Professor Brett Garner leads the Cellular Lipidology Group at IHMRI. He obtained his PhD from Sydney University Faculty of Medicine in 1996 and has extensive postdoctoral research experience in cellular lipidology; including as a Wellcome Research Fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at Oxford University. His research focus is on the transport, metabolism and function of lipids including cholesterol and glycosphingolipids (GSLs) with an emphasis on understanding how lipid homeostasis contributes to neuronal function and degeneration; particularly in Alzheimer's disease. This research is predominantly at a molecular and cellular level and is supplemented by studies of human brain tissue. Since an overriding goal is to develop novel neuroprotective pharmacological strategies, animal studies are also conducted that focus on control of lipid homeostasis in the central nervous system and the inhibition of amyloid-beta deposition in the brain.

Lipid homeostasis in the brain Apolipoprotein structure and function Lysosome biology and vitamin B12 transport ATP-binding cassette transporter function in the brain Therapeutic targeting sphingolipid metabolism Oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation Ageing Neurodegeneration Alzheimer’s disease Parkinson’s disease

Kreilaus F, Spiro AS, Hannan AJ, Garner B, Jenner AM (2015) Brain cholesterol synthesis and metabolism is progressively disturbed in the R6/1 mouse model of Huntington's disease: A targeted GC-MS/MS sterol analysis. J Huntingtons Dis. 4:305-318. Kreilaus F, Spiro AS, McLean CA, Garner B, Jenner AM (2016) Evidence for altered cholesterol metabolism in Huntington's disease post mortem brain tissue. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol. Sep 16. doi: 10.1111/nan.12286. [Epub ahead of print]. Li H, Karl T, Garner B (2016) Abca7 deletion does not affect adult neurogenesis in the mouse. Biosci Rep. 36:e00308. Li H, Ruberu K, Katl T, Garner B (2016) Cerebral apolipoprotein-D is hypoglycosylated compared to peripheral tissues and is variably expressed in mouse and human brain regions. PLOS ONE: 11:e0148238. Couttas TA, Kain N, Suchowerska AK, Quek L-E, Turner N, Fath T, Garner B, Don AS. (2016) Loss of ceramide synthase 2 activity, necessary for myelin biosynthesis, precedes tau pathology in the cortical pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiol Aging. 43:89-100. Karl T, Garner B, Cheng D (2016) The therapeutic potential of the phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) for Alzheimer's disease. Behav Pharmacol. 25 May 2016 [Accepted]. Kreilaus F, Spiro AS, Hannan AJ, Garner B, Jenner AM (2016) Therapeutic effects of anthocyanins and environmental enrichment in R6/1 Huntington’s disease mice. J Huntingtons Dis. 15 July 2016 [Accepted]. Sandin L, Bergkvist L, Nath S, Kielkopf C, Janefjord C, Helmfors L, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Li H, Nilsberth C, Garner B, Brorsson A-C, Kågedal K (2016) Beneficial effects of increased lysozyme levels in Alzheimer’s disease modelled in Drosophila melanogaster. FEBS Journal. 18 July 2016. [Accepted].