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Monday 9 March 2020 1:14pm

Associate Professor Steph Hughes undertook her first task as the new Director of the Brain Health Research Centre last week: chairing the Centre's launch of 2020's Brain Awareness Week.

After presenting the previous director Professor Christine Jasoni with a potted orchid as a thank you for her service, Steph gave a short report on the Centre's 2019 activities and outlined its mission: to conduct excellent research, to train emerging scientists, and to perform community outreach.

Dr Laura Gumy from the Department of Anatomy then introduced the seminar speaker, Prof Peter Baas, from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Prof Baas gave a fascinating overview of his research on the role of the enzyme spastin in the development of Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia.

BHRC 2020 speaker photo

From left: Prof Peter Baas, Dr Laura Gumy, A/P Stephanie Hughes, Prof Christine Jasoni

Brain Awareness Week continues until 11th March, and includes a variety of public activities and talks held at the Otago Museum.

The Brain Health Research Centre has 240 multidisciplinary researchers and clinicians across 44 laboratories in the University of Otago, who are committed to finding new treatments to harness the brain's restorative potential, and testing innovative new therapies.

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