Ian Harding

Associate Professor | Group Leader

Cerebellum and Neurodegeneration

+61 7 3845 3551

ian.harding@qimrberghofer.edu.au

CAREER HISTORY

Associate Professor Ian Harding is an NHMRC EL2 Leadership Fellow (2024-28). He completed his PhD in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Melbourne in 2013, before commencing a post-doc and NHMRC Early Career Research Fellowship investigating the neural expression and progression of cerebellar ataxias at Monash University. He established the Cerebellum & Neurodegeneration Research Group at Monash University in 2020 and joined QIMRB in 2024.

CURRENT APPOINTMENTS

• 2024-current: Group Leader, Cerebellum & Neurodegeneration, QIMR Berghofer
• 2024-current: Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash University
• 2024-current: Honorary Associate Professor, University of Queensland
• 2018-current: Founding Principal Investigator, ENIGMA-Ataxia international neuroimaging working group
• 2023-current: Research Co-Director, Melbourne Ataxia Centre of Excellence
• 2022-current: Convenor, Cerebellar Ataxia Research Network of Australia
• 2021-current: Coordinating PI, Australian Cerebellar Ataxia Registry

PREVIOUS APPOINTMENTS

• 2020-2023: Senior Research Fellow, Department of Neuroscience, Monash University
• 2016-2020: NHMRC Early Career Research Fellow, Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University

ORCID NUMBER

0000-0002-6843-9592

CURRENT AREA OF RESEARCH

Associate Professor Harding and his team use multimodal human neuroimaging (structural, functional, diffusion & susceptibility MRI, and positron emission tomography), blood protein analysis, digital cognitive and motor assessments, and clinical examinations to examine cerebellar function and degeneration in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Our research provides in-depth disease characterization and biomarkers for clinical assessment, treatment monitoring, and treatment targeting.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

• Neuroimaging and biofluid biomarker studies of cerebellar (e.g., Friedreich ataxia and spinocerebellar ataxias) and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Huntington’s disease, Parkinsonian syndromes) to improve the design and effectiveness of clinical trials and identify markers and mechanisms of neurodegeneration.
• Digital approaches for remote assessment and tracking of cognitive, motor, and speech deficits in individuals with cerebellar diseases.
• Principal investigator of the ENIGMA-Ataxia neuroimaging consortium (22 sites, 9 countries, >80 researchers) and the ENIGMA-Cerebellum methods development group (methods used by research groups in >25 countries to investigate >20 neurological and psychiatric conditions).
• Coordinating site of the Australian Cerebellar Ataxia Registry, establishing centralized research capacity to grow and support research initiatives in Australia.

AWARDS

• 2024: EL2 Leadership Fellowship, NHMRC
• 2022: National Ataxia Foundation (USA), Young Investigator Award
• 2021: Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship, Monash University
• 2016: Early Career Research Fellowship, NHMRC

EDUCATION BACKGROUND

• 2013: PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Melbourne
• 2005: BSc(Hons) in Neuroscience, University of Alberta (Edmonton, Canada)