IDENTIFYING AND TREATING AUTOIMMUNE NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS
With
Associate Professor Sudarshini (Darshi) Ramanathan,
Neurologist & Head of Translational Neuroimmunology Group
Faculty of Medicine and Health
University of Sydney, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Sydney, Australia | April 2026
Associate Professor Sudarshini Ramanathan is a neurologist and clinician scientist whose work focuses on autoimmune neurological disorders. Her research has helped identify new neurological syndromes due to antibody-mediated demyelination and encephalitis, and improve diagnostic tools and treatment guidelines for patients with autoimmune diseases affecting the brain, spinal cord, muscles and nerves.
Associate Professor Ramanathan’s research program aims to improve our understanding of underlying disease pathogenesis with a focus towards ‘precision medicine’ in neuroimmunology – both with diagnosis and therapeutics. Her research focuses on defining the clinical, radiological, and immunophenotypic profiles of specific pathogenic autoantibodies; understanding what triggers autoimmunity and disruption of immune tolerance; and the cellular and humoural mechanisms of action of autoantibodies and how this might be translated into refining novel therapeutic approaches.
Her work thus far has resulted in the enhanced recognition of novel treatable neurological conditions, important biological insights into the pathophysiology of these disorders, and the development of diagnostic criteria and therapeutic approaches to improve outcomes in vulnerable patients who otherwise risk chronic disability.
Associate Professor Ramanathan heads the Translational Neuroimmunology Group at the Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney; and also runs a neuroimmunology clinic at Concord Hospital. She supervises and mentors a research team of PhD and Masters candidates, postdoctoral fellows, and clinician researchers. Her research has been recognised by the Leonard Cox Award for Excellence in Neuroscience research and the NSW Premier’s Prize Award for Early Career Researchers (Biological Sciences) in 2022.
Source: Supplied
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0294-9768
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Applying nanotechnology to chronic pain management
Dr Felicity Han is a Research Fellow and Leader in Pain Relief Innovation, at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in the University of Queensland. Dr Han’s research interests sit at the interface of drug delivery and the pain field. Her overarching research goal is to improve the quality of day to day life of patients suffering from chronic pain, by applying nanotechnology to the development of novel highly effective pain-killer products for improving chronic pain management.
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Paediatric haemorrhage and airway procedures
Dr Shane George is a paediatric critical care physician working in paediatric emergency medicine and paediatric intensive care at Gold Coast University Hospital. He is the clinical lead for children’s critical care research for Gold Coast Health, and is a Senior Lecturer at The University of Queensland and Griffith University.
Associate Professor George is also an active clinician researcher on topics that span both emergency medicine and PICU practice including safety in emergency intubation, sepsis, haemostatic resuscitation in children and respiratory support therapies.
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Vaccine effectiveness against infections triggering autoimmune disease
Dr Deborah Burnett is a Scientia Senior Lecturer and Laboratory Head at UNSW, where she leads a multidisciplinary research program spanning mechanistic immunology and translational vaccinology. Her work focuses on understanding how immune responses can protect against challenging infectious threats, including bacterial infections and infections associated with autoimmune disease.
