Renowned neurodegeneration expert receives top accolade
Internationally renowned neurodegeneration academic, Professor Glenda Halliday, who is shaping the treatment of non-Alzheimer’s dementias and Parkinson’s disease, has been recognised as one of Australia’s leading female medical researchers.
Professor Halliday, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health and the Brain and Mind Centre, was awarded the NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn Investigator Grant Award for Leadership in Clinical Medicine and Science.
The award is named in honour of Professor Elizabeth Blackburn, an Australian molecular biologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009.
Professor Halliday’s groundbreaking research has shaped current international diagnostic criteria and recommendations for neurodegenerative patient identification and management.
After developing quantitative methods to evaluate the symptoms of patients with Parkinson's disease, she revealed more extensive neurodegeneration in Parkinson's and related syndromes than previously thought.
Her 70 strong research team in the Brain and Mind Centre’s Dementia and Movement Disorders Lab is now focused on finding biomarkers that identify under-recognised non-Alzheimer diseases to target with disease modifying strategies.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Duncan Ivison congratulated Professor Halliday on this prestigious award, adding that her work is at the forefront of understanding the origins of neurodegeneration and developing new treatments.
“Glenda has rightly been recognised as one of Australia’s, and the world’s, leading experts on neurodegeneration. Her research is critical to improving the lives of those with Parkinson’s, dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases and we are proud to support her and her team to conduct this important research.”
Professor Halliday has produced more than 430 publications, has a h-index of 83, and was named among the world's most influential academics on the Clarivate Analytics 2019 Highly Cited Researchers List.
She is on the editorial boards of five international journals, and on the scientific advisory boards for a number of international organisations and research institutes. She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.
The University of Sydney is ranked 18th in the world for medicine, according to the latest QS Subject rankings.
