ARC Future Fellow (FT3) / Honorary NHMRC Senior Research Fellow
BSc (Hons) PhD (Syd)
The human cerebral cortex contains billions of neurons that are interconnected by trillions of synapses to form functional networks underlying our most complex brain functions. It is only after birth, when environmental stimuli induce patterned neural activity via the sensory pathways, that diverse cortical functions begin to emerge. We are exploring the mechanisms whereby the genetic program regulating maturation and function of the brain, as well as dysfunction, is dynamically moulded by environmental stimuli, via modulation of sensory, cognitive and motor activity.
Our research is focused on understanding gene-environment interactions, experience-dependent plasticity and mechanisms of pathogenesis in mouse models of brain disorders such as Huntington’s disease (including the depression and dementia that occur in HD), schizophrenia and autistic spectrum disorders. Using a range of techniques, from molecular through to cellular and behavioural analysis, exploring cognitive and affective endophenotypes, we are attempting to understand how genes and environment combine to affect specific aspects of brain function and dysfunction.
Further study of the beneficial effects of various environmental manipulations (such as environmental enrichment and exercise interventions) might provide direction for therapeutic approaches (e.g. ‘enviromimetics’) of clinical value for brain diseases. Ongoing research aims to investigate gene-environment interactions and their impact on brain function and behaviour, not only to elucidate disease mechanisms, but also to use our approach as a tool to identify molecular targets for future development of novel therapeutics.
A range of behavioural, cellular and molecular techniques are employed in our laboratory, including:
Mouse behavioural analysis (including sensory, social, affective, cognitive, motor, vocalization tests); Environmental manipulations (e.g. environmental enrichment and exercise interventions); Pharmacological interventions (acute and chronic); Physiological and behavioural pharmacology; Immunohistochemistry and unbiased stereology; Measurement of adult neurogenesis; Analysis of neuronal morphology and dendritic spines; Fluorescence and confocal microscopy; Neuroendocrinology; Radioligand autoradiography; Protein analysis (e.g. Westerns and ELISA); Molecular biology (e.g. quantitative real-time PCR and epigenetic analysis).
ARC, NHMRC
Prof. Edna Hardeman and Dr Stephen Palmer
University of New South Wales, Sydney
Prof. Patrick Tam and Dr Greg Pelka
Children’s Medical Research Institute and University of Sydney
A/Prof. Maarten van den Buuse
Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, Melbourne
A/Prof. Brian Dean and Dr Elizabeth Scarr
Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, Melbourne
Dr Erica Fletcher
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Melbourne
A/Prof. Xiao-Jun Du
Baker-IDI, Melbourne
Dr Elisa Hill and Prof. Terry O’Brien
Royal Melbourne Hospital, Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne
Dr Danny Hatters
Bio21 Institute, Department of Biochemistry, University of Melbourne
Dr Peter Crouch, Dr Anthony White and A/Prof. Kevin Barnham
University of Melbourne
Dr Nick Wong, Dr Richard Saffery and Dr Jeff Craig
MCRI, Royal Childrens Hospital, Melbourne
Prof. Gary Egan, A/Prof. Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis and Prof. Julie Stout
Monash University
Dr Lars Ittner and Prof. Jurgen Gotz
University of Sydney
Dr Trent Woodruff and A/Prof. Peter Noakes
University of Queensland, Brisbane
Dr Laurence Lanfumey
INSERM UMR 677, Paris, France
Dr Ghazaleh Sadri-Vakili
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, USA
Dr Caitlin McOmish
Columbia University, USA
Dr Jess Nithianantharajah
Welcome Trust Sanger Institute, University of Cambridge, UK
Dr Xu Hou and Prof. Mu-ming Poo
Institute of Neurosciences, Shanghai, China
“Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination.”
