Biography

Dr Adjanie Patabendige is a research fellow with research expertise in brain vascular biology. She undertook doctoral studies under the mentorship of Prof Joan Abbott at King's College London, UK. Her ultimate research goal is to understand the function of the blood-brain barrier (BBB, the protective physiological barrier that prevents circulating infectious agents, toxins and large molecules from entering the brain) during health and disease. The BBB is disrupted in many neurological diseases, including stroke, brain trauma, brain tumours, encephalitis, Alzheimer's disease and Multiple Sclerosis. Frustratingly, many drugs that could be effective against these diseases are unable to reach the brain because the BBB stops these drugs from getting into the brain one of its 'gatekeeper' functions. Her research on the BBB has two main aims: to develop cell culture models that mimic the human condition for investigating the true pathophysiology, and to discover therapeutics that can safely cross the barrier to reach their targets within the brain. Dr Patabendige is also interested in understanding the disruption to the normal production and outflow of brain fluids during stroke, which can be important for developing therapeutics for other disorders with impaired brain fluid dynamics as well. Her research aims to provide significant fundamental knowledge about impaired brain fluid dynamics in stroke, which will help future diagnosis, treatment and management of these patients.

Adjanie identifies as culturally and linguistically diverse.

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