In December, SAHMRI awarded the inaugural BRIGHT Accelerator Award to Dr Andrew Shoubridge who received a prize of $100,000 in project funding to help boost his research.
The award has been created as a launchpad to boost SAHMRI’s brightest, early and mid-career researchers to establish themselves as leaders in their field – and Dr Shoubridge certainly deserves to be there.
The money was raised from the SAHMRI’s BRIGHT Walk which is an epic, one-night challenge. This year it’s on July 22 with an aim to raise one million dollars for life-saving medical research.
With each step illuminated by light installations, 2,500 people will walk past the iconic cheesegrater, home to South Australia’s brightest researchers who are working hard to cure disease and save lives.
Dr Shoubridge started his scientific career as an Honours student in 2013 in a small lab next to the loading bay of the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. It’s very different to the disco bling dia-grid SAHMRI building he works at now.
“I was fascinated by trying to understand how the body works, especially the brain, which is incredibly complex,” he says.
He’s taken that passion and become a postdoctoral researcher in microbiology and neurobiology whose work centres around finding solutions for age related chronic diseases, with a particular focus on dementia.
“Dementia runs in my family and I’ve witnessed the pain it causes loved ones when they are no longer recognised by their lifelong partner or parent. This motivated me to understand the changes in the brain that lead to these losses and to find ways to prevent it from happening to others,” Dr Shoubridge says.
He focuses on research that improves people’s health as they age and aims to prevent diseases later in life. Most of Dr Shoubridge’s days are spent analysing genetic sequences of the gut bacteria of elderly Australians using a high-powered supercomputer to identify connections between the gut and brain.
“My ultimate goal is to understand how dementia develops, what causes it to develop differently in people, and to identify ways to prevent it. Quality of life is significantly reduced not only for people with dementia but also for their carers and loved ones. My research aims to reduce the pain and impact of dementia on everyone,” Dr Shoubridge says.
He’s proud of his achievements including representing all of the fantastic research conducted at the institute.
“SAHMRI is an incredible network of leading researchers in a diverse range of areas and working alongside so many brilliant researchers is invaluable to my personal growth and career progression,” he says. a
To get involved and raise funds for life-changing research like Dr Shoubridge’s, register for the SAHMRI BRIGHT Walk which aims to raise one million dollars for life-saving medical research. The money raised will push SAHMRI researchers another step closer to the next life-changing discovery.
SAHMRI’s BRIGHT Walk
When: Saturday July 22nd 2023
Register your interest: Click here
More info on SAHMRI: Click here
