Vladimir Hachinski is a Canadian clinical neuroscientist and researcher based at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University. He is also a Senior Scientist at London's Robarts Research Institute. His research pertains in the greatest part to stroke and dementia, the interactions between them and their joint prevention through holistic brain health promotion. He and John W. Norris helped to establish the world's first successful stroke unit at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, and, by extension, helped cement stroke units as the standard of care for stroke patients everywhere. He discovered that the control of the heart by the brain is asymmetric, the fight/flight (sympathetic) response being controlled by the right hemisphere and the rest and digest (parasympathetic) response being controlled by the left hemisphere and damage to one key component can lead to heart irregularities and sudden death. This discovery has added fundamental knowledge to how the brain controls the heart and blood pressure and lays the foundation for helping prevent sudden death.
Joanna Marguerite Wardlaw is a Scottish physician, radiologist, and academic specialising in neuroradiology and pathophysiology. Wardlaw worked as a junior doctor before specialising as a radiologist. She continues to practice medicine as an Honorary Consultant Neuroradiologist with NHS Lothian. She has spent her entire academic career at the University of Edinburgh.
Matire Louise Ngarongoa Harwood is a New Zealand clinical researcher and trainee general practitioner. She is an associate professor at the University of Auckland. Harwood was the 2017 New Zealand L'Oréal UNESCO For Women in Science Fellow. Her expertise is in Māori health, focussed on reducing health inequity by improving indigenous health and well-being.
Dame Linda Jane Holloway is a Scottish-born New Zealand anatomical pathologist academic, and was a full professor at the University of Otago.
Ava Easton is a health scientist and researcher who specialises in encephalitis, acquired brain injury and narrative medicine, and is considered a world expert in her field of Encephalitis patient outcomes and quality of life. She is the current Chief Executive of The Encephalitis Society, a non-profit organisation which provides support and resources for those affected by the neurological disease of Encephalitis, and collaborates with various organisations on research into the disease.
Patricia Priest is a New Zealand public health scientist and epidemiologist who is Professor of Public Health in Medicine at the University of Otago. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Priest served as an advisor to the New Zealand Ministry of Health. She was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 2010. As of 2024 Priest is the Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Division of Health Sciences at the university.
David John Werring is a British physician, neurologist, and academic specialising in stroke. He is professor of Neurology at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and current head of Stroke Research Centre and the department of Brain Repair & Rehabilitation at UCL.
Suzanne Marie Crengle is a New Zealand Māori academic, of Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu and Waitaha descent and as of 2020 is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in public health medicine.
Rita V. Krishnamurthi is a New Zealand academic, and since 2023 is a full professor at the Auckland University of Technology, specialising in the epidemiology of stroke and dementia.
Lisa Anne Te Morenga is a New Zealand Maori academic, and she is a full professor at the Research Centre for Hauora and Health at Massey University. Her research focuses on nutrition and Māori health, especially in relation to dietary interventions to prevent metabolic disease.
Miranda Mirosa is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of Otago, specialising in sustainability, food waste and upcycled food products. She is a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology.
Cathryn Anne Conlon is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at Massey University, specialising in maternal and early-life nutrition.
Lianne Parkin is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in public health and the safety of medicines.
Yvonne Thomas is a New Zealand occupation therapist and academic, and is a full professor at Otago Polytechnic, specialising in occupational health, wellbeing and homelessness.
Susanna Every-Palmer is a New Zealand academic and forensic psychiatrist, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in mental health and achieving better outcomes for people with schizophrenia.
Rosalina Richards is a Samoan New Zealand behavioural psychologist, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in Pacific public health.
Merilyn Hibma is a New Zealand viral immunologist, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in immune regulation by viruses, especially human papillomavirus, the causative agent of cervical cancer.
Natalie June Hughes, also known as Natalie Medlicott and Natalie Hughes-Medlicott, is a New Zealand pharmaceutical scientist, and is a full professor at the University of Otago.
Chrystal Jaye is a New Zealand medical anthropologist, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in social science in health care. She has researched social discourse around euthanasia, prevention of age-related workplace injuries, and rural health and wellbeing.
Tania Gaye Cassidy is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in sports pedagogy, especially that of sports coaching.
