Shrujna Patel

Dr. Shrujna Patel is a Research Fellow at the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Medicine and Health, affiliated with the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the Brain and Mind Centre. She holds a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours) in Neuroscience from the University of New South Wales and a PhD from the University of Sydney. Dr. Patel co-leads a multidisciplinary research program integrating clinical phenotyping with molecular techniques (transcriptomics, proteomics) to study neurodevelopmental disorders.

Research Focus: Her work investigates epigenetic/immune dysregulation in autism, ADHD, OCD, and tics; environmental/maternal risk factors; biomarkers (e.g., transcriptomic signatures); and therapeutic strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders. She emphasizes translational research through digital phenotyping tools and biobanking.

Publications: Recent work spans neuroimmunology, metabolomics, genetic disorders (e.g., Kabuki syndrome), and clinical interventions (ketogenic diet, IVIG). Key themes include biomarker discovery, maternal-child health, and immune-mediated neuropsychiatric conditions.

Awards & Grants:

• Sydney Health Partners Interdisciplinary Academic Symposium Pitch Competition Prize (2024)
• International OCD Foundation Young Investigator Award (2022)
• MRFF Effective Treatments and Therapies Grant (CI#7, 2022)
• Bioplatforms Australia Ltd Pilot Support (2024)

Teaching & Supervision: Lectures on neurobiology, epigenetics, and reproductive medicine. Supervises PhD student Erica Tsang on ketogenic diet mechanisms in epilepsy. Leads courses including NEUR2001 and NEUR3005.

Initiatives: Co-developed NDD-ECHO, a digital tool for environmental/inflammatory factor assessment in neurodevelopmental disorders. Current projects include RNA sequencing resource development and drug screening using patient-derived cells.