Rebecca Hood

Dr. Rebecca Hood is an Honorary Associate Lecturer at the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle. Her research focuses on post-stroke recovery, particularly mechanisms underlying intracranial pressure elevation and secondary neurodegeneration after ischaemic stroke. She collaborates closely with Professor Rohan Walker and Professor Michael Nilsson in stroke research.

• Education: PhD in Human Physiology (University of Newcastle), BSc in Biomedical Sciences (Hons) (University of Newcastle)

Her research interests span neuroscience, cerebrospinal fluid dynamics, hypoxia, intracranial pressure, and ischaemic stroke. Recent work explores secondary neurodegeneration in hippocampal regions post-stroke, antiplatelet drug effects on cognitive recovery, and novel therapies for cerebral edema and ICP reduction.

Publications trend toward understanding the nexus of stroke and dementia, mechanisms of intracranial pressure elevation, and neurovascular impacts of drugs like clopidogrel. Her scientific awards include the Greaves Family Post-graduate Scholarship.

She has secured grants from the Hunter Medical Research Institute (2022, $190,000) and the Agency for Clinical Innovation (2020, $169,000), among others. Her lab teams focus on stroke pathophysiology, virtual reality training systems (TACTICS VR), and translational neuroscience.