Vaughan Macefield completed his PhD in respiratory neurophysiology under Dr Bruce Nail at UNSW in 1986 and then spent four years with Prof David Burke and Prof Simon Gandevia at Prince Henry Hospital, learning microneurography and other human neurophysiological techniques. In 1990, he received an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship to study with Prof Roland Johansson, Prof Gunnar Wallin and Prof Ake Vallbo in Sweden and then spent a year with Prof Bigland-Ritchie at Yale University. Vaughan has been at Neuroscience Research Australia – supported by an NHMRC RD Wright Fellow, NHMRC Research Fellow and Senior Research Fellow – since 1994, before moving to Western Sydney University in 2006. Vaughan maintains an active laboratory at NeuRA, and performs concurrent microneurography and fMRI at the Clinical Imaging Facility.