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The National Centre for Stroke, Applied Neurosciences and Neurorehabilitation (NRC-SANN) was set up in 2008 within the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences at AUT University in Auckland.
The primary aim of the NRC-SANN is to conduct high quality epidemiological and clinical experimental research/trials to improve the health and outcomes in people with major neurological disorders – the emphasis being on stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), multiple sclerosis and several other major disorders. Research with this aim is unique within the landscape of existing research groupings in New Zealand.
The goals of NRC-SANN, and the themes of its research, are as follows:
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Advancing knowledge in the field of health and rehabilitation, through high quality innovative research into stroke, TBI, vascular dementia and neurobehavioural-related clinical trials;
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Trials of brain injury management and rehabilitation interventions, to test affordable and widely applicable treatment strategies used with both brain injury survivors and their family caregivers;
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Population health research (e.g., epidemiological studies of stroke and TBI), and systematic reviews, to inform future clinical trials in brain injury rehabilitation and management;
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Fostering collaborative public health and rehabilitation research into prevention, restoration and adaptation associated with neurological illness and injury;
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Exploring the impact of neurological disease (including TBI) and impairment on people and their family/whanau, in relation to their ability to participate in activities and roles that are important to them;
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Encouraging students to undertake research in population/community health and rehabilitation;
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Promoting and disseminating findings of population health and neurorehabilitation research at a national and international level;
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Developing and promoting professional and public brain injury/neuroscience education, including development and implementation of Public Health curricula.
The NRC-SANN is also envisaged to be a hub for information sharing and the fostering of a more cohesive network of communication between existing research and clinical groups with interests in public health, neurorehabilitation, neurology, TBI, psychology, and biostatistics. This direction will allow a more cohesive approach to communicating and working collaboratively with other groups, both inside and outside AUT University. Valery Feigin, Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology, is the Director of the Centre and Kathryn McPherson, Professor of Rehabilitation, is the Centre's Strategic Research Advisor.
The NRC-SANN makes use of the current expertise within the School of Rehabilitation and Occupation Studies, the School of Public Health and Psychology, the National Institute for Public Health and Mental Health Research, the Health and Rehabilitation Research Centre, and other relevant departments of AUT University, and it extends their work into areas of growing national and international demand. The Centre already has excellent working collaborations with international organisations, as well as with national research centres and District Health Boards in the Auckland, Waikato, Wellington and Christchurch regions.
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