 Hello, my name is Dr Felix, a stroke neurologist and researcher at the University of Melbourne. My research focuses on stroke, which is a major disease that affects one Australian every 19 minutes. Unfortunately, it is also one of Australia's biggest killers. It kills more women than breast cancer, and more men than prostate cancer. What is a stroke? The brain is a major organ in the body that controls our thinking, speaking, and movement. Brain cells need a lot of energy, oxygen, and nutrients carried in the blood to function normally. And a stroke happens when there is a sudden change in the blood supply to the brain. This can happen in two main ways. The most common form of stroke is called ischemic stroke. This is when there is a sudden blockage to an artery in the brain from a clot. And because of this, delicate brain cells are stopped of oxygen and die quickly. And researchers have shown that 1.9 million brain cells die every single minute during a stroke. Every minute counts. The second most common form is hemorrhagic stroke. This is when an artery breaks or bursts, causing bleeding inside the brain. And this form of stroke is also very dangerous because the blood that has leaked down can cause further damage by pressing on the surrounding brain cells and causing high pressure within the brain. How a stroke affects someone depends on where it happens inside the brain and how much brain cells are affected. For example, if a stroke happens on the part of the brain that controls speaking, a person can experience problems when they try to talk. Because brain cells in adults generally do not regrow, most stroke sufferers commonly experience long-term or even permanent problems. Because of research, there is now proven and effective treatments for stroke. We can use clot-busting medication to dissolve the clot or use a small wire to precisely pull out the clot in a small procedure. These treatment work best when stroke is being treated as early as possible before there has been too much irreversible damage. An artery is also sometimes used to reduce pressure in the brain after a stroke. Caring for stroke sufferers in the dedicated hospital ward by a team of experienced stroke doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, speech pathologists, occupational therapists and dietician as well as rehabilitation physicians and social workers are also very important to help stroke sufferers recover. After a stroke, it is important to find out why the stroke has happened and especially how can we prevent another stroke happening. Some of the treatment that helps to prevent stroke include blood thinners, blood pressure and cholesterol lowering medications and of course making healthy life changes such as staying active, quitting smoking and having a balanced diet will also reduce the risk of having another stroke. It is only through research that scientists are able to develop new treatments for stroke. Australian stroke researchers have found many important discoveries in the last few decades that has helped stroke sufferers. Some of the studies and experiments that Australian scientists are currently working on include how to make clot busting medication and clot extraction surgery more effective, how to lessen injury after brain bleeding, how to deliver stroke treatments earlier and to more patients, how to recover arm leg function and speaking better and how to reduce unwanted side effects of stroke such as seizure and tiredness. My research focuses on using advanced MRI and CT scans to understand why complications such as dangerous swelling and unexpected bleeding occurs after treatment so that in the future we may be able to predict prevent and reverse these complications to help stroke sufferers.