Brain Injury, Neuroprotection and Psychiatry

This work has included developing an award-winning regional service for neonatal neuroprotection in the East of England. The Cambridge NeuroNICU, modelled on a service led by Professor Rowitch at UCSF, is a clinical and research platform for infants at risk of brain injury from across the region. This includes an infant brain functional imaging facility run by Professor Topun Austin that combines MRI with optical and electrophysiological technologies to identify infants at risk of brain injury through neoLAB, a joint venture with University College London. With Professor Ed Bullmore (Department of Psychiatry) we have a common interest in understanding the developmental origins of psychiatric disorders. We have plans to recruit a new Head of Children Psychiatry and build the MIND institute to expand research in psychiatry with focus on developmental and genetic origins of mental health disorders. There are active collaborations with Departments of Psychology (Dr. Vicky Leong), Department of Psychiatry (Professor John Suckling) and Autism Research Centre (Professor Simon Baron-Cohen).

Brain Development and Disease

Professor David Rowitch’s laboratory in the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute investigates diversity of glial cells and patient derived models of leukodystrophy. He is promoting new clinical research in precision medicine paediatrics with application of genomic technologies to diagnose and better understand the biological basis and rational treatment of neonatal neurological disorders, including encephalopathic seizures and cerebral palsy.