Brain ills expert to speak | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

An internationally recognised expert in degenerative brain disease will speak in Wanganui next week.

Professor Richard Faull, professor of anatomy and director of the Centre for Brain Research at the University of Auckland, will speak at the Central Baptist Church in Wicksteed St, at 2pm on Wednesday.

Mr Faull has been invited as a guest of U3A and Alzheimer's Wanganui and his topic is the challenge and excitement of research on human brain diseases.

He is recognised worldwide as a leading expert on neuro-generative brain disease, including Huntington's, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. He has also created a unique Human Brain Bank to support worldwide research on human brain diseases. It was his research that provided the first evidence that the human brain could repair itself by generating new cells. In 2007 he was awarded New Zealand's highest scientific award, the Rutherford Medal, for his innovative research and was also named supreme winner of the World Class New Zealand Awards in 2010.

Margaret Campion, president of Alzheimer's Wanganui, said she has heard Mr Faull speak before and said "he makes a complex subject simple and easily understood".

Doors at the venue will open at 1.30pm with his speech starting at 2pm. Entry will cost $5.