Brain Ageing Research Laboratory

This interdisciplinary group was formed to apply state-of-the-art molecular biology techniques to the advancement of research in the areas of normal ageing, Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related neurodegenerative conditions. The team consists of neuroscientists, protein and analytical chemists, psychiatrists and bioinformaticians working in Australia and abroad. CHeBA’s Brain Ageing Research Laboratory was the sole recipient of a $1 million research grant from The Yulgilbar Foundation to develop nanoparticles as nanodiagnostics and nanotherapeutics in Alzheimer’s disease. The group utilises human and murine brain cell cultures and postmortem tissue for understanding the brain and the ageing process.

Dr Nady Braidy, Chul-Kyu Kim, Maria Villalva, Gurjeet Virk and Marina Ulanova

Our current work is committed to discovering the fundamental causes and possible treatments for agerelated neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's, and neurodevelopmental diseases, as well as on genetic and metabolic changes that take place as organisms grow old. Our cross-disciplinary and integrative approach using clinical samples and animal models will facilitate the detection of dementia-related changes in the preclinical stages and validate the efficacy of targeted novel early interventions for neurocognitive disorders. The group also has the expertise to culture, propagate, differentiate, engineer and transplant in animal models the neural stem cells from various sources including skin-derived neuroprogenitors and human mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow. In addition, we have expertise in the derivation of new human embryonic stem cell lines including their clonal propagation.

Group Leader: Dr Nady Braidy Staff: Professor Perminder Sachdev, Maria Villalva PhD Students: Chul-Kyu Kim, Dr Yue Liu, Marina Ulanova, Gurjeet Virk, Dr Matthew Wong

New Mechanisms to Reduce Impact of Debilitating Neuroinflammatory Diseases

A research collaboration between CHeBA, Macquarie University and St Vincent’s Hospital identified a new process for the update of neurotoxin quinolinic acid (QUIN) that has the potential to reduce the impact of major neuroinflammatory diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis and motor neuron disease, with findings published in Molecular Neurobiology Journal.

The study is a world first in characterising a mechanism for QUIN uptake into primary human neurons via a transporter called EAAT3.

"Our research is significant as it opens new potential targets for reducing neuroinflammatory disorders that have been induced by toxins from the build-up of QUIN in the brain," said Dr Nady Braidy.

DOI: 10.1007/s12035-020-02046-6