POST STROKE BRAIN RECOVERY TARGETING BLOOD FLOW AND VESSEL HEALTH
Dr Daniel Beard,
Senior Lecturer, University of Newcastle
Group Leader, Neurovascular Research Laboratory
New South Wales, Australia &
Visiting Scientist,
University of Oxford, United Kingdom &
Founder and Chief Scientific Officer
ShearFlow
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Newcastle, Australia | May 2026
Dr Daniel Beard is a Senior Lecturer and Group Leader of the Neurovascular Research Laboratory at the University of Newcastle, with a distinguished career in stroke research. Dr Beard completed his PhD in Human Physiology in 2015, uncovering the impact of intracranial pressure on collateral vessel failure. He has held prestigious research and teaching roles at the University of Oxford and Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, contributing to international collaborations on neurovascular protection. His research has been supported by competitive grants, including an NHMRC Ideas Grant, and he has received numerous awards for innovation, research excellence and teaching excellence, including:
-Winner of the Challenger Pitch Prize at the Proto Axiom Challenger Summit (2024).
-Paul Dudley White International Scholar for the highest-ranked Australian abstract at the 2022 International Stroke Conference, New Orleans.
-Recipient of the Learning Design and Teaching Innovation Teaching Excellence Award and Mid-Career Teaching Award from the University of Newcastle (2024).
His most recent work focuses on understanding and improving collateral blood flow during ischaemic stroke. Notably, his groundbreaking work on shear stress and cerebral blood flow with renowned researchers at Harvard University, resulted in a patented nanoparticle therapy that selectively boosts brain perfusion during stroke, saving brain tissue and improving patient outcomes. This work was recently published in Advanced Science: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202506276.
Dr Beard is Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of the University spinout ShearFlow that is now commercializing this technology to reach the clinic. This work aims to deliver targeted stroke therapies that could give patients a improved chance at recovery and a better quality of life.
Source: Supplied and adapted
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3720-7588
-
Corneal and Ocular Surface Immunology and Regeneration
Assoc Professor Holly Chinnery’s career in ocular immunology began with a focus on animal models; however, it has recently transitioned into clinical imaging studies involving human research participants. The ability to visualise the immune system and sensory nerves in the human cornea represents a significant advantage in corneal immunology and neuroimmunology research.
-
Personalised approaches to lung therapy
Dr. Adams’ research focus is on lung cancer, which is the deadliest of all cancers worldwide. He is working towards developing personalised approaches to pinpoint a therapy that is going to be most effective for the person with that disease. Dr. Adams’ research is focusing on chemotherapy and targeted therapy, and he is trying to identify upfront which of those tumours are likely to be resistant to the therapy. He then identifies strategies that will resensitize or increase the sensitivity of the tumour to the standard of care that is targeted therapy or chemotherapy.
-
Developing upper limb motor biomarkers of dementia
Kaylee is currently a research fellow with the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre at the University of Tasmania. She has recently submitted her PhD thesis, reporting the findings of her research on developing upper limb motor biomarkers of dementia. She has postgrad degrees in physiotherapy and experience working in the community and aged care across Tasmania for several years, where she worked with people with dementia.
