Historically, the MND Australia Research Committee has underpinned the process of research grant allocations. This required that members review grant applications and determine the distribution of funds within set policies and according to the criteria for scientific assessment.
With the recent merge of MND Australia and MND Research Australia, the function and structure of the MND Australia Research Committee has evolved. Moving forward, the MND Australia Research Committee will take on a more strategic role, providing high-level oversight of MND Australia research programs. A grant review panel will be established as a sub-committee of the Research Committee to continue to the important work of assessing grant applications and to determining the annual distribution of funds.
We are pleased to have formed the new MND Australia Research Committee in early 2026.
Professor David Adams
Research Committee Chair
Professor David Adams
Research Committee Chair
David J. Adams is an Honorary Professor at Molecular Horizons, University of Wollongong (2025–2028), and serves as Chair of the Research Committee and Board Director at MND Australia, as well as Senior Editor of the British Journal of Pharmacology. He is a Fellow of multiple leading academies, including the Australian Academy of Science, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, Royal Society NSW, American Physiological Society, The Physiological Society (UK), and the International Union of Physiological Sciences.
Previously, he was Distinguished Professor at the University of Wollongong (2019–2024) and CEO/Executive Director of the Illawarra Health & Medical Research Institute (2015–2022). His earlier roles include senior leadership positions at RMIT University and the University of Queensland, and professorial appointments at the University of Miami, where he progressed from Assistant Professor to full Professor.
Dr Karen McConalogue
Research Committee Deputy Chair
Dr Karen McConalogue
Research Committee Deputy Chair
Karen is an academic and executive with more than 20 years of experience in the tertiary education and research sector, specialising in postgraduate programs and fellowships. She has led the development of doctoral programs and joint international PhDs, working with diverse stakeholders including government, NGOs and private donors.
A trained biomedical researcher with a PhD in neuroscience, she is a two-time National Health and Medical Research Council Research Fellow. She has received a commendation in the inaugural Victorian Premier’s Award for Medical Research and multiple awards for research and graduate research management.
A/Prof Shyuan (Shu) Ngo
A/Prof Shyuan (Shu) Ngo
A/Prof Shyuan Ngo completed her undergraduate and PhD training at the University of Queensland and began her research career with a postdoctoral position at UQCCR, focusing on translational research. She has been awarded multiple fellowships, including the Bill Gole Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2012), the Scott Sullivan MND Research Fellowship (2015), and a FightMND Mid-Career Fellowship (2020), supporting her work in motor neurone disease (MND).
Her research program integrates studies in people with MND with advanced human cell and animal models to understand the molecular drivers of disease. She specialises in translational approaches, including stem cell technologies, biomarker development, and the use of digital health tools to track disease progression and outcomes.
Dr Barry Werth
Dr Barry Werth
Barry cared for his wife who was diagnosed with MND and passed away in 2013. He is a pharmacist with a PhD (epidemiology/pharmacoepidemiology) and has worked in the Australian pharmaceutical industry for over 40 years. Since retiring from full-time work in 2014, he now acts as a consultant to Australian and foreign pharmaceutical companies and is a Research Affiliate of the Faculty of Medicine and Health at The University of Sydney. He has also worked as a medical editor, is a Life Member of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and has published an article on MND for pharmacists. He is Vice-Chair of the Lived Experience Research Advisory Panel, member of the Research Committee and member of the Lived Experience Network of MND Australia, and is Co-Deputy Chair of the Lived Experience Advisory Group and member of the Clinical & Content Advisory Group of the Australian MND Guideline.
Dr Karen Hutchison
Dr Karen Hutchison
Dr Karen Hutchinson is a research fellow, conducting MND health services research at the School of Population Health, University of New South Wales. She is a physiotherapist with many years of clinical experience supporting people living with complex neurological conditions in the community in a regional area. Dr Hutchinson is currently coordinating two national Research studies in Australia, Bridging the Health Equity Gap for Australians with MND: Co-designing Solutions with the MND Community and Optimising the Impact of the MND Care Coordinator Model in Australia. Her research areas include implementation science and practice, co-design, health service mapping, models of person- and family-centred health care, and specific workforce roles and responsibilities.
Dr Nicole Sheers
Dr Nicole Sheers
Nicole Sheers is a clinician researcher in the Department of Physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne and the Institute for Breathing and Sleep at Austin Health. She has over 25 years of clinical physiotherapy experience, including more than 15 years as a respiratory physiotherapist with the Victorian Respiratory Support Service.
Her research focuses on improving breathing, sleep and cough function for people with neuromuscular diseases, including ALS/MND, spinal cord injury and muscular dystrophies. She is currently Chair of the MND Collective’s Clinical Care Driving Team.
Mr Paul King Koi
Mr Paul King Koi
Paul lives with a rare type of MND and has also lost a close friend to the disease.
Paul's professional career began in electrical engineering before moving into IT, where he has worked for companies such as Telstra, Hewlett Packard, Zebra Technologies and Motorola.
In addition to his technical experience, Paul also has skills in relationship management, business development and contract negotiations. He is an experienced committee member, having served on the management committees of multiple clubs and associations.
Ms Sarah Shuttlewood
Ms Sarah Shuttlewood
I am a risk professional working in the financial services sector, with prior experience in public health and strategy roles within local government. I hold a Bachelor of Environmental Science and a Master of Environmental Health.My connection with MND is deeply personal. My father lived with MND from 2025 to 2026, and through this experience I witnessed firsthand the profound impact of the disease on our family and also our friends I have been a member of MND Australia's Lived Experience Network since 2025.
These experiences have reinforced my commitment to improving outcomes for people affected by MND. In particular, I am passionate about care models at home but also beyond the home setting, enabling people living with MND to remain connected to their communities and to continue enjoying what community life has to offer. I am also strongly motivated to see health system pathways, services and administrative processes designed to be simpler, more timely, better integrated and easier for individuals and families to navigate.
I bring strengths in strategy, governance, risk, project and change management to the Research Committee, with a focus on contributing practical, user-centred insights to support better experiences and outcomes.
Prof Anthony Akkari
Prof Anthony Akkari
Professor Anthony is a pharmacogeneticist and neuromuscular disease geneticist with over 30 years of research experience, including 18 years in industry across molecular genetics, pharmacogenetics and personalised medicine. He has held translational research leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline, Eli Lilly and Black Swan Pharmaceuticals.
He was recruited internationally to establish and lead the Motor Neurone Disease Genetics and Therapeutics team at the Perron Institute and Murdoch University, and is Chief Scientific Officer at Black Swan Biotechnology Holdings Australia. He is Professor and Foundation Chair of Industrial Pharmacogenetics and Director of the Personalised Medicine Centre at Murdoch University, and holds adjunct professorships at Duke University and the University of Western Australia.
In the past five years, he has secured over $7.6 million in funding and published extensively in neurodegenerative disease genetics. He has also served on the board of the Motor Neurone Disease Association of Western Australia and represents the state in the MND Collective of Australia.
Prof Paul Talman
Prof Paul Talman
Professor P. Talman is a neurologist who completed his PhD in developmental neurobiology at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in 1995. He has held senior clinical and leadership roles, including Director of Stroke at Monash Medical Centre and, over a 20-year period at Barwon Health, Clinical Director of Medical Services and Director of Neurosciences. He has also been actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate education throughout his career.
His research focuses on motor neurone disease (MND), including establishing the national MND data registry. He leads a multidisciplinary MND clinic at Barwon Health and collaborates nationally and internationally. He is an executive member of the Pan-Asia Consortium for ALS/MND (PACTALS) and hosted the 2025 PACTALS conference in Melbourne.
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Professor Adam Walker
Professor Adam Walker
Professor Adam Walker is head of the Neurodegeneration Pathobiology Laboratory at the Charles Perkins Centre, Chair of Pharmacological Sciences and Research Academic Lead in the Sydney Pharmacy School, Convenor of the TDP-43 Research Cluster in the Centre for Drug Discovery Innovation, and Leadership Group member of the Biometals in Neurological Diseases Team in the Brain and Mind Centre, at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on uncovering the molecular mechanisms of TDP-43 pathology in ALS/MND and in identifying new avenues for therapeutic development.
Professor Zachary Munn
Professor Zachary Munn
Professor Zachary Munn is an advocate for evidence-based healthcare, focused on ensuring policy and practice are grounded in the best available evidence. He is Director of Health Evidence Synthesis, Recommendations and Impact (HESRI) in the School of Public Health at the University of Adelaide, Head of the Evidence Synthesis Taxonomy Initiative (ESTI), and Founding Director of the Adelaide GRADE Centre.
He is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator (2021–2025; 2026–2030), Past Chair of the Guidelines International Network (GIN), and lead of the Australian MND Guideline. His expertise is in systematic reviews, evidence implementation and guideline development.