Professor Gary Thickbroom

Professor Thickbroom began his career studying physics and mathematics at The University of Western Australia (UWA), before becoming interested in the human condition and completing his Masters and then a PhD in electrophysiological testing.

He became a Research Officer in the Departments of Biophysics and Neurology at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) and the Department of Medicine at UWA. Professor Thickbroom developed and applied visual, somatosensory and auditory evoked potential techniques to the study of neurological conditions. When the first CT scanner was installed in Perth, he was involved in analysis and quantitation of scans and later implemented single photon emission tomography of the brain. He was amongst the first in Australia to implement a quantitative EEG analysis system at SCGH.

By 1990, Professor Thickbroom was Head of the Brain Research Laboratory that he helped establish with Professor Frank Mastaglia at the Centre for Neuromuscular and Neurological Disorders (CNND) at UWA. He has consolidated an interest in clinical neuroscience and focussed his research efforts on the study of the physiology and pathophysiology of the motor system. He developed Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation mapping of the cortex and implemented functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) at SCGH. The fMRI technology has been used in neurosurgical planning and in a number of research projects.

Now a Professor at UWA's Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and Deputy Director of CNND, Gary Thickbroom's research interest is in brain testing and imaging and recent projects have looked at cortical representation, plasticity, reorganisation and recovery of function following injury/disease. He is conducting NRP-funded clinical research intocortical plasticity and the use of magnetic brain stimulation to assess and help drive recovery after spinal cord injury.

Current NRP Co-investigators:
Dr Dylan Edwards (Burke Rehabilitation Institute, New York)
Dr Michelle Byrnes (CNND and UWA)
MAP investigators (see under Professor Sarah Dunlop)