DrWei-Peng Teo

Dr Wei-Peng Teo was first appointed as a Lecturer in Motor Learning and
Development with the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences (SENS) in May
2014, a position he held for 1.5 years. At the start of 2016, he was awarded
the prestigious Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship within the
Institute of Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) for which he is
investigating novel rehabilitation strategies to improve balance and gait in
people with Parkinson???s disease. Trained as a clinical neurophysiologist, Dr
Teo has a keen interest in understanding how the brain adapts to the
environment and neurological diseases such as Parkinson???s, Alzheimer???s
dementia and stroke. To do this, he specialises in various brain imaging
techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation, electroencephalography
and functional near-infrared spectroscopy to measure brain responses in
healthy and clinical populations. Since the start of his PhD, Dr Teo has
worked closely with people with Parkinson???s disease, Alzheimer???s dementia
and stroke to understand how these conditions affect movement and cognitive
ability. His current research focuses on developing and optimising strategies
such as exercise and non-invasive brain stimulation to improve movement and
cognitive function.

Dr Teo's is an early-career researcher with a research focus on developing
novel rehabilitation strategies to optimising neuromuscular function and brain
health. Dr Teo graduated with a PhD in 2013 from the University of Western
Australia under the supervision of Professors Gary Thickbroom and Frank
Mastaglia. Currently, Dr Teo's research focus includes the use of non-invasive
brain stimulation, exercise and virtual reality therapy to improve motor and
cognitive function in people with neurological disorders (i.e. Parkinson's and
Alzheimer's disease) and stroke. He has expertise in various techniques to
measure brain function that includes electroencephalography (EEG), functional
near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
and leads a team consisting of 6 PhD and 1 Master postgraduate students.

I am currently an early-career academic/researcher with the focus of further
developing my research experience in the area of neurorehabilitation. I am
particularly interested in the use of non-invasive brain stimulation to prime
the brain so as to maximise rehabilitation outcomes for Parkinson's disease
and Stroke.

My research focus stems from my doctoral work which examined the neural
correlates of movement rate and amplitude in healthy subjects and patients
with Parkinson's disease. Amongst the cardinal signs of Parkinson's disease,
bradykinesia and hypokinesia present as the most easily recognisable signs and
is usually apparent before any formal neurological assessment is made. This
often results in slowness of movement and resulting in a reduction in
activities of daily living. My research suggests that an increased state of
brain hyperexcitability and a reduction in cortical inhibition in the primary
motor cortex plays a significant role in both bradykinesia and hypokinesia.
Additional findings also indicate that both bradykinesia and hypokinesia have
distinct neural mechanisms that are affected differently by levodopa
medication.

Following the completion of my doctoral thesis, I worked as a research fellow
at the National University Hospital in Singapore investigating the efficacy of
non-invasive brain stimulation and robotic training in chronic stroke
patients. The concept of this study was based on a two-tiered approach
targeting the central nervous system using non-invasive brain stimulation and
providing sensory feedback through manipulation of the affect limb using a
robotic arm.