Clinical Professor David Blacker
Professor David Blacker is a Neurologist and Stroke Physician at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH),Visiting Neurologist to the Royal Perth Rehabilitation Hospital, Clinical Professor of Neurology at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Visiting Medical Officer to Hollywood Private Hospital.
Professor Blacker completed his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at UWA in 1991 and went on to specialise in neurology, practicing in WA teaching hospitals and then spending two years at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA as a Cerebrovascular Diseases Fellow. He then returned to Perth in 2003 and focused on stroke -from acute stroke management to rehabilitation approaches and research.
Professor Blacker is presently involved in a number of local, national and international stroke studies and is a member of the Australasian Stroke Trials Network Executive Committee and the Australian Stroke Coalition Acute Stroke Services Committee.Appreciating the vital importance of diagnosing stroke quickly in patients presenting to hospital and minimising the time taken to provide life saving treatment, Professor Blacker has been responsible for significant improvements in this regard and was recognised in 2005 with a West Australian Health Department Patient Safety Award for the developing the Code Stroke Team at SCGH.
Recently he has become interested in developing novel treatments for intracerebral haemorrhage. Along with neurology colleagues at Royal Perth and Fremantle Hospitals, Professor Blacker is now conducting an NRP-funded pilot study of a combinatorial treatment for ischaemic (clotting type) stroke. The usual drug of choice, known as tPA, is being combined with minocycline, an anti-biotic with properties that may protect brain tissue after stroke. Animal work indicates this is a promising strategy for treating ischaemic stroke, reducing the risk of bleeding that is associated with tPA and improving clinical outcomes.
Current NRP Co-investigators:
Dr Anthony Alvaro (Fremantle Hospital)
Dr David Prentice (Royal Perth Hospital)
