Dr Sarah MckaY

Neuroscientist and science communicator

I’m a neuroscientist, author and science communicator. My work sits at the intersection of neuroscience, health, education and research translation, with a particular interest in women’s brain health across the lifespan.

Education and early career

I trained in neuroscience at the University of Otago and the University of Oxford, where I completed an MSc and DPhil through the Wellcome Trust Four-Year Doctoral Programme. I then moved to Australia for postdoctoral research at NeuRA and the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, working across spinal cord injury, neuroinflammation, auditory neuroscience and neural development.

After leaving the laboratory, I moved into medical communications and professional education. My work has included medical writing, CME and CPD development, KOL advisory boards, scientific conference coverage, clinical guideline work, evidence reviews and university teaching.

Think Brain and The Neuroscience Academy

In 2014, I founded Think Brain and The Neuroscience Academy suite of CPD programs. Since then, more than 2,800 professionals internationally have completed training in applied neuroscience, brain health and women’s brain health.

I still spend a large part of my working life reading research, talking with experts, developing education and translating complex evidence into ideas people can actually use.

Books, speaking and media

I’m the author of three books: The Women’s Brain Book, Baby Brain and Brain Health For Dummies. I regularly speak to professional, corporate and public audiences and have presented neuroscience across television, radio, podcasts and print.

In 2019, I presented Living Longer: Brain for ABC’s flagship science program Catalyst, and in 2025 I appeared on The Mel Robbins Podcast discussing women’s brain health.

What matters to me

Across all of this work, I’m interested in the same basic question: what does the science actually show? I care about making neuroscience understandable without flattening its complexity, and about being clear when the evidence is uncertain or when popular claims have moved ahead of the research.

I live on Sydney’s Northern Beaches with my family. Away from neuroscience, I enjoy science illustration, sailing, swimming and musical theatre, and spend as much time near the ocean as possible.