ForeFront

RESEARCH CENTRE

About us

ForeFront provides a unique combination of clinical and laboratory-based research which together aim to unravel the mechanisms behind frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and motor neurone disease (MND) and help to develop effective treatments.

ForeFront comprises two government funded research groups across four themes:

FTD and MND NHMRC Program grant

Neuropathology
Animal modelling and cellular/molecular biology
Neurological research clinics

Memory node of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders

Cognition and neuroimaging

Who’s involved?

Neuropathology

What regions and cell types are vulnerable? What proteins are affected?

Prof Glenda Halliday and Professor Jillian Kril

Animal modelling and cellular/molecular biology

What proteins are toxic and how do they cause pathogenesis? What cells are vulnerability and how can we prevent this?
Professor Jürgen Götz and Assoc. Professor Lars Ittner

Clinical

How does the disease spread through the brain? How can we develop identification tools and test symptomatic treatments?

Prof John Hodges and Prof Matthew Kiernan

Cognition and neuroimaging

What brain functions are impaired? What brain areas are impaired and which functions do they subserve?

Assoc Professor Olivier Piguet and Dr Michael Hornberger

For more information on the clinical aspects of these disease click here

For more information on the laboratory-based research on these diseases click here

See what’s going on at NeuRA

FEEL THE BUZZ IN THE AIR? US TOO.

The importance of medical research - Professor Peter Schofield AO

On August 11 2019, 54 people took on the City2Surf for Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA). The event is the world’s largest fun run with 80,000 participants taking on the 14km course, which stretches from Hyde Park in central Sydney to the iconic Bondi Beach. NeuRA thanks all of its fundraisers, who raised an incredible $30,903. This funding will further NeuRA’s […]

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NeuRA BLOG: Team NeuRA at the City2Surf 2019

During three decades on Australian television, two simple words brought us to attention.

‘Hello daaaahling’. Outrageous, flamboyant, iconic – Jeanne Little captivated Australians everywhere with her unique style, cockatoo shrill voice and fashion sense. "Mum wasn't just the life of the party, she was the party.” Katie Little, Jeanne’s daughter remembers. This icon of Australian television brought a smile into Australian homes. Tragically, today Jeanne can't walk, talk or feed herself. She doesn't recognise anyone, with a random sound or laugh the only glimpse of who she truly is. Jeanne Little has Alzheimer's disease. The 1,000 Brains Study NeuRA is very excited to announce the 1,000 Brains Study, a ground-breaking research project to identify the elements in our brains that cause life-changing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other dementias. This study will focus on the key unresolved question: why do some of us develop devastating neurodegenerative diseases, while others retain good brain health? The study will compare the genomes of people who have reached old age with healthy brains against the genomes of those who have died from neurodegenerative diseases, with post mortem examination of brain tissue taking place at NeuRA’s Sydney Brain Bank. More information on the study can be found here. Will you please support dementia research and the 1,000 Brains Study and help drive the future of genetics research in Australia? https://youtu.be/q7fTZIisgAY

Donor Morning Tea

Australian research shows air pollution associated with higher risk of dementia globally

The Genomics of Intellectual Disability

Neurocognitive disorders are one of the largest unmet challenges in healthcare, due to their lifelong nature, high management costs, prevalence and frequent recurrence within families. The objectives of this research will be to enhance fundamental knowledge about the genetic basis of neurocognition and the investigation of targeted treatment strategies in relation to biological pathways. Non-coding and copy number variation mechanisms will be explored along, with a study on variable expressivity and non-penetrance in specific syndromes. It will apply genomic technologies to a cohort of at least 200 families with neurocognitive disorders, develop bioinformatics tools and implement functional studies using induced pluripotent stem cells and CRISPR/Cas9 to explore the heterogeneity underlying the genetic aetiology of intellectual disability. The outcomes of this research could enable improvements in clinical phenotyping, genomic diagnosis, common data analysis and reporting standards.

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