PhD Pharmacology

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Otago. April 2008 – April 2013.

Title: An investigation into the cannabinoid receptor type 2 as a therapeutic target for childhood cerebral hypoxia.

Diploma for Graduates in Applied Statistics

Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Massey University. January 2014 – Present.

BBSRC Future Leaders Fellowship Award. Awarded Decemeber 2016, £ 298,137.76 (GBP). (Sole applicant)

Awarded for my salary, research consumables, small equipment and conference attendance. Grant award covers 3 years of research, the University of Manchester will also fund an additional year of research. Research topic: Understanding how dietary zinc and inflammation impact healthy ageing in the brain.

Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) equipment grant. Awarded July 2016, £18310 (GBP). (Co-applicant)

Awarded for mouse behaviour equipment including cameras, tracking software, rotor rod equipment and computers.

ARUK Network grant for small equipment. Awarded December 2015. £1231 (GBP). (Lead applicant)

Awarded for mouse behaviour equipment including custom Y-mazes and a Morris water maze.

ARUK Network grant for small equipment. Awarded April 2015. £4995 (GBP). (Co-lead applicant with Dr. David Brough)

Awarded for Class II microbiological safety cabinet with UV lamp, Stand and installation costs accounted.

Welcome Trust Collaborative Visit Grant. Awarded March 2015. £1950 (GBP). (Lead applicant)

Awarded for travel and consumables to visit Dr. Pablo Pelegrin’s laboratory at the Biomedical Research Institute, Murcia Health Foundation (IMIB-FFIS), Murcia, Spain.

Pump-priming award from the University of Manchester - Neurobiology Research Theme. Awarded March 2015. £750 (GBP). (Sole applicant)

Awarded for consumables for in vitro research on lysosomal mechanisms of inflammasome activation.

Canterbury Medical Research Foundation General Project Grant. Awarded November 2013. $50,000 (NZD). (Lead applicant)

Awarded for consumables for research into the role of the liver sieve in septic shock.

University of Otago Health Sciences Career Development Programme - Postdoctoral Fellowship.  Awarded May 2013. $154,000 (NZD). (Sole applicant)

Awarded for my salary, conference attendances and consumables for two years researching the role of hydrogen sulfide and neutrophil NETosis in sepsis.

White CS, Lawrence CB, Brough D, Rivers-Auty J (2016) Inflammasomes as therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease. Brain Pathology: doi:10.1111/bpa.12478

Daniels* MJ, Rivers-Auty* J, Schilling T, Spencer NG, Watremez W, Fasolino V, Booth SJ, White CS, Baldwin AG, Freeman S, Wong R, Latta C, Yu S, Jackson J, Fischer N, Koziel V, Pillot T, Bagnall J, Allan SM, Paszek P, Galea J, Harte MK, Eder C, Lawrence CB, Brough D (2016) Fenamate NSAIDs inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome and protect against Alzheimer's disease in rodent models. Nature Communications 7:12504. * were equal contributors. doi:10.1038/ncomms12504

Xu J, Begley P, Church SJ, Patassini S, McHarg S, Kureishy N, Hollywood KA, Waldvogel H, Liu H, Zhang S, Lin W, Herholz K, Turner C, Synek BJ, Curtis MA, Rivers-Auty J, Lawrence CB, Kellett KAB, Hooper NM, Vardy ERLC, Wu D, Unwin RD, Faull RLM, Dowsey AW, Cooper GJS. Elevation of brain glucose and polyol-pathway intermediates with accompanying brain-copper deficiency in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: metabolic basis for dementia. Scientific Reports. 6:27524. doi:10.1038/srep27524

Martins I, Rivers-Auty J, Allan SM, Lawrence CB. Alzheimer’s like mitochondria and synaptic pathology in high-fat fed mice coincides with cognitive and memory deficits. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. Accepted.

Rivers-Auty J, Brough D, 2015. Potassium efflux fires the canon: Potassium efflux as a common trigger for canonical and noncanonical NLRP3 pathways. European Journal of Immunology. 45: 2758-61.

Rivers-Auty J, 2015. An evolutionary perspective on the immunomodulatory role of hydrogen sulphide. Medical Hypotheses. 85: 612-7.

Rivers-Auty J. 2014. The blind leading the blind: animal facility staff and researchers working together to reduce bias in animal research. Royal Society of New Zealand ANZCCART.

Rivers-Auty J, Smith PF, Ashton JC, 2014. The cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonist GW405833 does not ameliorate brain damage induced by hypoxia-ischemia in rats. Neuroscience Letters. 569, 104-9.

Rivers-Auty J, Ashton JC. 2013. Neuroinflammation in Ischemic Brain Injury as an Adaptive Process. Medical Hypotheses. 82(2): 151-8.

Rivers-Auty J, Ashton JC. 2013. Vehicles for Lipophilic Drugs: Implications for Experimental Design, Neuroprotection, and Drug Discovery. Current Neurovascular Research. 10(4);356-60

Badiei A, Rivers-Auty J, Ang A, Bhatia M. 2013. Inhibition of hydrogen sulfide production by gene silencing attenuates inflammatory activity of LPS-activated RAW264.7 cells. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 97(17): 7845-52.

Ang AD, Rivers-Auty J, Akhil Hegde A, Ishii I, Bhatia M. 2013. The effect of CSE gene deletion in caerulein-induced acute pancreatitis in the mouse. American Journal of Physiology - Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology. 305: 712-21.

Rivers-Auty J and Bhatia M. 2013. Hydrogen sulfide, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and compensatory anti-inflammatory response syndrome (CARS) following sepsis. OA Inflammation. 1(1):2-10.

Rivers JR and Ashton JC. 2013. Age matching animal models to humans - theoretical considerations. Current Drug Discovery Technologies. 10(3):177-81

Jupp L, Rivers JR, Bhatia M. 2013. Hydrogen sulfide and substance P in acute pancreatitis. In: Popescu AR, Singal PK, editors. Adaptation Biology and Medicine. New Delhi: Narosa Publishing House. 139-50.

Rivers JR, Badiei A, and Bhatia M. 2012. Hydrogen sulfide as a therapeutic target for inflammation. Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets. 16:439-449.

Rivers JR, Maggo SD, and Ashton JC. 2012. Neuroprotective effect of hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin in hypoxia-ischemia. NeuroReport. 23:134-138.

Rivers JR, and Ashton JC. 2012. Neonatal asphyxia and stroke: morbidity, models, consequences, and treatments in hypoxia: Causes, types and management. D. Vordermark, editor. Nova Publishers. 108-130.

Rivers JR, Sutherland BA, and Ashton JC. 2011. Characterization of a rat hypoxia-ischemia model where duration of hypoxia is determined by seizure activity. Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 197:92-96.

Rivers JR, and Ashton JC. 2010. The development of cannabinoid CBII receptor agonists for the treatment of central neuropathies. Central Nervous System Agents for Medicinal Chemistry. 10:47-64.