Dr Peter Patrikios.

Dr Patrikios is a neurologist, and has a research interest in the neuropathology of multiple sclerosis. He is the inaugural Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Brain Bank which is based at the University of Sydney. The brain bank is an initiative of MS Research Australia and the University of Sydney.

Dr Patrikios (b. 1971) was born and raised in Gympie, Queensland, Australia. His parents and grandparents had a take-away/café, known as Patrick’s Café, and he grew up working in the family business along with his three siblings, Steve, Helena and Angelo. His parents, Theo Patrick and Kathy (nee Comino) were also born in Australia. All his grandparents were from Kythera, Greece. They are: paternal grandfather Stavros Patrikios (aka Steve Patrick) from Logothetianika; paternal grandmother Eleni Sophiou (aka Helen) from Christoforianikia; maternal grandfather Panayiotis Kominos (aka Peter Comino, paratsoukli Psilovangelis) from Perlegkianika; and maternal grandmother Maria Sklavou (aka Blavaromaria, parastoukli Pentopoulou) from Mitata.

Dr Patrikios was raised with the name Peter Theodore Patrick but changed his name officially to his Greek name with which he was christened, Panayiotis Patrikios, when he was 18, although in English he is still called Peter.

He attended Gympie Central Primary School, Gympie State High School, and then Aspley State High School (in Brisbane). He studied medicine at the University of Queensland, graduating in 1995. He undertook his internship and specialty training at Royal Brisbane Hospital with secondments to other hospitals including Maryborough, Rockhampton, and Prince Charles Hospitals. His advanced training in neurology was undertaken at Royal Hobart Hospital in Tasmania, and then Royal Prince Alfred and Concord Repatriation General Hospitals in Sydney. He is a fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He completed a Doctorate of Medical Science at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, in 2006. This was in the field of MS neuropathology and was performed under the supervision of Prof Dr Hans Lassmann, a renowned expert in this field. On return to Australia he was appointed as the inaugural Director of the MS Brain Bank, officially commencing this role in January 2007. The aim of the bank is to acquire human brain tissue as well as other specific body tissues and fluids upon which to conduct medical research. People with MS will be asked to register with the bank and when they die the tissues will be collected at autopsy. The research will be primarily aimed at finding the cause of Multiple Sclerosis but also to answer many other questions about the disease and to hopefully find the cure for this disease. The bank will hopefully acquire tissue from many sites within Australia and also New Zealand and elsewhere.

Dr Patrikios qualifications are thus: MBBS(Qld), FRACP and DMedSci(Vienna). He is fluent in English, Greek and German.

MS Research Australia is working with Dr Peter Patrikios to set up a major research initiative in Australia – a national MS Brain Bank, based at Sydney University.

Research into Multiple Sclerosis in Australia needs more resources, including access to MS-specific human tissue. This facility will serve this purpose and Peter is now its Foundation Director.

Dr Peter Patrikios

Director, Multiple Sclerosis Brain Bank
Senior Lecturer
Department of Neurology
University of Sydney
Room 475 Blackburn Building D06
NSW 2006 AUSTRALIA

Dept Phone: +61 2 9351 3385
Office Phone: +61 2 9351 4847
Facsimile: +61 2 90366215