Research Interests

Dementia is one of the top five causes of death in Australia with an increasing incidence due to an aging population. Significant evidence points to oxidative stress (OS) as a major underlying factor in brain cell degeneration. Unfortunately, it is not known at what stage of life this OS begins in humans or what behaviours influence OS in the human brain. As OS underlies brain cell degeneration and the development of dementia, my current work will help to answer these questions and contribute to the development of strategies that will help maintain and improve brain and cellular function into older age.

ILP Research Interests (Will supervise ILP students)

Chemical And Drugs; Diseases And Disorders Life Sciences Psychiatric Disorders; 

Laboratory based teaching

PhD, Master and Honour students

Society Memberships & Professional Activities

American Alzheimer's Association; International College for Geriatric Psychoneuropharmacology (ICGP); Member of the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR); Member of the Australian Neuroscience Society (ANS); International Society for Tryptophan Research (ISTRY); Neurotoxicity Society

Funding Sources

National Health and Medical Research Council; Australian Research Council; Alzheimer's Australia Viertel Foundation; UNSW Faculty of Medicine

Other Postgraduate Research Honours projects

- Plasma biomarkers of ageing

- Plasma lipidome changes associated with ageing and neurodegenerative disease of ageing. In particular, plasma phospholipids and fatty acid associations with ageing, health status (frailty, MCI, APOE allele, etc) and disorders such as MCI and dementia.

- Peripheral blood markers of vascular risk and/or CVD which alone, or in combination with markers of AD, can predict the onset of clinical symptoms and vascular dementia progression

- Promotion of cellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) anabolism as a strategy to improve cellular senescence and cognitive function.

- Develop and test a series of novel superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and provide a superparamagnetic signal for amyloid imaging using MRI with limited toxicity.

- In vitro and in vivo studies on polyphenols as an integral strategy in preventing and treating diseases associated with neurodegeneration.

Meet Our Researcher
Click here to read Dr Nady Braidy's ‘Meet Our Researcher’ interview