Brendan is a postdoctoral research fellow, having completed his PhD in 2024 through the Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health at the University of Melbourne. His work has focused on non-invasive brain stimulation of the vestibular apparatus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) to interrogate the networks associated with the human sympathetic connectome and cortical modulation of muscle sympathetic nerve activity.

Brendan uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to record the functional activity of the brain whilst concurrently delivering weak electrical stimuli to the head. This is in order to determine how the dlPFC interacts with the vestibular system to suppress motion-induced nausea and the vestibulosympathetic reflexes. To this end, he is also trained in the use of microneurography in which real-time recordings of sympathetic nerve activity are obtained in awake human subjects.

In his postdoctoral role, Brendan has continued to integrate neuroscience with physiological recordings, employing microneurography simultaneously to MRI scanning in patients with Long Covid, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). This work aims to identify functional and structural changes within the brain in people with Long Covid, evaluating potential overlap with POTS and ME/CFS. In addition, it will provide important insights into neurovascular control of blood pressure during orthostatic stress and other physiological stressors.