Linda Richards (neuroscientist)

Linda undertook her undergraduate studies at Monash University, and at the University of Melbourne, where she was awarded a Bachelor of Science with first class honours in 1990. Her PhD, researching the determination of neuronal lineage of in the developing spinal cord, was conferred in 1995 from the laboratory of Perry Bartlett, at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne.[1]

After obtaining her PhD from WEHI, Linda Richards began her postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, in the laboratory of Professor Dennis O'Leary. In 1997 she established her own laboratory at the University of Maryland medical school. In 2005 she returned to Australia, taking up a position at the University of Queensland, where she was appointed Associate Professor in the QBI, and the School of Biomedical Sciences. She was subsequently promoted to Professor in 2010.

Professor Richardson is currently the head of the Cortical Development and Axon Guidance Laboratory at the QBI. The laboratory researches the cellular and molecular mechanisms which regulate the formation and development of the corpus callosum. The research focus of her laboratory to study the development of the cortical midline in animal models and in human tissue.[2] In particular, she is involved in researching a phenomenon where the corpus collosum is absent (agenesis) or disformed (dysgenesis) in the developing brain.[3] This condition affects 1 in 4000 people, and is associated with 50 different human congenital disorders.[4]

Linda Richards also acts as scientific advisor for the Australian disorders of the Corpus Collosum.

• 2004 C.J. Herrick Prize for "young investigators who have made important contributions to the field" awarded by the American Association of Anatomists.
• 2010 Nina Kondelos Prize for "outstanding contribution to basic or clinical neuroscience research" awarded by the Australian Neuroscience Society.[5]
• 2013 Equity and Diversity Award awarded by the University of Queensland.[6]
• 2015 elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.[7]
• 2016 elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.[8]
• 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours — Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for "distinguished service to medical research and education in the field of developmental neurobiology, and to community engagement in science".[9]

In 2006, Professor Richards founded the Australian-New Zealand Brain Bee Challenge. This a competition for secondary students interested in neuroscience. The goal of this program to educate students and teachers about neuroscience, the latest scientific findings, the impact of research on the community, and to encourage students from rural Australia and New Zealand to become involved in neuroscience.[10]

• Suárez, R; Fenlon, LR; Marek, R; Avitan, L; Sah, P; Goodhill, GJ; Richards, LJ (2014). "Balanced interhemispheric cortical activity is required for correct targeting of the corpus callosum". Neuron. 82: 1289–98. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2014.04.040. PMID 24945772.
• Moldrich, RX; Gobius, I; Pollak, T; Zhang, J; Ren, T; Brown, L; Mori, S; De Juan, Romero C; Britanova, O; Tarabykin, V; Richards, LJ (2010). "Molecular regulation of the developing commissural plate". J. Comp. Neurol. 518: 3645–61. doi:10.1002/cne.22445. PMC 2910370. PMID 20653027.