Associate Professor Emma Devenney is a cognitive neurologist, principal investigator, and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and UNSW Sydney. She is Director of the Cognition Clinic at NeuRA and leads the Optimising Brain Health from Midlife (OBHM) Clinic, an innovative clinical and research program focused on understanding, assessing, and supporting people experiencing cognitive changes in midlife. Through these clinics, Emma combines specialist clinical care with research to improve the early detection, diagnosis, and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.

Emma’s research focuses on translational clinical neuroscience, with a particular interest in developing biomarkers that enable earlier and more accurate diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and motor neurone disease (MND). Her work combines clinical assessment, cognitive testing, advanced neuroimaging, genetics, digital technologies, and biological markers to better understand how these diseases develop and how they can be detected before significant symptoms emerge.

A major focus of Emma’s research is understanding the overlap between psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Her work has helped establish the concept of a neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative spectrum, improving understanding of why these conditions can present with similar cognitive, behavioural, and emotional symptoms and informing new approaches to diagnosis and clinical care.

Emma serves as the New South Wales Principal Investigator of the international Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN). Through this international collaboration, she leads observational research and clinical trials evaluating treatments designed to prevent or delay inherited Alzheimer's disease before symptoms begin. 

Alongside her research, Emma is passionate about translating scientific discoveries into meaningful improvements for patients and families. Through her clinical programs, international research collaborations, clinical trials, education, and patient advocacy, she aims to advance earlier diagnosis, personalised care, and the development of effective treatments for people affected by neurodegenerative diseases.