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Neurobiology

Improving brain health for all Australians
The brain and the body are often treated independently in medicine. The Neurobiology node explores the connection between body disorders like obesity and diabetes, and brain diseases like Alzheimer's.

The mission of Charles Perkins Centre is to help reduce the impact of chronic disorders in Australia. Chronic disorders of the brain including neurodegenerative diseases, multiple sclerosis and stroke all of which have significant effects on the health of Australians. The burden of disease associated with mental health conditions like depression and anxiety is increasing exponentially and affecting our young people disproportionately.

The Charles Perkins Centre houses a core of neuroscientists collaborating to address some of Australia’s most pressing challenges in brain diseases. Our specific mission is to improve the brain health of Australians.  

Our vision

Neurobiology works collaboratively to leverage the world-class resources at the Charles Perkins Centre to study the brain from molecular scale to behaviour. We investigate how the brain works, examine causes and triggers of disease and identify therapeutic strategies that appropriately target the complexity of neurological disorders. We work with the collective expertise at the Centre to determine how modifiable risk factors like diet impacts on brain health across the lifespan.

Neurobiology pursues opportunities to convert intellectual property into commercially viable assets, including the development of diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers of disease, stem cell and gene therapies and medical devices.  We partner with government philanthropic agencies and Australian and international biotechnology companies to accelerate the translation of findings. Most importantly, the Neurobiology node creates legacy by training the next generation of neuroscientists through honours, higher degree by research and postdoctoral training programs. 

Our work

Our Neurobiology node uses advanced neuroscience tools, which are increasingly combined with therapeutic approaches such as cell transplantation into animal models of Parkinson’s disease. We also have expertise in cell and animal models of Motor Neuron Disease and Alzheimer’s disease, where we use advanced microscopy to view, monitor and perform interventions. Teams within the Neurobiology node have expertise in multi-omics analyses including spatial transcriptomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and lipidomics as well as DNA- and RNA-targeting CRISPR technology. Additionally, we use other advanced molecular biology tools to identify mechanisms driving disease processes to inform new therapeutic targets.

Our team investigates the basis of mental health disorders including addiction and anxiety using human post-mortem brain tissue including that sourced from the NIH-funded brain bank, the New South Wales Brain Tissue Resource Centre, housed within the Charles Perkins Centre.

What is the impact of this research

After heart disease, dementia and stroke are the two biggest killers in Australia and the prevalence of these is increasing rapidly with our ageing population. In the case of Alzheimer’s disease this trend can only be reversed by new treatments, and this means new targets are required. Whereas mental health conditions represent a very high burden of disease because they are increasingly affecting young Australians and seriously undermines seriously undermines their and Australia’s ability to realise its future potential.

There is good evidence to suggest that similar mechanisms can operate across different types of brain disorders but also that breakthroughs in systemic diseases like diabetes may have unforeseen but positive effects on the brain. For example, new diabetes medicines are showing benefits in the treatment of alcohol addiction. These types of synergies are the product of multidisciplinary science which is the basis of the Charles Perkins Centre’s mission.

By immersing world-class neuroscience within a wider network of chronic disease excellence, the Neurobiology node brings a unique approach to Australia’s most pressing health problems.

Collaboration team


Hero image
Section of a multiple target-stained image of a 2mm tissue core from the cerebellum of an Alzheimer’s disease case. The dark blue is a DNA stain that shows the density of cells in the granule cell layer, while the orange entities are beta-amyloid plaques. These are seen occasionally in the cerebellum.

Project Node Leader

Dr Greg Sutherland
Professor Greg Sutherland
"The building is a beautiful, inspiring place to work and the research leadership is positive, nurturing and encouraging. There are almost too many opportunities to learn new techniques and build knowledge."

Contact the Neurobiology node

Dr Lydia Hardowar | Node administrator