Scientia Professor Matthew Kiernan
MBBS (Hons) (USYD), PhD (UNSW), DSc (UNSW), FRACP, FAHMS, FAA
Professor Matthew Kiernan is the Chief Executive Officer and Institute Director at Neuroscience Research Australia. He holds appointments as Scientia Professor of Neuroscience at UNSW and Senior Staff Specialist in Neurology at South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, based at Prince of Wales Hospital. He is Chair of the World Federation of Neurology Specialty Group in Neurodegenerative Disease, Chair of the World Congress of Neurology, President of the Brain Foundation and Editor Emeritus of the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry (BMJ Publishers UK), having served as Editor-in-Chief from 2010-2022. In 2024, Prof. Kiernan was elected as the Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
2022-2025 | FightMND Clinical Trial Grant: A Multi-arm, Adaptive, Group-sequential trial NETwork to evaluate drug efficacy in patients (MAGNET); Kiernan MC; $1.2M.
2019-2024 | NHMRC Medical Research Futures Fund MRFF: ALS Trials Australia (ALSTA) - to develop precision medicine; Kiernan MC, Vucic S, Wray N, Talman P, Needham M, Schulz D, Barnett M, Park S; $1.7M.
2019-2023 | NHMRC Practitioner Fellowship: Developing new therapies for neurodegeneration and dementia; Kiernan MC; National Health and Medical Research Council; $585,270.
2019-2023 | NHMRC Partnership Grant: Patient centred care for a progressive neurological disease-evidence driving policy; Kiernan MC, Wray N, Talman P, Vucic S, Mathers S, Henderson R, Bellgard M, Aoun S, Savulescu J, Rowe D; $1.6M
2018-2022 | NHMRC Program Grant: Frontotemporal Dementia and motor neurone degenerative syndromes; #APP1132524; $17,079,580.
2024 | 2024 Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
2024 | Lifetime Achievement Award, MND Australia for "outstanding contribution to the motor neurone disease community in Australia"
2022 | American Academy of Neurology Sheila Essey Award 'to acknowledge and honor an individual who is making significant contributions in research. The award recognizes seminal research breakthroughs in the search for the cause, prevention of and cure for ALS'.
2022 | Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research (Perpetual Trustees).
2021 | Royal Prince Alfred Foundation Research Medal.
2019 | Member (AM), General Division of the Order of Australia 'for significant service to medicine, and to medical education, in the field of neurology'
2016 | M J Eadie Award by the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists for Career Achievement in Neuroscience
2016 | Callaghan Medal awarded by the Irish Institute of Clinical Neuroscience
2015 | Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
2014 | Forbes Norris Award, International Alliance of ALS/MND Associations, Brussels for 'the management of and advances in understanding of ALS/MND, to the benefit of people living with the disease'
2013 | Recipient RG Menzies Foundational Medal for Medical Research
2012 | Inaugural Paul Brock Fellowship Award, NSW Office of Science and Medical Research, for Clinical Translation
2011 | UNSW Inventor of the Year Awards 2011-runner up
2010 | M.A. Brazier Prize to supervised Ph.D student (Dr. Steve Vucic, International Federation of Critical Neurophysiology)
2008 | Eric Susman Prize, The Royal Australian College of Physicians for 'the most outstanding contribution to the knowledge of any branch of internal medicine'
2006 | James G. Golseth Award, to supervised Ph.D student (Dr. Steve Vucic), American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine
2004 | James G. Golseth Award, to supervised Ph.D student (Dr. Arun Krishnan), American Association of Electrodiagnostic Medicine
2003 | Australian Physicians Independent Committee Neuroscience Award
2003 | Leonard Cox Award for Excellence in Neuroscience Research, Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists
2002 | Clinical Investigatorship, Viertel Charitable Foundation
2002 | Clinical Research Award, Ramaciotti Foundation
1999-2022 | CJ Martin Travelling Fellowship, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (top applicant in Australia).
1999-2022 | RG Menzies Fellow, The Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Foundation (NHMRC Travelling Fellow)
1998 | JJ Billings Overseas Travelling Fellowship, Royal Australasian College of Physicians
1998 | Australian Association of Neurologists Training Position, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London, UK
1997 | Travelling Award for the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology
1996 | The Young Investigator Award, Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian Association of Neurologists
1995 | Royal Australasian College of Physicians NSW State Committee Advanced Trainees Award for Best Research
1995 | National Health and Medical Research Council Medical Postgraduate Research Scholarship
1994 | Faculty of Medicine Scholarship, University of NSW
1994 | Whitmont Fellowship, Australian Brain Foundation
Clinical neurophysiology | peripheral nerve excitability and cortical nerve excitability
Frontotemporal Dementia and Motor Neurone Syndomes
Site of onset
Biomarkers
Mechanism of disease
Progression and spread of disease
Novel treatment strategies including regenerative medicine