Calling all researchers, clinicians and leaders in neuroscience and mental health from our academic and professional community:

Come join us in the 2024 Melbourne Brain Symposium!

The Melbourne Brain Symposium is an annual scientific showcase of The Florey's research and expertise, which highlights our extensive collaborations with other national and international groups.

This year’s Melbourne Brain Symposium is focused on advances in scientific, clinical and industry partnerships for brain research at The Florey, led by our four Themes: Systems Neuroscience, Neuroimaging, Synaptic Biology, and Neurotherapeutics, encompassing high-impact discoveries in neuroscience and mental health.

This annual symposium provides a breadth of material that will attract world leaders in their fields to help build and expand collaborative science to deliver impact in the community.

Program

9:00-9:45 Registration

9:45-10:00 Introduction and Welcome (Peter van Wijngaarden, Florey Executive Director and CEO)

10:00-11:00 Session 1. Systems Neuroscience Theme

Chair: Prof Yugeesh Lankadeva, The Florey

10:00-10:15 A/Prof Mark Plummer (Head of Intensive Care Research, Royal Adelaide Hospital) – Therapeutic potential of mega-dose ascorbate for acute brain injuries in intensive care units

10:15-10:30 Dr Ming Soh (Epilepsy Mission, The Florey) & Dr Ruslan Pustovit (Systems Neuroscience Theme, The Florey) – Adverse effects of seizures on heart electrical activity and function to understand sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

10:30-10:45 Prof Scott Ayton (Dementia Mission, The Florey) & Dr Ashenafi Betrie (Systems Neuroscience Theme, The Florey) – Investigating zinc delivery drugs to mitigate heart surgery associated brain and kidney injury

10:45-11:00 Dr Lindsea Booth (Systems Neuroscience Theme, The Florey) & Prof Ashley Bush (Mental Health Mission, The Florey) – Neuroinflammation arising from heart surgery and the development of new blood-based biomarkers.

11:00-11:30 Morning Tea

11:30-12:30 Session 2: Neuroimaging Theme

Chair: A/Prof Heath Pardoe, The Florey

11:30-11:45 Dr Bianca Jupp (Department of Neuroscience, Monash University) Small animal PET for precision medicine in neuroscience

11:45-12:00 Dr Arthur Thevathasan (Department of Neurology, Austin Health) - MRI-guided focused ultrasound for the treatment of essential tremor: a pilot collaboration between Austin Health and The Florey

12:00-12:15 Dr Xavier Hadoux (Ophthalmic Neuroscience Unit, CERA) - Retinal hyperspectral imaging

12:15-12:30 Dr Ye Ella Tian (Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne) - Connecting brain-body in neuroimaging research

12:30-1:30 Lunch

1:30 – 2:30 Session 3: Synaptic Biology Theme

Chair: Prof Lucy Palmer, The Florey

1:30-1:45 Prof Danny Hatters (Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, University of Melbourne) - Protein painting as a tool to understand early mechanisms triggering Huntington Disease

1:45-2:00 Dr Sarah Gordon (Synaptic Biology Theme, The Florey) - Delineating the pathogenesis underlying a novel synaptopathy

2:00-2:15 Dr Stuart McDougall (Synaptic Biology Theme, The Florey) - Unravelling vagal sensory input to the brainstem

2:15-2:30 Xiaoyu Wang (Synaptic Biology Theme, The Florey) - The influence of glioma of neural encoding and sensory perception

2:30-3:00 Afternoon Tea

3:00-4:00 Session 4: Neurotherapeutics Theme

Chair: Prof Ross Bathgate, The Florey

3:00-3:15 Prof Ray Norton (Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences) - Peptide inhibitors of the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv1.3 as therapeutics for neuroinflammatory diseases.

3:15-3:30 A/Prof Laura Jacobson (Neurotherapeutics Theme, The Florey) and Chaseley McKenzie (Epilepsy Mission, The Florey) - Polysomnography and qEEG in drug discovery and clinical translation: Spotlight on developmental and epileptic encephalopathies.

3:30-3:45 Dr Alaa Abdul-Ridha (Neurotherapeutics Theme, The Florey) - The discovery journey of a novel subtype-selective α1B-adrenoceptor antagonist

3:45-4:00 Dr Chris Draper-Joyce (Neurotherapeutics Theme, The Florey) - A LASEREDD® focus on next-generation GPCR-targeting therapeutics

4:00-4:15 Conclusions and Meeting Close

4:30-6:00 Drinks and Networking

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