SAHMRI’s Laboratory for Human Neurophysiology and Genetics has fast become a magnet for some of the brightest young minds to launch their careers in neuroscience, and the next generation of PhD graduates and students find themselves on an exciting frontier.

Led by Professor Cedric Bardy, the group’s foundation centres around the use of live human brain tissue in petri dishes, to facilitate the discovery and validation of treatments for a vast array of brain disorders.

In 2024, two students earned their PhD and four more received First Class Honours from Flinders University under Professor Bardy’s supervision.

After three and half years, Dr Inushi De Silva has completed her PhD focusing on the brain cancer, Glioblastoma (GBM) and the factors enabling tumour growth.

“One thing we haven’t really understood about GBM is how components of the healthy brain environment, especially cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), influence tumour cells,” Dr De Silva said.

“I found that these tumours develop much like healthy brain cells, they just lack the usual control mechanisms. When they’re exposed to new environments like CSF, they adapt to suit those environments, making them harder to treat.”

Dr De Silva hypothesises that this adaption is instrumental in the tumour regrowth patients can experience after the initial tumour has been removed, due to the cells that are left behind being exposed to CSF and undergoing changes to help them survive.

Part of her PhD involved finding a potential solution to this problem, which came in the form of repurposing an old anti-psychotic called trifluoperazine.

“Not only is this medication able to eradicate GBM tumour cells that are resistant to chemotherapy, but it’s also proven safe for use on the human brain,” Dr De Silva said.

Dr De Silva says the collaborative nature of being based at SAHMRI throughout the ups and downs of her PhD has played a significant part in her overall development as a scientist, allowing her to work on a variety of other projects to expand her skills.

“I’ve grown my expertise in the wet lab, particularly with tissue culture, and had the opportunity to learn dry-lab techniques like bioinformatics,” she said.

“The lab has become like a second family. Professor Bardy and my fellow students have inspired me to go above and beyond and they’ve been there through everything. Whether it be helping me with research, bouncing around ideas, or to have a good laugh (or a cry). It’s such a supportive group, full of people who truly understand what you’re going through.”

Dr Robert Adams also graduated his PhD earlier in the year, completing his research exploring how energy metabolism impacts the function and health of brain cells, with a focus on mechanisms linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s.

The findings highlight the way in which glucose levels and mitochondrial dysfunction disrupt neural activity, providing insights into how energy deficits contribute to disease.

Having just been awarded a scholarship, Sana Amiri will embark on her PhD journey next year, investigating therapeutics to reduce neuroinflammation with human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) models.

Amal Abdirashid Ali recently finished her hPSC-based honours project, introducing sleep-wake cycles to ‘brain in a dish’, aiming to make these neurons behave more like those in a living brain, therefore enhancing their credibility in research translation.

Charlize Condina compared the shape and structure of brain cells grown from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), to the brain cells found in the adult cortex, to learn if hiPSC-derived neurons are reliable for studying brain function and diseases.

Sehaj Dhariwal utilised advanced data analysis to group glioblastoma patients based on how they respond to different treatments, identifying patterns to predict which treatments are most likely to work for specific people.

With such a high volume of quality translational research being produced, the future looks bright for Professor Bardy’s group, and the opportunity to be part of such a dynamic environment is sure to continue attracting top talent.

“What I really love about SAHMRI is the community. Everyone here is passionate about what they do, friendly and willing to help. Whether it’s to get a quick perspective on an experiment, to brainstorm ideas or just a lend hand, this is the place to be,” Dr De Silva said.