Rate My Professor Toni Pitcher

Dr. Toni Pitcher is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch, and at the New Zealand Brain Research Institute. She earned her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Otago in 2007 and her BSc (Hons) in Anatomy from the same institution in 2002. In her current roles, she manages research and operations at the NZBRI and serves as Co-Director of the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a position she assumed in 2024. Her career focuses on neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Parkinson's disease, where she employs national health datasets to analyze prevalence, dementia incidence, mortality rates, and regional variations in New Zealand.

Pitcher's research interests encompass the epidemiology of Parkinson's disease, genetic risk factors, blood biomarkers, MRI applications, and saccadic eye movement deficits. She leads the NZPEGS project, supported by Health Research Council funding, to examine environmental exposures, lifestyle factors, and genetics in Parkinson's etiology. As part of the NZP3 longitudinal cohort study, she coordinates the collection, storage, and utilization of biological samples for genetic and proteomic analyses. She contributes to the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society’s Epidemiology Study Group. Key publications include 'Extracellular vesicle biomarkers for cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease' (Brain, 2023), 'Insights into ancestral diversity in Parkinson’s disease risk: A comparative assessment of polygenic risk scores' (npj Parkinson's Disease, 2025), 'A worldwide study of subcortical shape as a marker for clinical staging in Parkinson’s disease' (npj Parkinson's Disease, 2024), 'Higher Frequency of Stuttered Disfluencies Negatively Affects Communicative Participation in Parkinson's Disease' (Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 2024), and 'Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Association of Clinical and Neurocognitive Factors With Apathy in Patients With Parkinson Disease' (Neurology, 2024). Her epidemiological work has informed projections of Parkinson's burden in New Zealand, and she has delivered keynote presentations on Parkinson's cohorts. In 2025, she received a grant of $194,910 for updating Parkinson's prevalence data.