Our research focusses on the development, plasticity, and function of long-range connections of the cerebral cortex. The corpus callosum is the largest fibre tract in the brain of placental mammals and connects neurons in each cortical hemisphere. We investigate how cellular and molecular/genetic mechanisms regulate brain wiring during development and how brain wiring is altered in congenital corpus callosum dysgenesis (CCD). CCD occurs in 1:4000 people and can result in profound changes in the structural architecture of brain connectivity due to long-range axonal plasticity that occurs during development. Our research investigates the underlying causes of CCD, how long-range axonal plasticity occurs and how these structural changes in brain wiring impact cognition and behaviour. Professor Richards is a board member of the International Research Consortium for the Corpus Callosum and Cerebral Connectivity (IRC5) and a scientific advisor and patron of Australian Disorders of the Corpus Callosum (AusDoCC) support group. In addition to her research, Professor Richards is a passionate advocate for neuroscience. She contributed to establishing the International Brain Initiative, the Australian Brain Alliance and the Australian Brain Bee Challenge. Other Links: Department of Neuroscience McDonnell Center for Cellular & Molecular Neurobiology

Good mentorship is critical to academic science. I find incredible joy in mentoring students, fellows, staff and faculty and to support them to achieve their goals throughout their career. I strive to create an inclusive environment where all members feel that they can contribute their ideas and help shape our research and their own working environment. Each member of our team brings their own background and experiences to our laboratory and Department and we want to make the most of all our talent to tackle the biggest questions. Collectively, our purpose is to advance discoveries to understand the brain and I feel privileged to work with my colleagues to achieve great things together. We celebrate our accomplishments and we support one another.