Louise Parr-Brownlie
Ngāti Maniapoto me Te Arawa
Kāhui Māori
University of Otago
Louise (Ngāti Maniapoto me Te Arawa) is the Dean Rangahau, and a Professor in the Department of Anatomy, at the University of Otago. Her biomedical neurophysiology doctoral and postdoctoral training were conducted at the University of Otago and National Institutes of Neurological Disorders and Stroke within the National Institutes of Health in the United States.
Louise draws on Western science and mātauranga Māori to facilitate positive ageing and equitable treatments for people living with neurodegenerative disorders in Aotearoa New Zealand. Her biomedical research focuses on understanding how brain cell activity controls movements, and how activity changes in Parkinson’s disease. Her research team and collaborators have translated this knowledge to test novel ways to treat Parkinson’s disease, which include harnessing lifestyle, cultural and clinical factors to modulate neuroinflammation and slow symptom progression.
Louise has extensive experience in the Research, Innovation and Technology sector. She is a co-lead for Aotearoa New Zealand’s partnered funding with the European Commission’s Horizon Europe – Brain Health Partnership, a Board Member for the Dodd-Walls Te Whai Ao Centre of Research Excellence, and she serves as the Secretary of the International Basal Ganglia Society Council. Louise has previously been a Science Advisor for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment that oversees public research funding in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Director of the Ageing Well National Science Challenge, a member of the Mātauranga Science Insights Panel at the Ministry for the Environment, and was a member of the Health Research Council’s Biomedical Research Committee. Louise is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her leadership and services to neuroscience.