What we do Dr Barry Snow is a leading neurologist, specialising in movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. He qualified from the Auckland Medical School in 1981 and spent his first year as a junior doctor at Rotorua Hospital. In 1988 Dr Snow left New Zealand for Canada to undertake his Neurological Foundation V J Chapman Fellowship. Dr Snow carried out research into Parkinson’s disease and related disorders while at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, which started him in his career as a clinician-researcher movement disorder specialist.
In 1995 Dr Snow returned to New Zealand to join the Department of Neurology at Auckland Hospital before being appointed to the position of Clinical Director of Neurology in 1999. In 2011 he was promoted to Medical Director of Adult Health Services at the Auckland District Health Board.
Many recipients of fellowships, scholarships and project grants received from the Neurological Foundation find that the very first application approved is by far the most important. For some it can be a life changing decision and for others it can be a confirmation of a lifelong dream, for Dr Barry Snow – it was both.
“At the very beginning, like most, it starts out as an interest and challenge of finding out new things and the excitement of discovery. As I have continued, I have learned that we just cannot do good medicine without a strong science and research basis. New Zealand has seen this in the amazing response to the COVID-19 pandemic with success based on following the science. It is the same for neurology; every new treatment and advance is based on the scientific process of discovery.”
Dr Barry Snow, the second recipient of the Neurological Foundation’s prestigious V J Chapman Fellowship was at a crossroads during his life when he was awarded the fellowship. He was certain that he would pursue a career as clinical neurologist, but unexpectedly he took a step on the pathway of research, which with the help of the Neurological Foundation and its supporters, has led him to where he is today.
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Dr Barry Snow, the second recipient of the Neurological Foundation’s prestigious V J Chapman Fellowship was at a crossroads during his life when he was awarded the fellowship. He was certain that he would pursue a career as clinical neurologist, but unexpectedly he took a step on the pathway of research, which with the help of the Neurological Foundation and its supporters, has led him to where he is today. When asked about how the Foundation and the Chapman Fellowship influenced his life, Barry expressed his heartfelt gratitude to its supporters and simply replied with “in every way”. |
Hear Dr Barry Snow talk at our Headlines event in Christchurch |
“In every way. If I had not had a Chapman Fellowship, then I would not have been introduced to research, and I would not have become a clinician-researcher. I probably would not have gone to Canada, and I probably would not have led the Movement Disorder Research group in Auckland. You never know where life will take you, but the Foundation sent me down a track that I have never regretted.” Travelling and collaborating with international scientists, clinicians and colleagues is a key experience and part of being a researcher. One of the main objectives of the Chapman Fellowship is to allow researchers to learn from those abroad. It's also to ensure those researchers return to apply what they have learnt and to share that knowledge to improve neurological support for the one in five Kiwis affected by a neurological condition.
Barry returned from Canada in 1995 and quickly resumed his work in movement disorders, continuing with both clinical neurology and research, concentrating mostly on new treatments for Parkinson’s disease. He was an instrumental part of the Neurological Foundation as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee in 1997, then becoming its Chair from 2000 to 2010. Barry also joined the Council for the Neurological Foundation in 2001 and has been the Council Chair since 2017, retiring just this past year in 2020, all the while continuing his work in research.
Most recently Barry has been exploring the implantation of pig cells into the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease. “The cells are from the choroid plexus, which makes neurotrophins that help nerve cells survive and grow. The theory was that the neurotrophins from the transplanted cells would help the damaged Parkinson’s nerves recover. This has been the culmination of years of work setting up systems and processes in the Movement Disorders Research group at Auckland Hospital. Modern research is mostly done by teams, and we have a great team working on this project. It is important to say that the core of the team is the people with Parkinson’s who volunteer for the research.”
There has never been a point in Barry’s career that he regretted the decisions he made that has led him on the path of research. He has a strong connection to his work, and that in part is due to the continual support from the Neurological Foundation and its supporters. Seeing the encouragement that the community offers scientists and clinicians, Barry realised just how much that support has meant to him throughout his career.
When asked what he thought the future would hold for neurological research and advancement, Barry had hope. Hope that society keeps on recognising the importance of science as the basis for progress and keeps supporting its researchers and their work, because without science there is no progress and without progress there is no cure.
Barry wanted to share a very special thank you to all the supporters of the Neurological Foundation who continue to support the need for research.
“A wonderful thing about the Foundation is its determination to be here long term. Science is a long haul. You know the saying about overnight success being the result of years of effort. We want to assure the researchers that we will do our best to be there for them in another 50 years so they can be confident about starting a career in neuroscience.”
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