Anna Leonard

I currently lead the spinal cord injury research group within the Translational Neuropathology Laboratory in the Adelaide Medical School.

This group is focused on understanding the acute pathophysiological changes that occur following traumatic SCI, with particular interest in blood-spinal cord-barrier permeability, oedema and intrathecal pressure increases.

We also have a strong focus on translational research and aspire to develop and use clinically relevant models.

Following completion of my PhD, I began to establish myself as a leader in SCI research within Adelaide.

Initially, the award of the Neil Sachse Fellowship (2013-14) enabled me to extend my PhD work, focusing on the significance of raised intrathecal pressure following traumatic SCI.

Shortly after I was offered a post-doctoral position at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) under the supervision of Dr Candace Floyd. Such a position represented an opportunity to gain skills and knowledge relating to large animal models of SCI.

On return to Adelaide in 2016, I was awarded the Royal Adelaide Hospital Research Committee Early Career Fellowship and in 2017 was appointed to Lecturer in the Discipline of Anatomy and Pathology at the Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide.