CELLULAR MECHANISMS OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY & CONCUSSION
With
Professor Melinda (Lindy) Fitzgerald, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research & Professor of Neurotrauma, Curtin University, Western Australia John Curtin Distinguished Professor & CEO Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | February 2026
Professor Melinda Fitzgerald is Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research at Curtin University, John Curtin Distinguished Professor and CEO of Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia.
She has published over 135 papers; recent highlights include Lancet Neurology, J Neuroscience, Nature Nano, ACS Nano, Biomaterials. Currently held grants/Projects total $10.1 million; CIA for $5.2 million of these; $18.5 million total research and equipment funding, $9.9 million as CIA; continuous category 1 grant funding as CIA since 2009.
Prof Fitzgerald was Ministerially appointed and re-appointed as Chair and Co-Chair of the Expert Working Group of the Federal Government MRFF Mission for TBI, 2019 and 2024 ($50m over 10 years).
Prof Fitzgerald is a Member of the Executive Committee for International TBI Research (InTBIR2) and Co-Chair of the InTBIR2 Working Group on Observational and Comparative Effectiveness Studies.
She has supervised more than 35 Honours students or equivalent, 20 PhD students (14 completions), and 12 post-doctoral researchers (5 currently); of whom 3 are Group Leaders and 15 are developing independent scientific and research careers.
As CEO of Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia, Prof Fitzgerald has led dissemination of best practice knowledge to the community. Connectivity’s work on raising awareness of traumatic brain injury has been viewed more than 6.93 million times, including 255,000 individual users of the website and more than 641,000 views on YouTube, accessing research-informed, best practice evidence-based information about concussion and more severe traumatic brain injury, including 110,000 views of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prevention campaign. Provision of concussion online short courses, currently more than 20,000 completions.
Source: Supplied
Arranged by: Curtin Medical Research Institute
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4823-8179
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Liver cancer biomarkers, risk prediction & progression
Dr. Rodrigo Carlessi is an expert in Cancer Genomics and Molecular Biology, with an extensive track record in liver cancer research. He leads the Cancer Genomics Group within the Liver Disease and Regeneration Laboratory at the Curtin Medical Research Institute. He has an impressive publication record, with 43 manuscripts that have collectively garnered over 2,680 citations. His research leverages cutting-edge genomics and transcriptomics technologies, as well as long-read DNA sequencing, to explore mechanisms, identify biomarkers, and develop therapeutic targets in liver disease and cancer.
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Dr Jasmine Kaur
RESEARCH IN SPINAL CORD INJURY
@ GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA -
Cellular interactions responsible for development, maintenance, and strength of the skeleton
Professor Sims directs the Bone Cell Biology and Disease Unit at St. Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research and is a Professorial Fellow at The University of Melbourne and Australian Catholic University.
She leads a team who studies the cellular interactions responsible for development, maintenance, and strength of the skeleton. She completed her PhD at the University of Adelaide, followed by postdoctoral work at the Garvan Institute in Sydney then at Yale School of Medicine, in New Haven, Connecticut, where she studied the role of the estrogen receptor in regulating bone structure.
