Professor Amy Brodtmann has been awarded the Bethlehem Griffiths Research Foundation (BGRF) 2026 medal for her ground-breaking research on dementia and her commitment to training and mentoring the next-generation of clinician-researchers.
Her work over decades identifying key risks as well as protective factors against late-life cognitive impairment and dementia have been pivotal to changing the field in Australia and internationally.
Presenting the award on behalf of the BGRF, neurologist Dr Antonia Clarke described the scale of Professor Brodtmann’s impact on dementia treatment, care, and research. Over the past two decades, she explained, Professor Brodtmann has channelled more than $40 million in hard-won NHMRC funding into transforming how dementia is diagnosed and cared for. Dr Clarke pointed to Professor Brodtmann’s research on the brain benefits of exercise as a real breakthrough, one that is charting a new course in the dementia field.
Accepting the prestigious medal at a special cocktail event on 3 September, Professor Brodtmann credited the contribution of her colleagues and collaborators in her mission to improve brain health for all. ‘I am increasingly focussed on making the clinical space more supportive and inclusive for those who might not have followed a conventional medical or research trajectory but do indeed have so much to offer’, Professor Brodtmann said.
Dr Clarke went on to highlight Professor Brodtmann’s inspiring mentorship as her own PhD supervisor and the countless others she has guided over decades. ‘I carry Amy’s wisdom to stay the course and stay hungry, to feel the vibe but keep a keen eye on the detail and to recognise the absurdity when best-laid plans fall apart,’ she explained.
Currently Professor of Neurology, School of Translational Medicine at Monash University, Professor Brodtmann also runs the cognitive neurology services at both Royal Melbourne Hospital and Eastern Health, where she leads dementia trials. Having published 235 papers to date, her career includes many firsts: inaugural Chair and founder of the Australian chapter of the Organization of Human Brain Mapping, the first woman Honorary Medical Advisor for Dementia Australia, inaugural President and founder of the Australasian Cognitive Neurology Association, and director of Australia’s first cognitive neurology service, now a national referral service, at Eastern Health. She is also the only non-US resident on the Science Committee of the largest neurology organisation in the world, the American Academy of Neurology, and is their inaugural Chair for Health Equity Research.
