# Louise Nicholson (academic)

Louise Frances Basford Nicholson CNZM (nee Green) is a New Zealand neuroscientist, and is professor emerita at the University of Auckland, specialising in molecular mechanisms common to neurodegenerative diseases. In 2021, Nicholson was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to neuroscience and education.

## Academic career

Nicholson attended Epsom Girls Grammar School. She completed a Masters and then a PhD titled Structure and function of the Malpighian tubules of the larva of the New Zealand glow-worm Arachnocampa luminosa (Skuse) at the University of Auckland. Nicholson spent two and half years as a visiting fellow at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford, and then returned to New Zealand, where she taught science at Mahurangi College from 1981 to 1988. Nicholson then joined the faculty of the Department of Anatomy with Radiology at the University of Auckland, initially as a senior lecturer. She was Head of Biology for Medicine in 1989. Nicholson worked on neurodegenerative diseases such as motor neuron disease, Huntington's, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. She was appointed full professor in 2009, and worked at the university for nearly 30 years, during which she spent a year at the Salk Institute.
With Simon O'Carroll and Colin Green, Nicholson founded the Spinal Cord Research Facility within the university's Centre for Brain Research. The facility is funded by the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Research Trust.
In 2014, after years of severe headaches, Nicholson was diagnosed with a brain tumour, leading her to retire from research. On her retirement, she was appointed professor emerita, and she and her husband gifted $1 million towards spinal injury research.

## Honours and awards

Nicholson was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship in 1978 to attend Lady Margaret Hall as a Visiting Fellow for two years. Only 32 Rhodes Visiting Fellowships were awarded.
In the New Years Honours for 2021, Nicholson was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to neuroscience and education.

## Selected works

* Helen V Danesh-Meyer; Nathan M Kerr; Jie Zhang; Elizabeth K Eady; Simon J O'Carroll; Louise F B Nicholson; Cameron S Johnson; Colin Green (1 February 2012). "Connexin43 mimetic peptide reduces vascular leak and retinal ganglion cell death following retinal ischaemia". Brain. 135 (Pt 2): 506–520. doi:10.1093/BRAIN/AWR338. ISSN 0006-8950. PMID 22345088. Wikidata Q48654177.
* Carissa G Fonseca; Colin Green; Louise Nicholson (1 March 2002). "Upregulation in astrocytic connexin 43 gap junction levels may exacerbate generalized seizures in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy". Brain Research. 929 (1): 105–116. doi:10.1016/S0006-8993(01)03289-9. ISSN 0006-8993. PMID 11852037. Wikidata Q31039156.
* Joanne O Davidson; Colin Green; Louise F B Nicholson; Simon J O'Carroll; Mhoyra Fraser; Laura Bennet; Alistair Gunn (1 January 2012). "Connexin hemichannel blockade improves outcomes in a model of fetal ischemia". Annals of Neurology. 71 (1): 121–132. doi:10.1002/ANA.22654. ISSN 0364-5134. PMID 22275258. Wikidata Q42633519.
* Simon J O'Carroll; Mamoun Alkadhi; Louise Frances Basford Nicholson; Colin Green (1 May 2008). "Connexin 43 mimetic peptides reduce swelling, astrogliosis, and neuronal cell death after spinal cord injury". Cell Communication & Adhesion. 15 (1): 27–42. doi:10.1080/15419060802014164. ISSN 1541-9061. PMID 18649176. Wikidata Q46467494.
* Lian Wu; Li Ma; Louise F B Nicholson; Peter N Black (26 November 2010). "Advanced glycation end products and its receptor (RAGE) are increased in patients with COPD". Respiratory Medicine. 105 (3): 329–336. doi:10.1016/J.RMED.2010.11.001. ISSN 0954-6111. PMID 21112201. Wikidata Q34152095.
* Louise Nicholson; Gunisha K Singh; Thomas Osterwalder; Gregg Roman; Ronald L Davis; Haig Keshishian (1 January 2008). "Spatial and temporal control of gene expression in Drosophila using the inducible GeneSwitch GAL4 system. I. Screen for larval nervous system drivers". Genetics. 178 (1): 215–234. doi:10.1534/GENETICS.107.081968. ISSN 0016-6731. PMC 2206072. PMID 18202369. Wikidata Q36391801.