Dr Robert Galinsky, Research Group Head of the Perinatal Inflammation and Neurophysiology Research Group at Hudson Institute of Medical Research

Dr Robert Galinsky, Senior Research Fellow

Dr Robert Galinsky obtained his PhD from Monash University in the discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Thereafter, Dr Galinsky undertook postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Professors Alistair Gunn and Laura Bennet at the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

Supported by an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship and project grants from the NHMRC, Cerebral Palsy Alliance and philanthropy, Dr Galinsky returned to The Ritchie Centre in 2018 where he established the Perinatal Inflammation and Neurophysiology Research Group. Dr Galinsky and his team focus on understanding the cellular and physiological pathways that lead to injury in the fetal and newborn brain injury using a multidisciplinary approach that includes neuroscience, molecular biology, physiology, medical imaging and bioengineering

In 2018, Dr Galinsky was awarded the Bethlehem Griffiths Research Foundation Young Researcher of Year for his work on understanding the role of inflammation in fetal and newborn brain injury. Dr Galinsky chaired the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand’s (PSANZ, the largest perinatal research society in Australia-Oceania) Early Career Researcher Committee and served as a board member of PSANZ ltd. (2015-2018). In 2021, Dr Galinsky was recruited to the board of the International Fetal and Neonatal Physiological Society, one of the world’s premier fetal and neonatal research platforms.

Through collaborative partnerships with clinical experts, academia and industry, we are discovering new and improved drug targets for the treatment of perinatal brain injury and developing physiological biomarkers and imaging techniques to improve brain injury detection.

Selected publications

  • Galinsky R, Dhillon SK, Kelly SB, Wassink G, Davidson JO, Lear CA, van den Heuij LG, Bennet L, Gunn AJ (2023). Magnesium sulphate reduces tertiary gliosis but does not improve EEG recovery or white or grey matter cell survival after asphyxia in preterm fetal sheep. J Physiol. 2023 Mar 31.

  • Green EA, Metz D, Galinsky R, Atkinson R, Skuza EM, Clark M, Gunn AJ, Kirkpatrick CM, Hunt RW, Berger PJ, Nold-Petry CA, Nold MF (2022). Anakinra Pilot – a clinical trial to demonstrate safety, feasibility and pharmacokinetics of interleukin 1 receptor antagonist in preterm infants. Front Immunol. 2022 Oct 27;13:1022104.

  • Kelly SB, Green E, Hunt RW, Nold-Petry CA, Gunn AJ, Nold MF, Galinsky R (2023). Interleukin-1: an important target for perinatal neuroprotection? Neural Regen Res. 2023 Jan;18(1):47-50.

  • Stojanovska V, Atta J, Kelly SB, Zahra VA, Matthews-Staindl E, Nitsos I, Moxham A, Pham Y, Hooper SB, Herlenius E, Galinsky R, Polglase GR (2022). Increased Prostaglandin E2 in Brainstem Respiratory Centers Is Associated With Inhibition of Breathing Movements in Fetal Sheep Exposed to Progressive Systemic Inflammation. Front Physiol. 2022 Mar 3;13:841229.

  • Tran NT, Kelly SB, Snow RJ, Walker DW, Ellery SJ, Galinsky R (2021). Assessing Creatine Supplementation for Neuroprotection against Perinatal Hypoxic-Ischaemic Encephalopathy: A Systematic Review of Perinatal and Adult Pre-Clinical Studies. Cells. 2021 Oct 27;10(11):2902.

  • Kelly SB, Stojanovska V, Zahra VA, Moxham A, Miller SL, Moss TJM, Hooper SB, Nold MF, Nold-Petry CA, Dean JM, Bennet L, Polglase GR, Gunn AJ, Galinsky R (2021). Interleukin-1 blockade attenuates white matter inflammation and oligodendrocyte loss after progressive systemic lipopolysaccharide exposure in near-term fetal sheep. J Neuroinflammation. 2021 Aug 31;18(1):189.

  • Galinsky R, van de Looij Y, Mitchell N, Dean JM, Dhillon SK, Yamaguchi K, Lear CA, Wassink G, Davidson JO, Nott F, Zahra VA, Kelly SB, King VJ, Sizonenko SV, Bennet L, Gunn AJ (2020). Magnetic Resonance Imaging Correlates of White Matter Gliosis and Injury in Preterm Fetal Sheep Exposed to Progressive Systemic Inflammation. Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Nov 24;21(23):8891.

  • Disdier C, Awa F, Chen X, Dhillon SK, Galinsky R, Davidson JO, Lear CA, Bennet L, Gunn AJ, Stonestreet BS (2020). Lipopolysaccharide-induced changes in the neurovascular unit in the preterm fetal sheep brain. J Neuroinflammation. 2020 May 28;17(1):167.

  • Galinsky R, Dhillon SK, Dean JM, Davidson JO, Lear CA, Wassink G, Nott F, Kelly SB, Fraser M, Yuill C, Bennet L, Gunn AJ (2020). Tumor necrosis factor inhibition attenuates white matter gliosis after systemic inflammation in preterm fetal sheep. J Neuroinflammation. 2020 Mar 23;17(1):92.

  • Nott F, Jane Pillow J, Dahl M, Kelly SB, Melville J, McDonald C, Nitsos I, Lim R, Wallace EM, Jenkin G, Polglase GR, Moss TJ, Galinsky R (2020). Brain inflammation and injury at 48 h is not altered by human amnion epithelial cells in ventilated preterm lambs. Pediatr Res. 2020 Jul;88(1):27-37.

  • Stojanovska V, Atik A, Nitsos I, Sköld B, Barton SK, Zahra VA, Rodgers K, Hooper SB, Polglase GR, Galinsky R (2018) Effects of intrauterine inflammation on cortical grey matter of near-term lambs. Front Pediatr 6:145