Philip Beart (PhD ANU, DSc Melbourne) has been a NH&MRC Research Fellow for 30 yrs and is currently Professorial Fellow in the Florey Neuroscience Institutes and Adjunct Professor in Pharmacology, University of Melbourne. He worked at the Cambridge and Harvard Universities, before holding positions at the Austin Hospital and Monash University.
Research focus is on brain cell death and homeostatic mechanisms pertinent to neurological diseases. Phil has published >200 papers, served on numerous editorial boards, diverse involvements in learned societies, and trained BSc(Hons)(n=26) and postgraduate (n=30) students. Prizes and lectureships in neuroscience (Bethlehem Griffiths Medal, 2010; Lawrie Austin Lectureship 2009, ANS) and pharmacology (Michael Rand Medal 2009, ASCEPT).
Long-term commitment to the promotion of medical research, and especially neuroscience, to the wider community and has provided extensive service to the NH&MRC (RF & RGMS User Reference Committees 2010; CDF Committee 2011). Phil is currently Chair of the Promotions Committee (Parkville campus) and President of the International Society for Neurochemistry. Phil has interests in physical fitness, music and cinema, and is a member of the Northcote Yabbies Swimming Club.
Our laboratory has broad interests in how neurones live and die. Major research themes include: (a) dissecting cellular death mechanisms and recruitment of autophagy, programmed necrosis and ubiquitin-proteasome, (b) healthy and toxic components of astrogliosis as they relate to Motoneuron Disease, (c) bioengineering of astrocytes for brain repair, and (d) exploration of novel targets for brain protection.
Dr Linda Lau (postdoctoral research associate)
Mrs Linda Mercer (senior research officer)
Ms Yea Seul Shin (postgraduate student)
Ms Tine Tingleff (postgraduate student)
Primary neuronal and astrocyte culture
Quantitative assessment of neuronal injury
Glutamate transport and astrocyte biology
Immunocytochemistry
Confocal microscopy
Bioengineering and nanoscaffolds
NHMRC Research Fellowship (2011-16)
NHMRC Project Grants (2011-14)
Pierce Amstrong Foundation (2011)
National
Dr Hakan Mudyerman. Dept of Biochemistry, Flinders Medical Centre
Dr Steve Cheung. Schoolof Life & Environmental SciencesDeakin University
Dr David Nisbet. Schoolof Engineering, Australian National University
Associate Professor John Forsythe. Dept of Materials Engineering, Monash University
Professor Phillip Nagley. Department of Biochemistry, Monash University
Dr Ross O’Shea. Department of Human Biosciences, La Trobe University
Professor Phillip Robinson.Children's Medical Research Institute,Universityof Sydney
Professor David Pow. Centre for Clinical Research,Universityof Queensland
International
Professor Ulf Nilsson. Dept of Chemistry, University of Lund, Sweden
Professor Niels Danbolt. Dept of Anatomy, University of Oslo, Norway
Dr Sohail Ahmed. Institute of Molecular Biology, Singapore.
Lau C.L., Perreau V.M., Chen M.J., Cate H.S., Merlo D., Cheung N.S., O’Shea R.D. & Beart P.M.Transcriptomic profiling of astrocytes treated with the rho kinase inhibitor fasudil reveals cytoskeletal and pro-survival responses. Journal of Cellular Physiology. 2011 May 20. doi: 10.1002/jcp.22838. [Epub ahead of print].
Higgins G.C., Devenish R.J., Beart P.M. & Nagley P. Autophagic activity in cortical neurons under acute oxidative stress directly contributes to cell death Cellular & Molecular Life Sciences 68: 3725-3740 (2011).
Lau C.L., O’Shea R.D., Broberg B.V., Bischof L. & Beart P.M. The Rho kinase inhibitor Fasudil upregulates astrocytic glutamate transport subsequent to actin re-modelling in cultured murine astrocytes. British Journal of Pharmacology 163: 533-545 (2011).
Chen M.J., Peng Z.F., Manikandan J., Melendez A.J., Tan G.S., Chung C.M., Li Q.T., Tan T.M., Deng L.W., Whiteman M., Beart P.M., Moore P.K. & Cheung N.S. Gene profiling reveals hydrogen sulphide recruits death signaling via the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor identifying commonalities with excitotoxicity. Journal of Cellular Physiology 226: 1308-1322 (2011).
Goh W.I., Sudhaharan T., Lim K.B., Sem K.P., Lau C.L. & Ahmed S. Rif-mDia1 interaction is involved in filopodium formation independent of Cdc42 and Rac effectors. Journal of Biological Chemistry 286: 13681-13694 (2011).
Nagley P, Higgins G.C., Atkin J.D. & Beart P.M. Multifaceted deaths orchestrated by mitochondria in neurones. Biochimica Biophysica Acta 1802: 167-185 (2010).
Diwakarla S., Nagley P., Hughes M.L., Chen B. & Beart P.M.Differential insult-dependent recruitment of the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway during neuronal programmed cell death. Cellular & Molecular Life Sciences 66, 156-172 (2009).
Diwakarla S., Mercer, L.D., Kardashsyan, L., Chu, P., Shin, Y.S., Lau, C.L., Hughes M.L., Nagley P. & Beart P.M.GABAergic striatal neurons exhibit caspase-independent, mitochondrially mediated programmed cell death Journal of Neurochemistry 109 (Suppl 1): 198-206 (2009).
Jones, N.M., Kardashyan, L., Callaway, J.K., Lee, E.M. & Beart, P.M.Long term functional and protective actions of preconditioning with hypoxia, cobalt chloride and desferrioxamine against hypoxic-ischemic injury in neonatal rats. Pediatric Research 63: 620-624 (2008).
Beart, P.M.& O’Shea, R.D. Transporters for L-glutamate: an update on their molecular pharmacology and pathological involvement. British Journal of Pharmacology 150: 5-17 (2007).
Beart, P.M.,Lim, M.L., Chen, B., Diwakarla, S., Mercer, L.D., Cheung, N.S. & Nagley, P. Hierarchical recruitment by AMPA but not staurosporine of pro-apoptotic mitochondrial signalling in cultured cortical neurons: evidence for caspase-dependent/-independent crosstalk. Journal of Neurochemistry 103: 2408-2427 (2007).
Atkin J.D., Farg M., Tomas D., Turner B., Patch J., Lysaght J., Nunan J., Rembach A., Nagley P., Beart P.M,Cheema S.S. & Horne, M.K. Induction of the unfolded protein response in familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and association of protein disulfide isomerase with superoxide dismutase 1. Journal of Biological Chemistry 281: 30152-30165 (2006).
Mercer L.D., Kelly, B.L., Horne, M.K. & Beart, P.M. Dietary polyphenols protect dopamine neurons from oxidative insults and apoptosis: investigations in primary rat mesencephalic cultures. Biochemical Pharmacology 69: 339-345 (2005).
Reddrop C., Moldrich R.X., Beart P.M., Farso M., Liberatore G.T., Howells D.W., Schleuning W-D. & Medcalf R.L. NMDA-mediated neurotoxicity is potentiated by intravenous tissue-type, but not vampire bat-plasminogen activator, and is enhanced by fibrin. Stroke 36: 1241-1246 (2005).
“Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.”
