David Blacker graduated with an MB BS from the University of Western Australia in 1991 and then proceeded to physician and specialty training in neurology in the teaching hospitals of Perth Western Australia becoming a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2002. During the late 1990s, he was involved with some of the first cases of stroke patients treated with thrombolysis and thrombectomy. He undertook a further two years of training as the Australian Neurology Fellow and then the Cerebrovascular Diseases fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota from 2001-2003.
He then returned to Perth and established the acute stroke team at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. He played a key role in building Western Australia’s system of acute stroke care, bringing together neurologists and interventional neuroradiologists into what is likely the world’s largest geographical stroke service. For 20 years he was actively involved in clinical research, and was the Medical Director of the Perron Institute for neurological and translational science from 2014-2024. He has worked with scientists at the Perron Institute to develop a neuroprotective peptide, ARG-007, and lead a phase 2 study, completed in 2024 that has shown reduced infarct volume and improved clinical outcomes for people with severe ischemic stroke undergoing mechanical thrombectomy.
In 2018 he received the life changing diagnosis of Parkinson disease, which led to a reshaping of his career to focus on research and advocacy in PD. He now writes and speaks widely about his personal experience with PD, and hopes to assist others by sharing this. Additionally, he is striving to help his medical colleagues gain a greater insight into living with PD and to improve their communication and interactions with people with PD.
He led a small feasibility study of boxing exercise (FIGHT-PD) in 2022. This has now grown into a program with more than 100 participants.
He retired from clinical practice in 2023, but continues to oversee a monthly clinic to support people newly diagnosed with PD. He is the honorary medical director and board member of Parkinson’s Western Australia, and board member of Parkinson’s Australia.
This journey from being a doctor to a patient, and all the challenges that posed are described in his memoir ‘My FIGHT with PD, a neurologist with Parkinson disease’ released in September 2025.
In 2023, he was awarded a membership of the Order of Australia (AM) for his service to medicine and neurological research.