A/Prof. Christian Lueck

Biography

Dr. Christian Lueck trained in medicine at Cambridge University, and St. Thomas’ Hospital, London, U.K. He graduated top of his year, taking the George Peter Baker Prize in medicine in 1982. He undertook his general physician training in various prestigious hospitals in and around London, obtained his MRCP in 1985, and then trained in neurology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, and St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, receiving specialist accreditation in neurology in 1994.
During this time, Dr. Lueck obtained a Ph.D. (1991) supervised by Professor Christopher Kennard at the London Hospital, Whitechapel. The Thesis was entitled “the supranuclear control of saccadic eye movements in man”. During this period of research, he became familiar with all major techniques of eye movement recording and published 15 peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of neuro-ophthalmology. He was also able to work on functional imaging using PET scanning at the Hammersmith Hospital with Professors Richard Frackowiak and Semir Zeki, and this work culminated in the first evidence of functional specialisation of the visual cortex in man: the paper was published in Nature in 1988.

In 1994, Dr. Lueck took up an appointment as a Consultant Neurologist in Edinburgh, Scotland where he worked for the next nine years. This job was a very busy clinical job, with no allocated time for laboratory research. However, he was able to keep up his academic interest by writing several case reports, book chapters, and various review papers on subjects such as visual manifestations of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

In 2003, Dr. Lueck moved to Canberra, Australia where he is now Head of Department of Neurology at the Canberra Hospital, and an Associate Professor at the Australian National University Medical School. Since taking up this post, he has been instrumental in developing the neurology department and opening a Stroke Unit at the hospital which has won several prizes. He has also been actively involved in the development of the neurology and final year teaching programs at the ANU Medical School, and in setting up neurological research at the hospital. He and his unit have become involved in several multi-centre clinical trials and he has undertaken original research in stroke, has collaborated on many vision-related projects both locally and internationally, and is in the process of setting up the Canberra Hospital oculomotor laboratory.
Since he started in Canberra, he has published 10 peer-reviewed articles and has co-authored the Neurology Chapter of the last three editions of Davidson’s Principles and Practice of Medicine. He is a dedicated teacher of medical students and hospital trainees and has won several awards and prizes in relation to this. At a National level, he is on the ANZAN education committee and is responsible for the organisation of an annual weekend training course for Advanced Trainees in Neurology and another annual training course in Neuro-ophthalmology.

Research Interests

• Stroke (thrombolysis, anticoagulation)
• Neurophysiology
• Neuro-Ophthalmology (vision, visual attention and eye movements)
• Finite Element modelling of the optic chiasm
• Postgraduate neurological education

Recent Publications (since 2003)

• G McIlwaine, JH Vallance, CJ Lueck. "Transient or intermittent visual loss". Practical Neurology 2003;3:178-183.
• W Whiteley, R Al-Shahi, CJ Lueck, L Myles. "Spontaneous intracranial hypotension causing confusion and coma: A headache for the neurologist and the neurosurgeon." British Journal of Neurosurgery 2003;17:456-458.
• CJ Lueck, GG McIlwaine. " Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension". In (Eds. R. Wormald, L. Seeth, K. Henshaw) Evidence Based Ophthalmology. London: BMJ Books, 2004.
• CJ Lueck. "Double vision. Assessment and management". Medicine Today. 2004;5:27-36.
• CJ Lueck, DF Gilmour, GG McIlwaine. Neuro-ophthalmology: Examination and Investigation. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004;75 (Supp IV):iv2-iv11.
• GG McIlwaine, ZI Carrim, CJ Lueck, TM Chrisp. A mechanical theory to account for bitemporal hemianopia from chiasmal compression. J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2005;25:40-43.
• R Ruseckaite, T Maddess, G Danta, CJ Lueck, AC James. Sparse multifocal stimuli for the detection of multiple sclerosis. Ann. Neurology 2005:57:904-913.
• C Lueck, G McIlwaine. Interventions for idiopathic intracranial hypertension (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library, Issue 3, 2005. Oxford: Update Software.
• CJ Lueck "Letter from Australia 2". Practical Neurology 2005;5:248-251.
• CJ Lueck. "Clinical sign: Nystagmus". Practical Neurology 2005;5:288-291.
• CMC Allen, CJ Lueck, M Dennis. "Diseases of the Nervous System". In (Eds., NA Boon, N Colledge, B Walker, J Hunter) Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine, 20e. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. 2006.
• IM Williams, L Mulhall, J Mattingley, C Lueck, L Abel. Optokinetic nystagmus as an assessment of visual attention to divided stimuli. J. Clin. Neuroscience. 2006;13:828-833.
• CJ Lueck. Disease modifying agents for multiple sclerosis - how safe are they? Focus on Multiple Sclerosis 2007;2:11-14.
• W Whiteley, R Al-Shahi, CP Warlow, M Zeidler, CJ Lueck. CSF opening pressure: reference interval and the effect of body mass index. Neurology 2006;67:1690-1691.
• C Rathmalgoda, J Potter, CJ Lueck. Serum sodium valproate testing: is it appropriate? Medical Journal of Australia 2007;187:582-4.
• [SCOPE (Stroke Complications and Outcomes Prediction Engine) Collaborations and IST. Predicting outcome in hyperacute stroke: validation of a prognostic model in the third international stroke trial (IST3). Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 2008;79;397-400.]
• CJ Lueck, J Morris, E Pepper. Job variation in Australian advanced training in neurology. Internal Medicine Journal 2008;38:549-558.
• V Biousse, O Calvetti, CD Drews-Botsch, EJ Atkins, B Sathornsumetee, NJ Newman, for the Optic Neuritis Survey Group. Management of optic neuritis and impact of clinical trials: an international survey. Journal of the Neurological Sciences (2008), doi:10.1016/j.jns.2008.08.039