Dr Tara Walker

Associate Professor Tara Walker: Systemic Brain Rejuvenation Lab
The Walker lab investigates the mechanisms that govern the lifelong production of neurons in the brain. The focus of the group's research is to identify the mechanisms by which exercise increases neurogenesis and improves cognitive function to determine whether these interventions can boost neurogenesis in cases of neuronal loss including physiological ageing, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and motor neurone disease.
Researcher biography
Dr Tara Walker is a Senior Research Associate at the Queensland Brain Institute. Dr Walker's group is investigating the mechanisms governing the lifelong production of neurons in the adult brain (adult neurogenesis). Tara studied Biotechnology as an undergraduate at the Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia), before carrying out her PhD in the field of Plant Biotechnology. In 2003 she made the transition to neuroscience, joining the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) and the group of Professor Perry Bartlett. Here she became interested in the field of adult hippocampal neurogenesis, particularly in its activity-dependent regulation. In 2010, she joined the group of Professor Gerd Kempermann at the Center for Regenerative Therapies in Dresden, Germany, where she was awarded a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship in 2011. In July 2018 she returned to QBI to take up a position in the newly developed Centre for Restorative Neurosciences as a Senior Research Associate, where she will apply her knowledge of neural stem cell biology to stroke research.