Clinical Professor Neville Knuckey

Clinical Professor Neville Knuckey is Head of Neurosurgery and Director of Neurosurgical Training at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH). He is also Head of the Stroke Research Group, which he established at the Australian Neuromuscular Research Institute (ANRI) in 1996.

Professor Knuckey began his studies in medicine at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and during his surgical training and early practice, he demonstrated a strong interest in research,became a Clinical Research Fellow in Neurology/Neurosurgery at Royal Perth Hospital. He later held Fellowships and academic appointments in Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Baltimore, Maryland, and at Rhode Island Hospital/Brown University in the U.S., before returning to Perth to continue neurosurgery and research, taking up the role of Director of the Experimental Cerebrovascular Research Laboratory, Centre for Neurological and Neuromuscular Diseases (CNND) in 1996.

Prof Knuckey is a member of the Australian Brain Foundation's Medical and Scientific Committee, and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' Executive Committee (Neurosurgery). He is Head of Neurosurgical Services in Western Australia and sits on the editorial board for the journals Journal of Clinical Neuroscience, Clinical Neurosurgery and Brain Research.

The main focus of Professor Knuckey's research is the development of treatments to minimise the brain damage that occurs following stroke and cerebral ischaemia. This involves identifying and characterising potential neuro-protective proteins and peptides, and assessing the efficacy of treatments such as magnesium and mild hypothermia, as potential therapies to keep nerve cells alive and thereby minimise functional deficits following brain injury. His current NRP-funded project assesses whether combining the CYPA protein with an anti-oxidant protein known as PRDX2 can increase the therapeutic window and neuro-protective effect of combined magnesium/hypothermia therapy following cerebral ischaemia/stroke.

Current NRP Co-investigators:
Adj A/Prof Bruno Meloni, Dr Kym Campbell and Dr Sherif Boulos (Centre for Neurological and Neuromuscular Diseases (CNND))