Bio: 

Dr Helen Murray is a senior research fellow at the University of Auckland Centre for Brain Research where she leads the Brain Injury and Neurodegeneration research group. She is currently funded by a Neurological Foundation Senior Research Fellowship. 

Helen completed her PhD at the University of Auckland, and completed post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, USA in 2020 before returning to New Zealand. 

Her research explores the biological mechanisms linking repetitive head impacts and neurodegeneration. She has specific expertise in the neuropathology of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and Alzheimer’s disease.  

Dr Murray is also a New Zealand representative in Ice Hockey since 2013 and captained the New Zealand Ice Fernz from 2016-2020. Her research on the link between repetitive head injuries and dementia is closely aligned with her experience as an athlete and her expertise in human neuropathology research.

Her topics include:

• Neuropathology of Alzheimer’s disease / Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. 
• The link between repeated head impacts and neurodegenerative diseases/dementia.