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Prof. Melinda Fitzgerald

Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research
John Curtin Distinguished Professor

Neurotrauma

Professor Melinda Fitzgerald is a neuroscientist and research leader committed to improving outcomes for people affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI). As Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research at Curtin University, and CEO of Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia, she drives initiatives that bridge scientific discovery with community impact.    

About

Professor Fitzgerald’s research has attracted over $18.5 million in funding ($9.9 million as Chief Investigator A), with continuous Category 1 funding since 2009.

She was appointed Chair and Co-Chair of the Federal Government’s MRFF Mission for Traumatic Brain Injury, leading the development of its national Roadmap and Implementation Plan (2019, 2024). Internationally, she serves on the InTBIR2 Executive Committee and co-chairs its Working Group on Observational and Comparative Effectiveness Studies. In 2025, she will deliver the Eccles Plenary Lecture for both the Australasian Neuroscience Society and the Australasian Neurosurgical Society.

A dedicated mentor, she has supervised more than 35 Honours students, 20 PhD candidates (14 completions), and 12 postdoctoral researchers, many of whom now lead independent research careers.

Through Connectivity, Professor Fitzgerald has championed evidence-based education and awareness programs on concussion and TBI, reaching over 6.9 million people online, including 203,000 website users and 110,000 views of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brain injury prevention campaign. More than 12,000 learners have completed Connectivity’s concussion short courses.

Her work combines scientific excellence, collaboration, and community engagement to advance understanding and care of brain injury.

Her research leadership and contributions span national and international neuroscience and brain injury initiatives.

 
  • 2025 Member MRFF Mission for TBI Grant Review Panel
  • 2021, 22 Member NHMRC Centre Research Excellence Grant Review Panel
  • 2019 Member NHMRC Investigator Grant Review Panel
  • 2015, 16, 18 Member NHMRC Project Grant Review Panel
  • 2016, 18 Member MS Australia Project Grant Review Panel
  • 2023-present Foreign Interference Accountable Authority, Curtin University; NV1 clearance
  • 2023-present Chair Research Committee, Curtin University
  • 2023-present Chair Foreign Interference and Risk Committee, Curtin University
  • 2023-present Representative for VC, Forrest Research Foundation Board of Governors
  • 2023-present WA Premier’s Science Awards Judging Panel
  • 2023-present Non-Executive Director, International Centre for Radio Astronomy (ICRAR)
  • 2023-present Non-Executive Director, The Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC)
  • 2023-present Non-Executive Director, Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre
  • 2023-present Non-Executive Director, Raine Study University Joint Venture
  • 2023-present Non-Executive Director, Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM)
  • 2023-present Non-Executive Director, Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre
  • 2023-present Member, Alliance Steering Committee, WA Country Health Service Alliance
  • 2023-present Member, WA Data Science Institute Advisory Board
  • 2023-present Member, WA Health Translation Network Advisory Council
  • 2023-present Member, WA Agriculture Research Collaborative Steering Committee
  • 2023-present Member, Australian Technology Network (ATN), DVC-Research Committee
  • 2023-present Member, Resources Technology and Critical Mineral Trailblazer Board
  • 2023-present Member, Pawsey Board
  • 2023-2025 Chair DVCR Committee, Australian Technology Network
  • 2023-2025 Chair Gender Research Network Advisory Board, Curtin University
  • 2023-2025 Non-Executive Director, AROSE
  • 2023 Member, Space Industry Steering Group
  • 2023 Member, Forrest Research Foundation Selection Committee
  • 2023 Member, Western Australian Tropical Research Institute Working Group (WATRI)
  • 2023 Forrest Foundation Cross-University Working Group member
  • 2022-present Co-Chair International Initiative Traumatic Brain Injury Research 2 (InTBIR2) Working Group on Observational and Comparative Effectiveness Studies
  • 2021-present Member International Initiative Traumatic Brain Injury Research 2 (InTBIR2) Executive Committee
  • 2020-2023 Member Research Committee, Curtin University
  • 2020-2022 Member Program Committee, Australasian Neuroscience Society
  • 2021-2022 Chair Working Group Higher Degree Research Students in the Health Services, WA collaborative initiative Universities, Heath Services and Research Foundations
  • 2021-2022 Chair Engagement and Impact Working Group, Curtin University
  • 2020-2022 Chair Faculty Research Strategy Committee, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University
  • 2020-2022 Chair Faculty Graduate Research Committee, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University

Currently Held Research Grants/Projects: total = $7.2m, $3m as CIA

  • 2025-2028 Caeyenberghs, … Fitzgerald … ASPIRE – A new scalable and sustainable platform to improve survivorship care for assault victims living with severe physical and psychological deficits. $1,996,698
  • 2023-2026 CRC-P in partnership with Argenica Therapeutics Ltd. $1.2m
  • 2022-2025 CI Fitzgerald. MRFF Informed: INtegrative approaches For Optimizing Recognition, Management and EDucation of concussion at the community sports level. $1m
  • 2022-2026 CIA Fitzgerald, 49 other CIs, 50AIs, 50 Partner organisations. Mission for TBI Stream 1: AUS-mTBI: designing and implementing novel health informatics approaches to improve outcomes for people with mild TBI across Australia. $3m

Previously held Research Grants/Projects: total = $14.3m

  • 2024 McNamara, Fitzgerald, Udy, Plummer, Bellomo, Gillett. Validation of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) and Ubiquitin C-Terminal Hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) assays as a traumatic brain injury (TBI) prognostication marker. Neurotrauma Research Program. $110,464
  • 2023 Hackett, Lins, Ellison Fitzgerald. MS Australia. Does cuprizone cause brain Cu deficiency? $25,000
  • 2022 CIA Barlow, Fitzgerald as AI. MRFF Mission for TBI. Australian Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Assessment and Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Concussion Symptoms, $500,000
  • 2021 CIA McNamara, Fitzgerald as CIB. Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Management of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (AIMS-TBI) – a MASTER-TBI subproject. Research

Translation Projects. $256,830.15

  • 2021 CIA Fitzgerald, 49 other CIs. MRFF Mission for TBI. An informatics approach to predict outcomes and monitor intervention efficacy following moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. $500,000
  • 2021 CIA Ziebell, Fitzgerald as CIF. MRFF Mission for TBI. Transforming Awareness, Literacy & Knowledge of Traumatic Brain Injury (TALK-TBI). $1,000,000
  • 2021 CIA Udy, Fitzgerald as CIJ. Mission for TBI. PRECISION-TBI – Promoting evidence-based, data driven care for critically ill moderate-to-severe TBI patients. $499,000.
  • 2021 CIA O’Reilly, Fitzgerald as AI. Mission for TBI. The Australian Traumatic Brain Injury National Data (ATBIND) Project. $366,000.
  • 2021 Takechi, Fitzgerald, Lavender, Anyaegbu, Neurotrauma Research Program
    Prevention of cerebrovascular dysfunction and neuromotor deficits induced by repeated sub-concussion $96,968
  • 2021 Fitzgerald, Lins, Anyaegbu. Medicann, contract project $105,000
  • 2019-2021 Fitzgerald. Support for a post-doctoral researcher, Curtin University
    $250,000
  • 2019-2021 Fitzgerald, Herrup and Young, NHMRC
    Defining the unifying mechanisms of oxidative damage to oligodendrocyte DNA in neurotrauma, neurodegenerative and demyelinating disease. $1,245,000
  • 2020 Fitzgerald, Lins, Anyaegbu. Medicann, contract project $10,000
  • 2020 Fitzgerald, Hellewell, Aoun, Perron Institute Pump Priming Grants.
  • Patient recovery experiences following mild traumatic brain injury - Exploring insights from patient perspectives. $29,829
  • 2020 Fitzgerald. MHRIF 2019 Round 23 Awarded Funds
    $18,850
  • 2020 Fitzgerald, Young and Anyaegbu, Neurotrauma Research Program
    Is oxidative damage to OPCs at the blood brain barrier a contributor to pathology following neurotrauma? $94,910
  • 2019 Fitzgerald. MHRIF 2018 Round 22 Awarded Funds $28,791
  • 2019 Fitzgerald. Perron Institute internal grants scheme $27,400
  • 2019 Fitzgerald, Fatovich, Pestell, Bynevelt, Licari, Robinson, Xu, Neurotrauma Research Program. A validation study to predict poor outcomes following mild traumatic brain injury $97,070
  • 2019 Fitzgerald, Neurotrauma Research Program. Understanding and repairing myelin loss following neurotrauma $97,112

Funding for Vision TBI/ Connectivity: total = $4.2m

  • 2025 Trauma Accident Commission $447,000
  • 2019 Curtin University $200,000/ year for 10 years
  • 2019 Monash University $200,000/ year for 5 years
  • 2020 Perron Institute $25,000/ year for 2 years
  • 2021 Transport Accident Commission $200,000/ year for 3 years
  • 2022 Arcare Family Foundation $100,000

 

Recent equipment: total = $1,666,000

  • 2021 Multiple applicants, Perron Foundation
    -Multiphoton microscope $451,000
  • 2020 Multiple applicants, Perron Institute Equipment grant
    - Ice Ice Baby: freezing-point osmometer $25,725
  • 2020 Multiple applicants, NHMRC Equipment grant $25,000
    - High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) ‘Shimadzu Nexera-I’ for measuring the abundance of metabolites and drugs in biological specimens.
  • 2019 Multiple applicants, ARC LIEF grant
    - Rapid Acquisition Confocal Microscopy $662,089

Contract Research: total = $1.1million

  • Ministerial appointment as Chair of the Australian Expert Working Group of the Federal Government Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) Mission for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) that developed the Roadmap and Implementation Plan ($50m over 10 years), 2019-2020.
  • Ministerial re-appointment as Co-Chair of the Expert Working Group of the Federal Government MRFF Mission for TBI to review and revise the Roadmap and Implementation Plan, 2024.
  • Leads the MRFF funded AUS-mTBI ($3m) national consortium, of 100 researchers and 50 partner organisations, designing informatics approaches in mild traumatic brain injury.
  • Member of the Executive Committee for International TBI Research (InTBIR2) and Co-Chair of InTBIR2 Working Group on Observational and Comparative Effectiveness Studies.
  • Published 139 papers; highlights include Lancet Neurology (IF=44.2), J Neuroscience, Nature Nano (IF=38.98), ACS Nano (IF=10.5), Biomaterials (IF=8.4), Small (IF=7.8).
  • Current h-index of 37 (Google Scholar), 32 (Scopus); citations are >5,470 (Google Scholar), 3,964 (Scopus); average FWCI of 1.75, noting that the 8-year career break significantly impacts average citation metrics. Citations for key papers in last 10 years:
    • Maas et al., Lancet Neurology 2023, FWCI = 23.7, 799 citations
    • Fehily and Fitzgerald, Cell Transplantation 2017, FWCI = 4.0, 168 citations
    • Giacci … Fitzgerald, J Neurosci 2018, FWCI = 2.02, 83 citations
    • Payne … Fitzgerald, IOVS 2012, FWCI = 2.19, 71 citations
    • Evans, Fitzgerald et al., ACS Nano 2011, FWCI = 3.4, 85 citations
    • Fitzgerald et al., Exp Neurol 2010, FWCI = 2.26, 93 citations
  • Currently Held Grants/Projects total $7.2 million; CIA for $3 million of these; $21.5 million total research and equipment funding awarded, $9.9 million as CIA.
  • Previously held an NMHRC Career Development Fellowship and four NHMRC Project grants as CIA. Continuous category 1 funding as CIA since 2009.
  • Patent entitled ‘Multifunctional Nanoparticles’ reached international PCT stage and was developed by a biotechnology company.
  • Supervised >35 Honours students or equivalent, 21 PhD students (14 completions), 7 post-doctoral researchers.
  • 2022 John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Curtin University
  • 2021 Graduate Australian Institute of Company Directors, Company Directors Course (2021)
  • 2016 Selected to participate in Homeward Bound, an international leadership and strategy program for women scientists to Antarctica, designed to increase the proportion of women in the higher levels of science.
  • Patent entitled ‘Multifunctional Nanoparticles’ reached international PCT stage and was developed by a biotechnology company.

Email: Lindy.Fitzgerald@curtin.edu.au
ORCID
Researcher ID
Google Scholar
Curtin Staff Profile

Research Focus

The Neurotrauma Research Team is dedicated to understanding and preventing the loss of function that follows injury to the brain or spinal cord. The group employs innovative experimental and clinical approaches to uncover the biological processes that occur after neurotrauma and to design and test strategies aimed at minimising damage and promoting recovery.

Their work integrates laboratory research with clinically focused, nationally coordinated initiatives, including leadership of the AUS-mTBI Consortium, which investigates mild traumatic brain injury (concussion) across Australia. Together, these efforts aim to advance knowledge, improve treatment outcomes, and reduce the long-term impact of neurotrauma on individuals and communities.

 

Research Team

Dr Sarah Hellewell

Senior Research Fellow

Dr Chidozie Anyaegbu

Research Fellow

Dr Amanda Jefferson

Lecturer

Dr Jemma Keeves

Research Fellow

Dr Jacinta Thorne

Research Fellow

Roley Myers

Communications Officer

Grace Bliesner

Research Assistant

May Majimbi

Research Assistant

Melissa Papini

PhD Student

Caerwen Ellery

PhD Student

Andre Avila

PhD Student

Gill Cowen

PhD Student

Geena Wai

PhD Student

Robert McNamara

PhD Student

Publications

ABSTRACT

Background
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and concussion are important healthcare issues, with ongoing and persisting symptoms significantly affecting a person’s quality of life. Management is often challenging.
Objective
Using a case study example, this article outlines key updates and practical guidance for assessment and management of mTBI/concussion, informed by the newly developed Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ) mTBI and concussion clinical practice guideline.
Discussion
The ‘Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Clinical Practice Guideline for the management of mild traumatic brain injury/concussion and persisting post-concussion symptoms in adults and children’ is the first guideline to address the full scope of mTBI/concussion management across diverse ANZ populations. It provides general practitioners and other clinicians with practical, evidence-based recommendations for assessing and managing mTBI and persisting symptoms across all ages. Developed through multidisciplinary and consumer collaboration, it aims to promote consistent, high-quality care and reduce practice variation across healthcare settings.

Orr, R., G. Browne, G. Cowen, V. Anderson, K. M. Barlow, S. S. Lim, E. Haines, J. Ponsford, A. Theadom, J. Treleaven, and 15 more contributors. 2026. A summary of the first Australian and Aotearoa New Zealand Clinical Practice Guideline for the management of mild traumatic brain injury/concussion and persisting post-concussion symptoms. Australian Journal of General Practice 55 (1-2): 29-35.
ABSTRACT

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a prevalent condition with symptoms spanning physical, psychological, cognitive, and sleep domains. Altered functional brain networks have been implicated in mTBI, but the relationship between these network changes and post-concussive symptoms remains poorly understood. This study is a systematic scoping review, adhering to PRISMA-ScR guidelines, assessing current literature on the association between brain network dysfunction and mTBI-related symptoms. Searches across ProQuest, Web of Science, and PubMed yielded 41 studies for full review, with most (n = 39) employing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to examine brain networks. The default mode network (DMN) was a primary focus, with studies reporting heterogeneous findings of increased and decreased connectivity both within and outside this network. Over 85% of studies used mTBI-specific symptom measures, and 50% employed detailed questionnaires for emotional and physical symptom assessment. Of these, 23 studies identified significant correlations between symptom scores and network connectivity. However, methodological inconsistencies, including variable analytic approaches, highlight the need for standardization in this field. Key areas for future research include incorporating multimodal imaging techniques, conducting longitudinal studies or extending recruitment time points, and stratifying analyses by sex to optimise identification of connectivity changes. Addressing these gaps is crucial for advancing our understanding of functional network alterations in mTBI and their clinical implications, ultimately supporting improved diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.

Ellery, C. S., A. N. Avila, M. G. Papini, M. Fitzgerald, and S. C. Hellewell. 2026. Establishing the link between post-concussive symptoms and brain network dysfunction: A systematic scoping review of neuroimaging evidence. Neuroimage Clinical 49

Cellular mechanisms of traumatic brain injury & concussion.

Prof. Melinda Fitzgerald

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