
Overview
Background
Neurologist
Dr McCombe graduated in Medicine from UQ and completed a Science degree for medical students. She then trained as a neurologist in Sydney, at Prince Henry and Prince of Wales Hospitals. She obtained a PhD from the University of Sydney. She obtained experience in Neurophysiology in Cleveland and then returned to UQ as a post-doctoral fellow. She worked for some years as a research fellow in Neuroimmunology and was an NHMRc SRF. Later she resumed clinical practice as a neurologist, and contimued her research as an NHMRC Practitioner Fellow. She is currentlyProfessor and Head of the Royal Brisbane Clinical school in the School of Medicine and Co-head of the Brain and Mental Health Theme at the UQ Centre for Clinical Research.
Availability
- Professor Pamela McCombe is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science, The University of Queensland
- Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and Medical Science, The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sydney
- Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Royal Australasian College of Physicians
Research interests
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Biomarkers and heterogeneity in ALS
One of the challenges of ALS is understanding disease heterogeneity. Our work studies the variability of patients by detailed clinical, laboratory and genetic studies, and by identifying biomarkers that are associated with disease. We use a range of techniques including neurophysiology, MRI, metabolic studies, genetic studies, immune markers and biochemical studies including proteomics. We are using this information to analyse whether patients can be assigned into subgroups and to correlated with survival.
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Inflammatory neuropathy studies
This is an ongoing study of the immunological basis and genetic basis of acute and chronic inflammatory neuropathy
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Pregnancy and MS
This study is exploring the short and long term effects of pregnancy in multiple sclerosis. This includes the clinical effects of pregnancy and the effects on gene expression and methylation
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Immunology of stroke
This study involves documenting the immune responses after human stroke and determining the significance of these responses.
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Neuromuscular disease
This work is based at the Neuromuscular clinic at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, and involves correlation of genotype and phenotype of inherited neuromuscular disease
Works
Search Professor Pamela McCombe’s works on UQ eSpace
2021
Journal Article
Clinical and electrophysiological examination of pinch strength in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Lee, John D., Heshmat, Saman, Heggie, Susan, Thorpe, Kathryn A., McCombe, Pamela A. and Henderson, Robert D. (2021). Clinical and electrophysiological examination of pinch strength in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Muscle and Nerve, 63 (1) mus.27111, 108-113. doi: 10.1002/mus.27111
2021
Journal Article
Prediction of multiple sclerosis outcomes when switching to ocrelizumab
Zhong, Michael, van der Walt, Anneke, Stankovich, Jim, Kalincik, Tomas, Buzzard, Katherine, Skibina, Olga, Boz, Cavit, Hodgkinson, Suzanne, Slee, Mark, Lechner-Scott, Jeannette, Macdonell, Richard, Prevost, Julie, Kuhle, Jens, Laureys, Guy, Van Hijfte, Liesbeth, Alroughani, Raed, Kermode, Allan G, Butler, Ernest, Barnett, Michael, Eichau, Sara, van Pesch, Vincent, Grammond, Pierre, McCombe, Pamela, Karabudak, Rana, Duquette, Pierre, Girard, Marc, Taylor, Bruce, Yeh, Wei, Monif, Mastura ... Jokubaitis, Vilija G (2021). Prediction of multiple sclerosis outcomes when switching to ocrelizumab. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 28 (6) 13524585211049986, 958-969. doi: 10.1177/13524585211049986
2020
Journal Article
A missense mutation in the MLKL brace region promotes lethal neonatal inflammation and hematopoietic dysfunction
Hildebrand, Joanne M., Kauppi, Maria, Majewski, Ian J., Liu, Zikou, Cox, Allison J., Miyake, Sanae, Petrie, Emma J., Silk, Michael A., Li, Zhixiu, Tanzer, Maria C., Brumatti, Gabriela, Young, Samuel N., Hall, Cathrine, Garnish, Sarah E., Corbin, Jason, Stutz, Michael D., Di Rago, Ladina, Gangatirkar, Pradnya, Josefsson, Emma C., Rigbye, Kristin, Anderton, Holly, Rickard, James A., Tripaydonis, Anne, Sheridan, Julie, Scerri, Thomas S., Jackson, Victoria E., Czabotar, Peter E., Zhang, Jian-Guo, Varghese, Leila ... Silke, John (2020). A missense mutation in the MLKL brace region promotes lethal neonatal inflammation and hematopoietic dysfunction. Nature Communications, 11 (1) 3150, 3150. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16819-z
2020
Journal Article
Disorders of sleep and wakefulness in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): a systematic review
Lucia, Diana, McCombe, Pamela A., Henderson, Robert D. and Ngo, Shyuan T. (2020). Disorders of sleep and wakefulness in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): a systematic review. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, 22 (3-4), 1-9. doi: 10.1080/21678421.2020.1844755
2020
Journal Article
The spectrum of language impairments in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Ceslis, Amelia, Argall, Rosemary, Henderson, Robert D., McCombe, Pamela A. and Robinson, Gail A. (2020). The spectrum of language impairments in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Cortex, 132, 349-360. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.09.003
2020
Journal Article
Elevated plasma levels of D-serine in some patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Lee, Aven, Arachchige, Buddhika Jayakody, Henderson, Robert, Pow, David, Reed, Sarah, Aylward, James and McCombe, Pamela Ann (2020). Elevated plasma levels of D-serine in some patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, 22 (3-4), 206-210. doi: 10.1080/21678421.2020.1832120
2020
Journal Article
Genome-wide meta-analysis finds the ACSL5-ZDHHC6 locus is associated with ALS and links weight loss to the disease genetics
Iacoangeli, Alfredo, Lin, Tian, Al Khleifat, Ahmad, Jones, Ashley R., Opie-Martin, Sarah, Coleman, Jonathan R.I., Shatunov, Aleksey, Sproviero, William, Williams, Kelly L., Garton, Fleur, Restuadi, Restuadi, Henders, Anjali K., Mather, Karen A., Needham, Merilee, Mathers, Susan, Nicholson, Garth A., Rowe, Dominic B., Henderson, Robert, McCombe, Pamela A., Pamphlett, Roger, Blair, Ian P., Schultz, David, Sachdev, Perminder S., Newhouse, Stephen J., Proitsi, Petroula, Fogh, Isabella, Ngo, Shyuan T., Dobson, Richard J.B., Wray, Naomi R. ... Al-Chalabi, Ammar (2020). Genome-wide meta-analysis finds the ACSL5-ZDHHC6 locus is associated with ALS and links weight loss to the disease genetics. Cell Reports, 33 (4) 108323, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108323
2020
Journal Article
Altered skeletal muscle glucose-fatty acid flux in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Steyn, Frederik J., Li, Rui, Kirk, Siobhan E., Tefera, Tesfaye W, Xie, Teresa Y., Tracey, Timothy J., Kelk, Dean, Wimberger, Elyse, Garton, Fleur C., Roberts, Llion, Chapman, Sarah E., Coombes, Jeff S., Leevy, W. Matthew, Ferri, Alberto, Valle, Cristiana, René, Frédérique, Loeffler, Jean-Philippe, McCombe, Pamela A., Henderson, Robert D. and Ngo, Shyuan T. (2020). Altered skeletal muscle glucose-fatty acid flux in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Brain Communications, 2 (2) fcaa154, fcaa154. doi: 10.1093/braincomms/fcaa154
2020
Journal Article
Delay from treatment start to full effect of immunotherapies for multiple sclerosis
Roos, Izanne, Leray, Emmanuelle, Frascoli, Federico, Casey, Romain, Brown, William J. L., Horakova, Dana, Havrdova, Eva K., Trojano, Maria, Patti, Francesco, Izquierdo, Guillermo, Eichau, Sara, Onofrj, Marco, Lugaresi, Alessandra, Prat, Alexandre, Girard, Marc, Grammond, Pierre, Sola, Patrizia, Ferraro, Diana, Ozakbas, Serkan, Bergamaschi, Roberto, Sá, Maria José, Cartechini, Elisabetta, Boz, Cavit, Granella, Franco, Hupperts, Raymond, Terzi, Murat, Lechner-Scott, Jeannette, Spitaleri, Daniele, van Pesch, Vincent ... Nifle, Chantal (2020). Delay from treatment start to full effect of immunotherapies for multiple sclerosis. Brain, 143 (9), 2742-2756. doi: 10.1093/brain/awaa231
2020
Journal Article
What do we know about the variability in survival of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?
McCombe, Pamela A., Garton, Fleur C., Katz, Matthew, Wray, Naomi R. and Henderson, Robert D. (2020). What do we know about the variability in survival of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 20 (9), 921-941. doi: 10.1080/14737175.2020.1785873
2020
Journal Article
Reduced IκB-α protein levels in peripheral blood cells of patients with multiple sclerosis — a possible cause of constitutive NF-κB activation
Yan, Jun, McCombe, Pamela A., Pender, Michael P. and Greer, Judith M. (2020). Reduced IκB-α protein levels in peripheral blood cells of patients with multiple sclerosis — a possible cause of constitutive NF-κB activation. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9 (8) 2534, 2534-13. doi: 10.3390/jcm9082534
2020
Journal Article
Serial MRI studies over 12 months using manual and atlas-based region of interest in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Alruwaili, Ashwag R., Pannek, Kerstin, Henderson, Robert D., Gray, Marcus, Kurniawan, Nyoman D. and McCombe, Pamela A. (2020). Serial MRI studies over 12 months using manual and atlas-based region of interest in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. BMC Medical Imaging, 20 (1) 90, 90. doi: 10.1186/s12880-020-00489-w
2020
Journal Article
Pregnancy outcomes and postpartum relapse rates in women with RRMS treated with alemtuzumab in the phase 2 and 3 clinical development program over 16 years
Oh, Jiwon, Achiron, Anat, Celius, Elisabeth G., Chambers, Christina, Derwenskus, Joy, Devonshire, Virginia, Hellwig, Kerstin, Hutton, George J., McCombe, Pamela, Moore, Marie, Rog, David, Schneider, Jean-Raphael, Simm, Renata Faria, Sousa, Livia, Vincent, Stephen G., Chung, Luke, Daizadeh, Nadia, Mitchell, Colin and Compston, D. Alastair S. (2020). Pregnancy outcomes and postpartum relapse rates in women with RRMS treated with alemtuzumab in the phase 2 and 3 clinical development program over 16 years. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 43 102146, 102146. doi: 10.1016/j.msard.2020.102146
2020
Journal Article
Prediction of on-treatment disability worsening in RRMS with the MAGNIMS score
Kunchok, Amy, Lechner-Scott, Jeannette, Granella, Franco, Trojano, Maria, Alroughani, Raed, Sola, Patrizia, Ferraro, Diana, Lugaresi, Alessandra, Onofrj, Marco, Ozakbas, Serkan, Izquierdo, Guillermo, Grammond, Pierre, Luis Sanchez-Menoyo, Jose, Van Wijmeersch, Bart, Boz, Cavit, Pucci, Eugenio, McCombe, Pamela, Grand'Maison, Francois, Spitaleri, Daniele, Vucic, Steve, Hupperts, Raymond, Jokubaitis, Vilija, Sormani, Maria Pia, Butzkueven, Helmut and Kalincik, Tomas (2020). Prediction of on-treatment disability worsening in RRMS with the MAGNIMS score. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 27 (5) 1352458520936823, 1352458520936823-705. doi: 10.1177/1352458520936823
2020
Journal Article
Levels of clusterin, CD5L, ficolin-3, and gelsolin in ALS patients and controls
Mohanty, Lipsa, Henderson, Robert D., McCombe, Pamela A. and Lee, Aven (2020). Levels of clusterin, CD5L, ficolin-3, and gelsolin in ALS patients and controls. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration, 21 (7-8), 1-4. doi: 10.1080/21678421.2020.1779303
2020
Journal Article
Relapse patterns in NMOSD: evidence for earlier occurrence of optic neuritis and possible seasonal variation
Khalilidehkordi, Elham, Clarke, Laura, Arnett, Simon, Bukhari, Wajih, Jimenez Sanchez, Sofia, O'Gorman, Cullen, Sun, Jing, Prain, Kerri M., Woodhall, Mark, Silvestrini, Roger, Bundell, Christine S., Abernethy, David, Bhuta, Sandeep, Blum, Stefan, Boggild, Mike, Boundy, Karyn, Brew, Bruce J., Brown, Matthew, Brownlee, Wallace, Butzkueven, Helmut, Carroll, William M., Chen, Celia, Coulthard, Alan, Dale, Russell C., Das, Chandi, Fabis-Pedrini, Marzena J., Fulcher, David, Gillis, David, Hawke, Simon ... Broadley, Simon A. (2020). Relapse patterns in NMOSD: evidence for earlier occurrence of optic neuritis and possible seasonal variation. Frontiers in Neurology, 11 537, 537. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2020.00537
2020
Journal Article
Mutations in heat shock protein beta-1 (HSPB1) are associated with a range of clinical phenotypes related to different patterns of motor neuron dysfunction: a case series
Katz, Matthew, Davis, Mark, Garton, Fleur C., Henderson, Robert, Bharti, Vanda, Wray, Naomi and McCombe, Pamela (2020). Mutations in heat shock protein beta-1 (HSPB1) are associated with a range of clinical phenotypes related to different patterns of motor neuron dysfunction: a case series. Journal of the Neurological Sciences, 413 116809, 116809. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2020.116809
2020
Journal Article
Real-world effectiveness of cladribine for Australian patients with multiple sclerosis: An MSBase registry substudy
Lizak, Nathaniel, Hodgkinson, Suzanne, Butler, Ernest, Lechner-Scott, Jeannette, Slee, Mark, McCombe, Pamela Ann, Shaw, Cameron, Skibina, Olga, Vucic, Steve, Shuey, Neil, Barnett, Michael H, Parratt, John, Butzkueven, Helmut, Jack, Dominic, Fabris, Jessica and Kalincik, Tomas (2020). Real-world effectiveness of cladribine for Australian patients with multiple sclerosis: An MSBase registry substudy. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 27 (3), 1352458520921087-474. doi: 10.1177/1352458520921087
2020
Journal Article
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy in Myasthenic Crisis
Katz, Matthew, Walsh, Stephen, Tsang, Ben, Corbett, Joel, Sabet, Arman and McCombe, Pamela (2020). Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy in Myasthenic Crisis. Journal of Clinical Neuromuscular Disease, 21 (4), 244-245. doi: 10.1097/CND.0000000000000284
2020
Journal Article
Early clinical markers of aggressive multiple sclerosis
Malpas, Charles B., Manouchehrinia, Ali, Sharmin, Sifat, Roos, Izanne, Horakova, Dana, Havrdova, Eva Kubala, Trojano, Maria, Izquierdo, Guillermo, Eichau, Sara, Bergamaschi, Roberto, Sola, Patrizia, Ferraro, Diana, Lugaresi, Alessandra, Prat, Alexandre, Girard, Marc, Duquette, Pierre, Grammond, Pierre, Grand'Maison, Francois, Ozakbas, Serkan, Van Pesch, Vincent, Granella, Franco, Hupperts, Raymond, Pucci, Eugenio, Boz, Cavit, Sidhom, Youssef, Gouider, Riadh, Spitaleri, Daniele, Soysal, Aysun, Petersen, Thor ... Kalincik, Tomas (2020). Early clinical markers of aggressive multiple sclerosis. Brain , 143 (5), 1400-1413. doi: 10.1093/brain/awaa081
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Pamela McCombe is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Survival and heterogeneity in Motor Neurone Disease
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson
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Doctor Philosophy
Studies of neurophysiology of motor neurone disease
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson
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Master Philosophy
Neurophysiology of Motor Neurone disease
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson
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Doctor Philosophy
Survival and heterogeneity in Motor Neurone Disease
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson
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Doctor Philosophy
Studies of myasthenia gravis using MGBase.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Stefan Blum
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Doctor Philosophy
The potential role of CXCR2 activation in motor neuron disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Trent Woodruff, Dr Jenny Fung, Dr John Lee
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Doctor Philosophy
The role of Epstein-Barr virus infection in multiple sclerosis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Judith Greer
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Doctor Philosophy
The potential role of CXCR2 activation in motor neuron disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Trent Woodruff, Dr Jenny Fung, Dr John Lee
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Doctor Philosophy
The Role of Neutrophils in Motor Neuron Disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Trent Woodruff, Dr Jenny Fung, Dr John Lee, Dr Cedric Cui
Completed supervision
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Defining the Clinical Phenotype of Autoantibody Associated Epilepsy
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Kristen Radford
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2022
Master Philosophy
Studies of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Clinical and laboratory features of ALS
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson, Dr Aven Lee
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2017
Master Philosophy
Energy metabolism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Assessment of body composition and energy expenditure
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson, Associate Professor Shyuan Ngo, Associate Professor Frederik Steyn
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
Measuring the progression of upper motor neuron disease using diffusion MRI and its correlation with Clinical phenotype
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson, Dr Nyoman Kurniawan, Dr Kerstin Pannek
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2014
Doctor Philosophy
Pathogenesis of Guillain-Barre syndrome and chronic inflammatory polyradiculoneuropathy
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Judith Greer
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2012
Doctor Philosophy
Biomarkers of Motor Neurone Disease : Neurophysiological studies of lower motor degeneration
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson
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2007
Doctor Philosophy
EXAMINATION OF SURFACE-RECORDED MOTOR UNITS AND A NEW APPROACH TO MOTOR UNIT NUMBER ESTIMATES
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Judith Greer
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2003
Doctor Philosophy
IMMUNOSUPPRESSION IN EXPERIMENTAL AUTOIMMUNE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS
Principal Advisor
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Multimodal evaluation of autoimmune encephalitis in Queensland
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Stefan Blum
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Asymmetry and Vulnerability in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson
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2013
Doctor Philosophy
Molecular analysis of the motor neuron disease-associated protein, TDP-43
Associate Advisor
Media
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