Richards began her postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, in the laboratory of Professor Dennis O'Leary. In 1997 she established her own laboratory at the University of Maryland medical school. In 2005 she returned to Australia, taking up a position at the University of Queensland, where she was appointed Associate Professor in the QBI, and the School of Biomedical Sciences. She was subsequently promoted to Professor in 2010.[citation needed]
Richards has been the Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the Washington University in St. Louis since 2021.[2] Richards is also the head of the Cortical Development and Axon Guidance Laboratory at the QBI. The laboratory researches the cellular and molecular mechanisms which regulate the formation and development of the corpus callosum. The research focus of her laboratory to study the development of the cortical midline in animal models and in human tissue.[3] In particular, she is involved in researching a phenomenon where the corpus callosum is absent (agenesis) or disformed (dysgenesis) in the developing brain.[4] This condition affects 1 in 4000 people, and is associated with 50 different human congenital disorders.[5]
Richards also acts as scientific advisor for the Australian Disorders of the Corpus Callosum.[6]
Awards and honours
2010 Nina Kondelos Prize for "outstanding contribution to basic or clinical neuroscience research" awarded by the Australian Neuroscience Society.[7]
2013 Equity and Diversity Award awarded by the University of Queensland.[8]
Richards has published over 220 articles. Most cited articles include Agenesis of the corpus callosum: genetic, developmental and functional aspects of connectivity (2007),[12] Neuropilin-1 conveys semaphorin and VEGF signaling during neural and cardiovascular development (2003),[13] and De novo generation of neuronal cells from the adult mouse brain (1992).[14]
Brain Bee Challenge
In 2006, Richards founded the Australian-New Zealand Brain Bee Challenge. This a competition for secondary students interested in neuroscience. The goal is to educate students and teachers about neuroscience and to encourage students from rural Australia and New Zealand to become involved in neuroscience.[15]
