Queensland Brain Institute
2025/2026 DONOR RESEARCH IMPACT REPORT
A message from Professor Helen Cooper
Brain health is officially in the spotlight, with growing community interest in longevity, mental wellbeing, and peak cognitive performance. Caring for the brain is now widely seen as essential to living well at every stage of life, an encouraging shift welcomed by QBI researchers dedicated to understanding this complex organ.
At QBI, we have long championed discovery research that tackles the most profound questions about the brain, research that ultimately leads to new treatments for neurological disorders, enhances quality of life, and contributes to emerging industries and technologies.
"Importantly, breakthroughs take time — often decades."
QBI’s breakthroughs build on almost two decades of discoveries. For example, our human exercise studies date back to the early 2000s findings of adult brain stem cells. A new drug for motor neurone disease, called NUN04, is being tested today thanks to research from the 1990s into a protein that helps nerve cells function and heal. Similarly, promising pre-clinical results from Lion’s mane mushroom compounds have shown potential for enhancing brain cell survival but will take time and sustained effort to translate into potential treatments for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
This is why ongoing support for discovery science is crucial.
Although Australia lags behind comparable countries in funding fundamental research, tomorrow’s potential life-changing treatments are founded on the questions scientists explore today.
That is why we are so grateful for your interest in and support for QBI’s research. Our breakthroughs are made possible and continue to advance through your ongoing commitment.
On behalf of QBI, thank you for joining our mission to improve lives worldwide through a deeper understanding of the brain. Your impact through generous contributions to research is reflected in the pages of this report, and we look forward to sharing the next chapter with you.
A letter to our donors
“Your support enables discoveries which are not only scientifically important, but truly meaningful for people in our communities.”
Dear QBI Community
Thank you for your generous support of the research which takes place at QBI. Your philanthropy enables a diverse range of impactful research projects, including my own work in the Mattingley lab exploring the cognitive consequences of stroke.
Thanks to the support I received from anonymous donors at the QBI Rising Stars Breakfast Event, I have been able to expand the scope of my work into the causes of post-stroke cognitive impairment. This work is advancing fundamental scientific understanding of how brain damage affects behaviour, while generating the knowledge needed to improve support and treatment for stroke survivors with cognitive challenges.
I am incredibly grateful for the support that I, and many others at QBI, receive from our generous community.
We deeply value your interest in our work and the difference it makes.
Thank you for your continued support and commitment to our research.
Best wishes,
A quiet legacy: How Terry and Maureen Hopkins' final gift is progressing dementia research
The story of Terry and Maureen Hopkins is one of quiet determination, enduring partnership and a legacy shaped by generosity. When Terry was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in his mid-60s, it marked a turning point for the couple which would later lead to a lasting contribution to medical research.
In 2018, Maureen established the Terry and Maureen Hopkins Foundation with $6 million dedicated to dementia and bowel cancer research. Engineered to operate over two decades, the Foundation provides sustained funding for scientific advances, including support for the Queensland Brain Institute.
“For Maureen, the mission to set up a foundation was deeply personal.”
The pair first met in Sydney in 1967 where the Welsh-born Maureen was working as a nurse. Terry built a successful career in veterinary pharmaceutical research at Bayer, contributing to flea and tick treatments now used around the world. Frequently described as “a very simple man and very understated guy,” he approached his work with quiet focus and persistence. That same determination was evident during the development of Advantage, a breakthrough flea treatment he refused to abandon despite strong internal pressure. Years later, that determined commitment to research would come full circle, shaping the couple’s decision to invest in medical research that could improve human lives.
After Terry’s death in 2016, Maureen chose to create a foundation, ensuring their impact would extend far beyond their lifetimes. Since her passing at 80, their legacy has continued to support discovery, bringing hope to others who are facing similar health challenges.
To read more about Terry and Maureen's story click here.
QBI Brain Research Endowment Fund
Through a perpetual income stream, the QBI Brain Research Endowment Fund underpins vital research now and into the future.
In 2025, philanthropic support through QBI’s Brain Research Endowment Fund provided critical near-miss funding to researchers narrowly missed external funding despite strong rankings, and the QBI Endowment Fund support ensures their fundamental research can continue without interruption.
The funded projects span key areas of fundamental neuroscience:
- Professor Tim Bredy is investigating RNA-based mechanisms underlying fear and trauma to inform new RNA therapeutic treatments for anxiety disorders.
- Professor Fred Meunier is exploring the molecular basis of severe paediatric synaptopathies (nervous system disorders characterised by synaptic dysfunction) to identify potential therapies.
- Professor Massimo Hilliard is examining neuronal fusion to determine if there is a pathological link between viral infections, the expression of human fusogens, and neurodegenerative diseases for potential treatment pathways.
- Dr Zhaoyu Li is studying how neurons clear pathogenic proteins and damaged organelles during aging. Understanding and targeting these quality-control mechanisms will help maintain neuronal health and inform new therapeutic strategies.
Together, these projects are building the foundational knowledge needed to drive future breakthroughs in brain research.
QBI Priority Research Fund
Donations to the QBI Priority Research Endowment Fund were used to acquire histology equipment that is accessed by most QBI researchers to enable microscopic study of biological tissues. The PELCO Biowave Pro+ with a Steady Temp Pro Digital chiller will accelerate tissue processing and ensure consistent, high-quality results for difficult tissues, making it an essential tool for accelerated histological workflows. Improved efficiency and quality will generate superior results, driving discoveries.
"Discoveries made from fundamental science have transformed disease treatment. At QBI, we are making discoveries every day that may shape how we treat brain-related diseases in the future"
Human trial finds ultrasound treatment for dementia is safe
Professor Peter Nestor led the first-in-human pilot study of scanning ultrasound, demonstrating that the approach was safe and well tolerated in 12 participants. This study marked a critical milestone in the development of the technology and provided an important foundation for the next phase of clinical trials, which are now being planned. Encouraging early signs also suggested the treatment may help address some of the behavioural symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease, although further research is required to confirm these effects.
“At CJCADR, we bring together diverse expertise to address the full biological complexity of neurodegenerative disease.”
Scanning ultrasound advances to commercialisation
The QBI ultrasound research team continue to progress its pivotal study, testing feasibility and efficacy in treating agitation associated with Alzheimer’s, in a clinical trial supported by $4.5 million in funding from the Queensland Government.
To accelerate its translations from lab to clinic, The University of Queensland licensed the technology to Ceretas, a Brisbane-based private company that intends to commercialise and clinically develop the device to treat brain disease. QBI’s research underpins the technology and the ultrasound team continue to collaborate closely with Ceretas, providing scientific guidance and expertise. With continued progress in both research and development, this world-first Australian innovation has the potential to transform treatment approaches and improve quality of life for millions worldwide.
New ultrasound imaging to map drug delivery into the brain
The Padmanabhan group is investigating how ultrasound works at a cellular level, showing that even a brief pulse can have lasting effects. By pairing ultrasound with microscopic “microbubbles,” they observed the formation of temporary pores in cell membranes—a process known as sonoporation—that enables drug delivery but must be carefully controlled. This research is helping to clarify how ultrasound therapies work in the brain, laying the foundation for safer, more precise treatments targeting neurological disease with cellular precision.
The Nestor group has developed and validated a screening tool specifically designed to diagnose depression in people living with dementia, adapting the widely used Geriatric Depression Scale to better suit this population. By enabling more accurate identification of depression, this tool will support improved decision-making and more tailored care for people living with dementia.
The Zuryn group has discovered that miR-71, a microRNA (tiny strands of RNA that regulate gene activity), plays a protective role against cellular stress caused by damaged mitochondria. Mitochondria are essential for converting food into energy, but trigger stress signals when they malfunction. The team found that miR-71 helps suppress this chronic stress response, providing new insights into regulating these processes that contribute to ageing and disease.
The Coulson group and their collaborators have discovered that the first neurons to deteriorate in Alzheimer’s play a key role in regulating fluid flow that removes waste from the brain. As these neurons weaken, this waste clearance process is impaired—potentially triggering the disease. These discoveries open the door to earlier diagnosis and treatments targeting disease onset.
CJCADR awards
The Clem Jones Student Development Award supports PhD students and their academic careers in ageing dementia research.
The Dr Gerald and Suzanne Murphy Travel Award supports clinicians or medical students undertaking original research by enabling them to present their findings at national or international scientific meetings.
Clem Jones Student Development Award
Haoyue (Amanda) Xi
Götz Group
Clem Jones Student Development Award
Jinda Sun
Padmanabhan Group
Clem Jones Student Development Award
Tessa Onraet
Zuryn Group
The Dr Gerald and Suzanne Murphy Travel Award
Dr Duy Duan Nguyen
Nestor Group
NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES
The ‘skin cast’ that protects neurons
The Hilliard (QBI) and Coakley (School of Biomedical Sciences) groups have discovered a nanoscale molecular scaffold within the tissue that surrounds sensory axons (cable-like structures that neurons use to communicate) and plays a critical role in protecting them from degeneration. When the structural integrity of the axon is compromised, neuronal function declines, as seen in traumatic injuries and multiple neurodegenerative diseases. This discovery provides new insight that can guide and refine existing and emerging therapies aimed at protecting axonal structure and function.
Unlocking the nanoscale—a new era in protein tracking
The Meunier group has developed a powerful single-molecule super resolution imaging technique that reveals how proteins organise and signal at the nanoscale in living cells. Combining Fluorescent Intrabody Localisation Microscopy with nanoscale tracking of individual proteins as they change shape and location, the method also introduces nanoscale spatiotemporal indexing clustering to extract rich spatial and temporal data. This technique provides unprecedented insight into protein behaviour and organisation, advancing understanding of brain signalling, disease mechanisms and cellular architecture.
Parkinson's disease
Early detection of Parkinson’s disease
The Dehorter group is pioneering research into the prodromal phase of Parkinson’s disease, focusing on the non-motor symptoms in a novel immune-induced mouse model. By correlating findings from animal models with patient clinical data from established repositories, the team aims to enable earlier detection and intervention, treating the disease before motor symptoms emerge.
Smart Glove for Parkinson’s disease
The Sah group is developing a smart wireless glove to improve monitoring of muscle function in people with neurological movement disorders, primarily Parkinson’s disease. Unlike current wearables that mainly detect tremors, this lightweight glove captures detailed finger, wrist and hand movements, offering richer data to support more accurate diagnosis and treatment. By enabling objective, at‑home tracking of symptoms, such as rigidity and slowness of movement, it aims to reduce reliance on lengthy clinical assessments. The team is now validating the device with deep brain stimulation patients in collaboration with Professor Peter Silburn.
Motor neurone disease
Grants boost collaborative efforts to develop potential MND treatments
Dr John Lee has been appointed as the fourth Ross Maclean Senior Research Fellow, working at the intersection of neuroscience, immunology, and patient care to advance treatments for motor neurone disease (MND). The Ross Maclean Senior Research Fellow was established in memory of Index Group founder, Ross Maclean, who lost his battle with MND in 2005.
Dr Lee's research centres on neuroinflammation and aims to slow disease progression while improving patient quality of life. His work has reached clinical testing, including a compound now through Phase 1B trials, and he is developing patient‑tailored liquid drug formulations. His discoveries may also extend to other neurodegenerative diseases.
Assessment of language and executive functions in ALS: the Brief Executive Language Screen
The Robinson group has investigated the utility of their Brief Executive Language Screen (BELS), designed for early detection of subtle and focal cognitive deficits that are often missed by traditional cognitive screening tools, for use in people living with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of MND. The BELS was first validated in acute/early stroke and found to be highly sensitive to and highly specific for detecting cognitive impairments in over 70% of stroke patients. This rapid assessment tool evaluates both language and executive function, as well as memory, providing clinicians with valuable information to guide goal setting and support maintenance of crucial executive functions and complex behaviours such as conversational communication. By identifying subtle cognitive changes, that may otherwise go undetected, the BELS has potential to improve targeted treatment strategies and management for people with ALS.
BRAIN INJURY
PhD candidate Chantelle Jackson, from the Balbi group, has been awarded a 2026 Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship to advance accessible stroke-recovery treatments for Australians in regional and remote areas. Her research focuses on a novel therapy using targeted brain stimulation to increase blood flow and enhance the brain’s ability to clear toxic waste after stroke, with the goal of developing a portable device for use in hospitals or ambulances.
Concussion and traumatic brain injury
The Nasrallah group continues to lead international efforts to transform how traumatic brain injury is diagnosed, monitored, and treated. By integrating advanced imaging with molecular science, the team is developing personalised pathways for recovery.
Precision diagnostics and biomarkers
To improve early detection and monitoring, the team has developed advanced imaging techniques — such as those detecting cerebral microbleeds and blood-brain barrier “leaks” — to create a more objective, non-invasive toolkit to identify at-risk patients and measure the underlying severity of brain trauma.
Trajectory analysis and prognostic modelling
Because every brain injury is unique, the group utilises large-scale data to map individual recovery paths. Analysis of an international cohort has identified distinct functional trajectories, allowing clinicians to better predict long-term outcomes. To ensure these models are robust, the team developed KOMI (Contemporaneous Outcomes Multiple Imputation), a new method that fills critical gaps in patient data. This work enables more personalised rehabilitation plans and refines eligibility for clinical trials, ensuring the right patient receives the right intervention at the right time.
Queensland Brain Injury Collaborative
Professor Nasrallah continues to lead the Queensland Brain Injury Collaborative (QBIC), a specialised research centre dedicated to transforming TBI outcomes across the entire continuum of care—from acute hospital treatment and inpatient rehabilitation to long-term community reintegration. By uniting clinicians, industry partners, patients, and carers, QBIC delivers targeted research programs designed to improve the lives of those affected by TBI and concussion.
MENTAL HEALTH
Mood disorders
How a tiny insect is transforming mental health research
The Dickson group uses the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to uncover how neural computation drives decision-making and intelligent behaviour. The team are dedicated to uncovering how the fly’s nervous system produces co-ordinated motor patterns. Professor Barry Dickson’s mapping of the 130,000 neurons and 30 million synapses in the fruit fly brain led to his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society in London, joining Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. His work aims to reframe anxiety and depression as disorders of brain connectivity, triggered by chronic stress. Using the fruit fly as his guide, he’s mapping how stress rewires the brain’s circuitry over time.
Cellular changes linked to depression related fatigue
In collaboration with the University of Minnesota, the Tye group identified changes in how brain and blood cells produce energy in young people with major depressive disorder. They found that cells produce more adenosine triphosphate (ATP), known as the “energy currency” molecule, at rest, but struggle to increase production under stress. This suggests that depression symptoms may be linked to fundamental changes in the way brain and blood cells use energy. These insights could enable earlier diagnosis and more targeted treatments for depression by revealing how the illness affects cellular energy use. Her team is advancing an intelligent deep brain stimulation approach for treating mood and cognitive symptoms in human movement disorders.
How Australia’s new APsyK Bank is powering progress in mental health
The Australian-wide Consortium for Preclinical Psychiatric Research has established the Australian Psychiatric Research Knowledge (APsyK) Bank to integrate information from human and preclinical models with uniform data about genes, molecules, and physical traits. It combines large-scale data from human and preclinical psychiatric sample. This open exchange of knowledge between scientists and doctors is helping accelerate breakthroughs in mental health.
Absolute and relative risks of mental disorders in families: a Danish register-based study
Findings from a Danish study of over 3 million participants, including work by Professor John McGrath, highlighted that while family history increases the risk of mental illness, most cases occur in individuals without a close familial link, underscoring the need for prevention strategies that target the entire population.
Uncovering why some depression resists treatment: The role of inflammation and metabolism
The Tye group's research suggests that increased inflammation combined with impaired glucose uptake in immune cells, may disrupt the production of the neurotransmitter, dopamine, contributing to anhedonia (reduced ability to experience pleasure seen in depression). These findings highlight new biological markers that could enable more personalised, precision medicine.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
Professor Karen Thorpe is an Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate Fellow whose work leads internationally significant research on how early life experiences shape learning, behaviour, health and wellbeing across the life course. Her 10,000 Hours project examines how early childhood education and care (ECEC) can deliver better outcomes, particularly for children in disadvantaged communities. Through large-scale longitudinal studies and partnerships with government and industry, her team has shown that higher-quality ECEC significantly improves children’s cognitive development, informing policy and practice to ensure better support of children, families and educators nationwide.
Autism spectrum disorder
Early biomarkers
The Dehorter group is uncovering how the brain's earliest circuits develop, with a focus on inhibitory networks, the systems responsible for maintaining balance in the brain. When these systems don't develop properly, the consequences can profoundly affect cognition, behaviour, and quality of life. Identifying biological markers that emerge during early brain development enable earlier and more precise detection of neurodevelopmental conditions, such as epilepsy and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This approach aims to shift intervention to a stage when the brain is most adaptable, opening the door to significantly improved long-term outcomes.
COGNITION AND BEHAVIOUR
Attention and decision-making
How our brains make sense of the world
The Mattingley group has discovered that the brain combines different types of predictions (what we expect to see and where we expect to see it), in a distinct, dynamic way. Using EEG, they showed that while predictive coding helps the brain process information faster and more efficiently, these expectations shift over time depending on the type of information being predicted. This finding expands our understanding of how the brain balances speed, efficiency, and accuracy when making sense of the world.
A hidden barrier to recovery from anaesthesia
The van Swinderen group published a new perspective on recovery from general anaesthesia, highlighting that while the procedure is widely used and generally safe, the mechanisms underlying recovery remain unclear. They propose that delayed recovery may stem from the need to restore multiple molecular processes, distinct from those involved in inducing anaesthesia, particularly the primarily presynaptic level where neurotransmitters are released. This insight identifies presynaptic transmission as a potential bottleneck to recovery and opens up new hypothesis-driven approaches to reversing general anaesthesia and accelerating recovery in patients.
Learning and memory
The surprising role of fat in memory formation
The Meunier and Dehorter groups have uncovered a previously hidden molecular pathway for learning and memory, centred on a specialised fat molecule. They found that during learning, the enzyme, DDHD2, releases the fatty acid, myristic acid, from neuron membranes, which then “tags” synaptic proteins through a process called myristoylation—enabling them to function and strengthen connections. Without this fat-based signalling, synapses cannot strengthen and memories cannot form, revealing a fundamentally new mechanism underlying memory.
HUMAN STUDIES
Cognition and behaviour
The Robinson group’s human studies work centres on clinical neuropsychology, using direct research with patients to understand how brain function relates to cognition, language, and behaviour. The studies typically involve individuals with neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions — such as stroke, dementia, brain tumours, and developmental disorders — where the team conducts detailed cognitive and behavioural assessments to investigate brain–behaviour relationships and improve diagnosis and management
MND
The Bartlett group’s work is focused on translating decades of fundamental neuroscience into clinical therapies, most notably through the development of the NUN-004 drug candidate with biotechnology company NuNerve. The team's first-in-human Phase I/Ib clinical trial demonstrated that NUN-004 is well tolerated and safe, while showing encouraging signs of disease stabilisation and improvements in motor function in some patients. The therapy is advancing into Phase II clinical trials to evaluate its therapeutic impact in patients with MND.
Stroke
The Mattingley group focuses on understanding cognitive impairment following stroke by mapping how brain damage affects behaviour and recovery in patient populations. Dr Margaret Moore's research combines lesion-mapping approaches with longitudinal cognitive assessment to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying deficits in attention, perception, and executive function. The aim is to predict recovery trajectories and improve early screening and diagnosis of post-stroke impairments.
Stroke
The Balbi group's research focuses on understanding the brain’s intrinsic neuroprotective and repair mechanisms, such as neural plasticity and network reorganisation, and harnessing these functional processes to improve outcomes following stroke. While much of the team's experimental work is conducted in preclinical models, it is intentionally designed to inform future human applications, including personalised rehabilitation approaches and neuromodulation therapies.
Public community events
QBI hosts several community events throughout the year to share our discoveries with the community.
Addiction: Brain or behaviour?
Brain Awareness Week aims to increase public awareness of and support for brain research. As part of this global campaign, QBI hosted its fourth public session to inspire the community to learn more about their brain and how understanding this complex organ can help us improve our lives, focusing on the science of addiction.
Heads up: Concussion, Safety & Sports
As part of Brain Injury Awareness Week, Queensland Brain Injury Collaborative (QBIC) held a compelling public event highlighting concussion, brain recovery, and the urgent need for innovation in brain injury research.
CJCADR Research Symposium
QBI’s Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research (CJCADR) 2026 symposium showcased its diverse dementia research portfolio — spanning fundamental discoveries, translational science, and commercialisation initiatives. The program also included a session on the lived experience of dementia — an important perspective to reinforce our commitment to integrating real-world insights into research.
Australian Brain Bee Challenge at QBI
The Brain Bee Challenge is an engaging neuroscience competition for that challenges high school students to deepen their understanding of the brain and its functions. The 2025 winners of the Queensland challenge, from Brisbane State High, Brisbane Boys Grammar and St Margarets, spent a week immersed in cutting-edge research at QBI. The overall state champion progressed to the national finals at the annual Australasian Neuroscience Society conference.
QBI Art in Neuroscience
The QBI Art in Neuroscience Competition is an annual celebration of creativity that invites researchers to capture the mystery and beauty of their scientific discoveries, with winners selected by an expert judging panel from Jan Murphy Gallery and Philip Bacon Galleries.
Winner video category: Dr Alex McCann | The Very Hungry Caveolin
Winner: Muhammed Syed | The Sphere of Sauron
Runner up: Alison Carlisle | Embers of the Mind
People's Choice: Victor Vasquez Matsuda | After the Storm
Thank you for bringing impact closer
In my role as Chairman of UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) Advisory Board, on behalf of the board and researchers at QBI, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for your generosity. Your support has played a critical role in advancing neuroscience research, enabling us to push the boundaries of knowledge and bring new hope to those affected by brain diseases.
Dementia is now the leading cause of death in Australia, and yet our researchers continue to face significant funding challenges at a time when Australia risks losing talented scientists to a growing “brain drain.” For many families, the experience of dementia is a deeply personal journey—one I understand profoundly—which is why the work of QBI is so important.
On a personal note, my father Ross, and past Director, Professor Perry Bartlett, established the Ross Maclean MND Fellowship before he passed away in 2005 with MND and I am proud that in 2025 we appointed our fourth Fellow, Dr John Lee, continuing this legacy of discovery.
Over the past 23 years, QBI has led world-class discoveries in brain science, with groundbreaking advances such as scanning ultrasound for dementia and a pioneering MND treatment now progressing toward commercialisation and true impact. I am deeply grateful to our donors and the broader community for standing with us on this journey; your continued support enables the fundamental science that underpins every breakthrough and has the power to transform lives and communities for generations to come.
Jeff Maclean
Philanthropy in action
Joan Lawrence Endowment Prize for High Achieving Women in Neuroscience 2025
Tessa Onraet
Zuryn Group
Vonnie Healy Fund Scholar
Dr Josh Flavell
Nestor Group
Aleks and Elise Brumby Summer Scholar
Ashton Taylor
Walker Group
Alastair Rushworth PhD Fund Scholar
Joris Geigenmueller
Walker Group
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