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Professor Fatima Nasrallah
Professor

Fatima Nasrallah

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 344 33004

Overview

Background

Dr. Nasrallah is a neuroscientist with a background in magnetic resonance and interdisciplinary brain research. She graduated with a PhD in neurochemistry and NMR from the Neuroscience Research Australia Institute (NeurRA) at the University of New South Wales in 2009. In April 2009, She spent 3 years at the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (A*STAR) where she pioneered the use of magnetic resonance imaging as a tool in cognitive brain research in the rodent. In 2013, she was appointed as senior research fellow at the Clinical Imaging Research Center where she delved into the clinical realms of human imaging. In late 2015, she returned to Australia as a Motor Accident and Injury Commission fellow at the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) at the University of Queensland (UQ) where she independently heads her own group. Her research spans basic and clinical brain research with the the overall aim of understanding how the brain functions in health and injury, specifically, developing methods for early diagnosis of primary biomarkers following injury and translating these findings.

Availability

Professor Fatima Nasrallah is:
Available for supervision

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales

Research interests

  • Traumatic Brain Injury

    The development of translational imaging methods for the early diagnosis of brain function and prediction of patient outcome.

Research impacts

Through her work, she has established herself as one of the world experts in the area of functional brain imaging in rodent models. Her most significant contribution was made in 2014 when she demonstrated for the first time, imaging resting state functional connectivity in the mouse brain using MRI. This has made a major impact to the field especially the potential to translate such a technique in human to mouse models. This work was published in the prestigious Neuroimage journal. More impactful was the discovery that these resting state networks could detect cognition in the rat brain after a spatial learning memory task, which was also published in Neuroimage. A major contribution to the field is applying these MRI methods for clinical applications of injury and stroke. She is now leading a nationwide multicenter trial in patients with traumatic brain injury with the hope of using advanced neuroimaging methods to improve patient outcomes.

Funding

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2027
    Trauma Craniotomy Research and Education
    National Injury Insurance Agency, Queensland
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2027
    Quantum Concussion Diagnostics
    Quantum 2032 Challenge Program
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2027
    National Injury Insurance Agency, Queensland
    National Injury Insurance Agency, Queensland
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2027
    Decoding Brain-Behaviour Interactions to Inform Outcomes in Adolescents and Young Adults with Acquired Brain Injury
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2026
    AUS-mTBI: designing and implementing the health informatics approaches to enhance treatment and care for people with mild TBI (MRFF Traumatic Brain Injury Mission administered by Curtin University)
    Curtin University
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2026
    PREDICT-TBI
    Motor Accident Insurance Commission
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2026
    Early diagnosis and prognosis of TBI sequalae: the triad of tau, amyloid and neuroinflammation
    Motor Accident Insurance Commission
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2026
    PREDICT-TBI - PREdiction and Diagnosis using Imaging and Clinical biomarkers Trial in Traumatic Brain Injury: the value of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
    NHMRC MRFF Traumatic Brain Injury Mission
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2021 - 2022
    Co-design of an occupation-based virtual reality intervention for people with cognitive impairment after brain injury
    UQ Knowledge Exchange & Translation Fund
    Open grant
  • 2019
    Dissolution DNP Hyperpolariser
    UQ Research Facilities Infrastructure Grants
    Open grant
  • 2018
    A specialised surgical and behavioural facility for longitudinal, multimodal examination of the rodent brain
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2018
    Biomolecular Imager and microscope for preclinical radiopharmaceutical development
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2019
    Equipment for naturalistic sleep-wake, circadian rhythm, and stress measurement
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2018
    Sports concussion: informing recovery by imaging the brain abnormality in a rodent model
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant
  • 2017
    Dr Fatima Nasrallah - Maternity Funding (Advance Queensland Women's Academic Fund)
    Queensland Government Advance Queensland Women's Academic Fund
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2019
    Exercise reverses cognitive decline in aged animals by growth hormone stimulation of neurogenesis in the hippocampus
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2021
    MAIC QBI Senior Research Fellowship
    Motor Accident Insurance Commission
    Open grant

Supervision

Availability

Professor Fatima Nasrallah is:
Available for supervision

Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The development of precision medical care for the use of ketamine as a treatment for Australian Veterans with TRD and PTSD

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Susannah Tye

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Symptomatology, neurocognitive and pathophysiological following repetitive head trauma

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Nyoman Kurniawan

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Investigating therapeutic interventions following concussion

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Karen Barlow

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Navigating the patterns of traumatic brain injuryrecovery

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Development of precision medicine biomarkers for ketamine as a treatment for TRD and PTSD

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Susannah Tye

Completed supervision

Media

Enquiries

For media enquiries about Professor Fatima Nasrallah's areas of expertise, story ideas and help finding experts, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au