Melinda Fitzgerald

Melinda Fitzgerald is Professor of Neurotrauma and Deputy Director of the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, at Curtin University in Perth, jointly appointed by the Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science. She is Leader of the Mission for Traumatic Brain Injury, a new Medical Research Future Fund initiative providing $50 million in Federal Government funding over 10 years. Her research goal is to improve outcomes for patients who have experienced traumatic injury to their central nervous system. She leads leads a team of 12 researchers and post-graduate students in studies to understand how damage spreads following neurotrauma, and uses findings from these fundamental studies to design and test treatment strategies. She is working with her collaborators and clinical research team to facilitate translation of her pre-clinical findings, focussing on prediction of persisting post-concussion symptoms, in order to identify suitable patients for treatment. The work is part of a broader nationwide strategy to predict and improve outcomes following traumatic brain injury of all severities. She has published over 80 scientific papers, including in discipline-leading journals such as Journal of Neuroscience, Nature Nano, ACS Nano, and Biomaterials. She has been awarded $8.4 million in funding to support her research. She is a Handling Editor for the Journal of Neurochemistry, the Australian representative for the Asia Pacific Regional Committee for IBRO and serves on a variety of grant review panels and scientific advisory committees.