He led an Australian clinical trial in the transplantation of adult olfactory ensheathing glia into the injured spinal cord. He and his team are now using olfactory stem cells to develop cellular models of diseases such as schizophrenia, Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease. They have identified differences in nerve cell regeneration in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder that help understand how these diseases develop.
The seminar will be held on Tuesday the 30th of April, 2013 at the University of Western Australia. Details can be found at the NRP website.

Monday 8 April 2013

Published last year....

Having some time off away from the lab gave me a chance to get some work published.
I was lucky to have an opinion piece published on The Conversation website on genetic testing in neurodegenerative diseases.
I was also able to publish some original research papers, in one instance, an image from our paper was chosen to be the cover image for that issue of Brain Research, which was very exciting!
Lastly, I was able to publish a paper from work I did with a previous PhD student, Hamid Sohrabi on risk factors for cognitive decline, namely changes in your ability to discriminate between different  odours.



Back to work!!

Hi there,
I'm back at work now following the birth of my second daughter last year.
It was great having the opportunity to bond with her and take some time away from work. It gave me a chance to work on some ideas for new grants.
This year I've been lucky enough to secure my own research grant, which is funding my salary!
Many thanks to the Neurotrauma Research Program for funding my grant, which is investigating methods of manipulating astrocyte function following brain trauma.
Over the course of the year, I'll be posting more information about my research, public events and other interesting Neuroscience things!
Cheers,
Kristyn