Brad Raos

I completed my PhD in Engineering at the University of Auckland in 2018 with my thesis titled ‘Parylene/SiO2 Cell Patterning and Nanosecond Laser Stimulation for the Study of Calcium Signalling in Human hNT Astrocytes.’ Many neurological disorders are the result of a disfunction in the way cells talk to one another. Traditional cell culture techniques don’t replicate the complexity of how cells connect and communicate within the brain. In order to develop relevant models of neurological disfunction it is desirable to recapture the structural complexity of the brain in vitro. My PhD research looked at how astrocytes, a type of brain cell, communicate through intracellular calcium signals. This involved the development of a novel biomaterials platform that could be used to control how astrocytes grow and connect with one another in vitro.

My wider research involves the development of novel in vitro models of the human central nervous system. Currently, I am currently working with Assoc Prof Darren Svirskis (School of Pharmacy) and Dr Simon OCarroll (Centre for Brain Research) on a research program to develop novel drug delivery systems to treat traumatic spinal cord injury. This works involves the development of in vitro neural injury models that can be used for high throughput assessment of chemical and electrical stimulation. Building on my PhD research, this work aims to improve the physiological relevance of in vitro models of spinal cord injuries through the use of human induced stem cell derived neurons.

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