AuPS Symposia and Joint symposia
International Symposia Speakers
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Naohiko Anzai, Dokkyo Mecial Univertsity School of
Medicine, Japan.
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Annamaria de Luca, University of Bari, Italy.
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Igor R. Efimov, Washington University, St. Louis,
USA.
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Julia Gorelik, Imperial College London, UK.
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Michael A. Hill, University of Missouri, USA.
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Michael Joyner, Mayo Clinic, USA.
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Coen Ottenheijm, VU University Medical
Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Symposia Chairs and Speakers
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Chair: Livia Hool & Jamie Vandenberg
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Livia Hool completed her PhD at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney in 1995.
She then undertook 2 years postdoctoral research as recipient of an
American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship in the School of
Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. In 1998 she was
awarded a Peter Doherty Fellowship from NHMRC and relocated to The
University of Western Australia where she established the Cardiovascular
Electrophysiology Laboratory in the discipline of Physiology, School of
Biomedical Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences. She is currently recipient
of an ARC Future Fellowship and Honorary NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship.
Her research interests include the study of the regulation of cardiac ion
channels by hypoxia and oxidative stress, in particular the L-type Ca2+
channel including redox modification of the channel protein.
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Speakers:
Annamaria de Luca
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Annamaria de Luca: Born in Italy 01/01/1962 and graduated cum laude in
Pharmacy at the University of Bari in 1985.
After a PhD in Applied Pharmacology, she was Assistant Professor
(1989-1991), then Associate Professor (2000-2005) at the Faculty of Pharmacy,
University of Bari, where she currently is Full Professor of Pharmacology.
The intense teaching activity over the years to both undergraduate
(Pharmacy, Medicinal Chemistry, Biotechnology) and PhD students, including
thesis mentorship, widely covered the entire pharmacology field.
Since then, including early research stages during PhD and post-doc at
the University College London, U.K. (Prof. Gerta Vrbovà) and at the
University of Ulm (Prof. Reinhardt Rüdel), her research interest is the
pathophysiology and pharmacology of neuromuscular disorders. Main research
topics are the pharmacology of skeletal muscle ion channels involved in
excitability disorders and in alteration of mechano-transduction and
pre-clinical studies in animal models of muscular dystrophies for the
identification of druggable targets and prediction of potential clinical
efficacy of therapeutics. This is documented by over 90 full papers on
peer-reviewed indexed Journals. Methodological approaches include in
vivo behavioral techniques, ex vivo electrophysiology and
physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology and histology. She has extensive
collaborations worldwide with both public and private institutions, and is
member of various Advisory Boards and Scientific Committees, such as the
International TREAT-NMD Advisory Committee for Therapeutics (TACT).
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David Allen,
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Paul Gregorevic,
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Thea Shavlakadze.
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Dr Thea Shavlakadze (TS) is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at
Novartis in Boston, USA for one year, working on a project with David
Glass, Global Head of the Muscle Research Unit. TS is also a Research
Associate Professor in the School of Anatomy and Human Biology at the
University of Western Australia (UWA) where she holds research grants and
currently co-supervises 5 PhD students. TS graduated from the Tbilisi State
University, in Georgia with a Postgraduate degree in Cell Biology (1998)
and was awarded a PhD with Distinction from the UWA in 2005. Since 2007, TS
has obtained $1.4 million in research funding, including being CI on 4
NH & MRC grants, and has 25 publications since 2000. The research of TS has
targeted factors controlling the growth and maintenance of skeletal muscle
mass and potential therapies for muscle disorders with a focus on in vivo
studies and tissue analyses. Major areas of research include the role of
Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) in regulating skeletal muscle mass,
and analyses of signalling pathways and other factors involved in skeletal
muscle wasting, especially the progressive age-related loss of muscle mass
and function known as sarcopenia.
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Chair: Lawrie Beilin & Trevor Mori
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Speakers:
Claire Roberts
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Claire Roberts directs Placenta Research in the Robinson Institute,
University of Adelaide Australia. Her research aims to elucidate the
molecular mechanisms by which placental trophoblasts invade the maternal
endometrium and its vasculature to sequester maternal blood flow to the
placenta that is critical for pregnancy success. She is well known for her
research on the role of IGFs in placentation and has expertise in this
process in a variety of species including mouse, guinea pig and human. She
is developing screening tools to predict which couples are at risk for
developing common and life-threatening complications of pregnancy in which
defective placentation is a feature including preeclampsia, pre-term birth
and fetal growth restriction.
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Karen Moritz
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Associate Professor Karen Moritz is a NH & MRC Senior Research Fellow in the
School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Queensland. The aim of
her work is to understand how prenatal perturbations contribute to an
increased risk of developing cardiovascular, renal and metabolic disease in
adulthood. Over the last 5-7 years, her research has focused on determining
the pivotal role played by the kidney in the “developmental programming” of
adult disease. Her research has shown a reduced nephron endowment is
associated with hypertension and renal impairment in the adult following
excess maternal glucocorticoid exposure, maternal low protein diet,
placental insufficiency and most recently, prenatal alcohol exposure.
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Janna Morrison
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An accomplished researcher in the field of fetal development, Janna
Morrison is Head of the Early Origins of Adult Health Research Group in the
Sansom Institute for Health Research at the University of South Australia.
Dr Morrison has been funded as a fellow by the Heart Foundation since 2004
and is currently a South Australian Cardiovascular Health Network Fellow.
Her current research centres on how the fetal cardiovascular system
responds to changes in nutrient supply before conception and during
pregnancy. After completing her PhD at the University of British Columbia,
Janna held postdoctoral positions at University of Toronto and the
University of Adelaide before joining the Sansom Institute for Health
Research in 2006. Among her numerous awards and achievements, Janna
received a South Australian Tall Poppy Science Award (2006) in recognition
of her work examining the link between low birth weight and heart disease
in adulthood.
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Laura Bennet
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Professor Laura Bennet is co-director of the Fetal Physiology and
Neuroscience Group in the Department of Physiology, at the University of
Auckland. She is a fetal systems physiologist with a particular interest in
cerebrovascular and neurophysiology and the physiological and pathological
responses of the preterm fetus to hypoxia and infection. In addition to
ongoing work on neuroprotection treatments and identifying biomarkers for
predicting the at risk brain, she has recently begun to evaluate strategies
for neurorepair. This work is targeted at developing treatments for
cerebral palsy.
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Rae-Chi Huang
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Rae-Chi Huang completed a BSc at the UoW and then Hons/PhD with Prof Hill
(JCSMR, ANU) examining the mechanisms underlying vasomotion in small blood
vessels. I
then undertook a postdoctoral position with Dr Cunnane (Uni. Of Oxford, UK)
using confocal imaging to examine vascular smooth muscle calcium transients
associated with peripheral nerve activity before joining Prof Morris and Dr
Sandow (UNSW) as a NHMRC Doherty Fellow investigating the effects of
diet-induced obesity on the vascular endothelium. Most recently, I have
returned to the ANU where my studies have focussed on the effects of
obesity on sympathetic activity in the resistance vasculature.
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Bronwyn Kingwell
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Professor Bronwyn Kingwell is a NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, and at the
Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute in Melbourne is Executive Director,
Science Policy, co-Head of the Metabolism and Obesity Division (6
laboratories) and also leads the Healthy Lifestyle Research Centre. She
has Professorial appointments in the Department of Medicine and Department
of Physiology at Monash University and is a Principal Research Fellow at
the University of Melbourne. She received her PhD in physiology from the
University of Melbourne in 1991. Her multi-disciplinary Metabolic and
Vascular Physiology Laboratory works on discovery and translation of novel
molecular mechanisms to clinical application with a focus in the following
areas:
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Vascular function including mechanical and endothelium properties and their
relationship to cardiovascular risk.
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Identification of novel predictors of unstable coronary heart disease
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The role of HDL cholesterol in modulation of glucose and fat metabolism
Professor Kingwell holds NHMRC Program and Project grants and is a lead
investigator on two Clinical Research Excellence grants. She has published
over 140 peer-reviewed manuscripts in top-ranked general and discipline
specific journals.
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Chair: Yue-Kun Ju & David Allen
Yue-Kun Ju
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Dr. Yue-kun Ju is a senior research fellow of Muscle Cell Function
Laboratory, the Department of Physiology, University of Sydney. Dr. Ju
received a Medical Degree and Master Degree of Medicine at The Fourth
Military Medical University (FMMU), Xian, P.R China. In 1989, she came to
Australia and studied the persistent sodium channels in cardiac myocytes
with the late Prof. Peter Gage and Dr. David Saint at John Curtin School of
Medical Research. She received her PhD in Neuroscience at Australian
National University in 1994. Dr. Ju joined Prof. David Allen’s laboratory
in 1996 and has, since that time, pursued her research on the calcium
mechanisms that regulate cardiac pacemaker activity. She is now a council
member of ISHR Australasian; AuPS and an international fellow of the American
Heart Association. Her current research interests include IP3 Receptors,
TRPC and store-operated Ca2+ channels and their possible involvement in
cardiac arrhythmia.
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David Allen
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David Allen is Professor of Physiology at the University of Sydney. He
trained in Physiology and Medicine at University College London where he
also undertook his PhD on the activation of cardiac muscle. As a
post-doctoral fellow he joined John Blinks at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota
where they devised the first method for measuring intracellular calcium in
the heart. On his return to University College as a Lecturer, then Reader,
he undertook a series of studies of calcium regulation in the heart and, in
particular, its modification by muscle length and ischaemia. In 1989 he
moved to Sydney to take up a Chair of Physiology. His current research
interests encompass pacemaker function, ischaemia and reperfusion of the
heart, skeletal muscle fatigue and the damage pathways in muscular
dystrophy. In 2006 he was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of
Science. He is currently the President of the Australian Physiological
Society.
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Speakers:
Igor Efimov
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Igor R. Efimov, Ph.D., F.A.H.A., F.H.R.S. The Lucy and Stanley Lopata
Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Professor of Cell
Biology and Physiology, Professor of Medicine and Professor of Radiology,
Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. Receive his M.Sc. In 1986
and Ph.D. In 1992 from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow
Russia. 1992-1994 - Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of
Pittsburgh, USA. Faculty appointments at the Cleveland Clinic (1994-2000),
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland OH (2000-2004), and Washington
University in St. Louis (2004-present), MO, USA. In 2009 founded Cardialen,
Inc. which develops low energy defibrillation therapy for cardiac
arrhythmias.
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Adam Hill
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I am a group leader in the Mark Cowley Lidwill research program in cardiac
electrophysiology at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney.
My research interests are split between two related disciplines, ion
channel physiology and computational cardiology. The main focuses of our
work are: 1) Using novel approaches such as voltage clamp fluorometry and
-value analysis to interrogate structure function relationships in ion
channels and 2) Developing computational simulations of cardiac electrical
activity to investigate the genesis of rhythm disturbances in cardiac
tissue.
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Derek Laver
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Derek Laver: I received my PhD at the University of NSW in 1984 and I now lead
the Channel Biophysics group at the University of Newcastle. The theme to my
research career has been the use of biophysical methods to study membrane
transport and ion channel function. I use electrophysiolological techniques
to measure ion channel function. Channel function is analysed using Markov
theory to unravel and identify the complex mechanisms that control ion
channels within cells. My research focus is now the calcium release
channels in cardiac muscle and the role they play in normal cardiac
pacemaking, cardiac arrhythmia and sudden death.
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Chair: Lynette Fernandes
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Lynette completed her PhD at UWA before taking up postdoctoral positions at
The Johns Hopkins University. On returning to UWA, she continued her
research in respiratory pharmacology, with an emphasis on airway nerve
function and modulation. In 2004, she was appointed to an academic teaching
and learning position within Pharmacology at UWA. Lynette was part of a
nation-wide team that secured funding from the Australian Learning and
Teaching Council (ALTC) for a project entitled “Ensuring quality graduates
of Pharmacology”. She has developed a program in responsible conduct in
learning and research that has now been embedded within the Pharmacology
curriculum. Lynette is also leading the development of a
multi-disciplinary ethics unit that will be available to undergraduate
students across UWA. Lynette is currently an ASCEPT councillor where she
is involved with the joint ASCEPT-AuPS-HBPRCA joint meeting in Perth. She
is also responsible for the ASCEPT Mentoring Program.
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Chair: Livia Hool & Helena Viola
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Helena Viola carried out her PhD in the Cardiovascular Electrophysiology
Laboratory of Assoc. Prof. Livia Hool at the University of Western
Australia from 2007-2010, as recipient of a National Heart Foundation and
NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship. She currently holds a Research Associate
position in Assoc. Prof. Hool’s laboratory. Her research interests include
the study of mechanisms involved in progression toward cardiac hypertrophy
in response to mild oxidative stress, with particular interest in the role
of the L-type calcium channel and mitochondria.
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Speakers:
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Lea Delbridge
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Prof Lea Delbridge heads the Cardiac Phenomics Laboratory in the
Department of Physiology at the University of Melbourne. Her research
focus is to understand structural and functional cardiopathilogy
in different forms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy associated with
hormonal disturbances. Lea is World Council Member and President of
the Australasian Section Council of the International Society of Heart
Research (ISHR), a Council member for the Australian Physiological Society
(AuPS), an elected Fellow ofthe Cardiac Soc of Aust & NZ and appointed
to the CSANZ Scientific Committee. She is also an editorial board member
for a number of international journals, including J Molecular & Cellular
Cardiology, Am J Physiol (Heart), and of course CEPP!
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Salvatore Pepe
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Dr Salvatore Pepe is based at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute at
the The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. His research is centred on
the molecular study of cardiac metabolism and contraction, focused on
mitochondrial function, oxidative metabolism, the regulation of adaptive
processes including cardioprotection, and mitochondrial defects that
contribute to the development and progression of heart failure. A large
part of this research is translational to the clinical and surgical setting
for age-related and congenital heart diseases.
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Aleksandra Filipovska
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Aleksandra Filipovska received her PhD in 2002 from the University of
Otago, New Zealand. From 2003-2005 she was a NZ Foundation for Research,
Science and Technology Fellow at the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit in
Cambridge, the United Kingdom. In 2006 she relocated to Australia as a
NH & MRC Howard Florey Fellow and established her research group at the
Western Australian Institute for Medical Research in Perth. She is
currently an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and a group leader
at the University of Western Australia. Her research interests are in
mitochondrial gene expression and in targeting molecules with biological
function to mitochondria and cells.
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Chair & Speaker: Stefan Bröer
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Stefan Broer studied Biochemistry at the University of Tuebingen/Germany
from 1981 to 1986 and received his PhD in 1991. After being a research
fellow of the German Science Foundation at the University of Illinois in
Chicago he was appointed as Junior Lecturer at the University of Tuebingen
in the Institute of Physiological Chemistry in 1993. In 2000 Stefan moved
to the ANU as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2006 and to full
Professor in 2008. Stefan was treasurer and council member of the
Australian Physiological Society from 2005-2009.
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Speakers:
Naohiko Anzai
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Naohiko ANZAI, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor at Dokkyo Mecial Univertsity School of Medicine, Tochigi, JAPAN.
Born in Tokyo, Japan, 1965.
1994 - 1990: Medical studies at Chiba University, Japan
1990 - 1994: Resident at Chiba University Hospital
1995 - 1999: Assistant Professor at Kitasato University, Japan
1999 - 2001: Fellow at the Institute Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology
(IPMC), CNRS, France
2001 - 2011: Assistant and associate professor at the Kyorin University.
2011 -: Professor at Dokkyo Medical University, Tochigi, Japan
Activities: American Physiological Society, American Society of Nephrology,
International Society of Nephrology, European Renal Association, Japanese
Pharmacological Society, Physiological Society of Japan
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Peter Thorn
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I am an Associate Professor in the School of Biomedical
Sciences at the University of Queensland. Previously I worked for 10 years
as a lecturer and, in the end as a Reader, at Cambridge University in the
Department of Pharmacology. My studies focus on the regulation of secretion
in epithelial cells. Despite their physiological significance, in the
functioning of the lungs and gastrointestinal system, we know remarkably
little about the actual mechanisms of secretion in these cells.
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Phil Poronnik
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Philip Poronnik is Professor and Head of Pharmaceutical Sciences at RMIT
University and Acting Deputy Head of School Learning and Teaching. He was
previously Professor in Physiology at the School of Biomedical Sciences at
UQ. He is an ALTC Associate Fellow and his main interest in science
education is leadership in the reinvigoration of the tertiary science
curriculum. This includes pedagogies for creativity and visual literacies
as well as academic rigour in the enabling sciences. He has an adjunct
Professorial appointment in the Centre for Educational Innovation and
Technology at UQ, is a co-opted member of the National Committee for
Biomedical Sciences of the Australian Academy of Science and the National
Secretary for ANZAAS. He recently received an ALTC grant to form the
Collaborative Universities Biomedical Education Network (CUBENET).
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Anuwat Dinudom
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Associate Professor Anuwat Dinudom
Anuwat Dinudom received his PhD from The University of Sydney in 1994. He
was a Medical Foundation Research Fellow from 1994-1996, an NH & MRC RD
Wright recipient from 2000-2003, and NH & MRC Senior Research Fellow from
2004-2010, all working in the Laboratory of Exocrine Physiology &
Biophysics within the Sydney Medical School. His research focuses on
identifying the cellular signalling mechanisms that regulate the epithelial
Na+ channel (ENaC). His research team was the fist to discover the role of
intracellular Na+ and anions in the regulation of ENaC and showed that the
G protein-coupled receptor kinase (GRK2) regulates activity of the channel.
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Chair: Michael McKenna
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Speakers:
Michael Joyner
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Michael J. Joyner, M.D., is the Caywood Professor of Anesthesiology at Mayo
Clinic where he was named Distinguished Investigator in 2010. His
interests include: cardiovascular regulation in humans, the physiology of
world records, and autonomic regulation of blood glucose. His
undergraduate (1981) and medical (1987) degrees are from the University of
Arizona with residency and research training at Mayo. He has held
leadership positions at Mayo, in the extramural research community, and
with leading journals. His lab has been funded by the NIH since 1993, and
former fellows have established independent research programs at leading
institutions throughout the world.
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Louise Naylor
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Dr Louise Naylors research focus is on cardiac and vascuilar adaptations to
exercise training, and the application of this work to optimise clinical
outcomes for "at risk" populations.
During her research career, she have worked across the spectrum of health
and disease, from elite athlethes to chronically ill individuals (for example,
patients with advanced heart failure, obesity and adolescents with type 2
diabetes) to generate a multifaceted understanding of cardiac and vascular
exercise physiology. She is also involved in basic science research to add
further mechanistic insights into regulation of the cardiovascular system.
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Danny Green
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Danny Green is a Winthrop Professor in the School of Sports Science,
Exercise and Health at The University of Western Australia and the Chair of
Cardiovascular Physiology in the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise
Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University. His research investigates
the reasons why exercise, exercise training and physical activity prevent
heart disease and the best combinations of exercise and other preventative
measures to minimise the risk of future development and re-occurrence of
cardiovascular disease.
His research encompasses the lifespan; from
exercise training in prevention of the development of atherosclerosis in
obese children and adolescents, to the management of patients with
hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, coronary disease and heart failure. He has
published over 150 peer reviewed articles in cardiology and physiology
journals, delivered 20 invited keynote presentations at national and
international conferences, been awarded 20 conference prizes and held
continuous competitive grant funding since the 1990's. He has supervised 20
higher degree students at UWA and in the UK. In the 1990's he established
a research intensive Clinical Exercise Physiology service in the Cardiac
Transplant Unit at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH), the first of its type in
Australia. He is a currently an editor for Experimental Physiology and an
editorial advisor for Clinical Science (London).
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Chair:
Livia Hool & Gina Ravenscroft
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Dr Gina Ravenscroft is a postdoctoral researcher in the Molecular
Neurogenetics Laboratory at the Western Australian Institute for Medical
Research and University of Western Australia. Gina joined the Molecular
Neurogenetics Laboratory as a PhD student after obtaining her undergraduate
degree and Honours qualifications (majoring in Physiology) at UWA. Her
main research interests include investigating the genetic causes of skeletal
muscle diseases, including foetal akinesias; the functional role of
wild-type and mutant proteins; and investigating routes to therapy for the
group of severe congenital muscle diseases caused by mutations in the
skeletal muscle alpha-actin gene.
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Speakers:
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Nigel Laing
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Nigel Laing: PhD Edinburgh University 1979; post-doc Oslo 1980; University
of Western Australia since 1981. 1976-1987 I was a neuroembryologist
researching motor neuron and muscle development. 1987-1988 I retrained in
human molecular genetics at Duke University. In Western Australia I
developed research and diagnostic molecular neurogenetics laboratories and
have identified 15 human disease genes, including mutations in skeletal
muscle a-actin in congenital myopathies and in slow skeletal/b-cardiac
myosin in “Laing” distal myopathy. My laboratory is currently engaged in
further gene discovery, understanding the pathobiology of the diseases,
developing effective therapies and translating results into clinical and
population health practice.
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Coen Ottenheijm
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Coen Ottenheijm: Since 2010, I am working as Assistant Professor at the dept of Physiology
at the VU University Medical Center (Amsterdam, the Netherlands). My
research focuses on the role of nebulin, and of other sarcomeric thin
filament proteins, in the pathogenesis of muscle weakness in nemaline
myopathy. This work, which is funded by the EU and the Dutch Foundation for
Scientific Research, concerns research on unique muscle biopsies from
genetically characterized patients, and on nebulin-based KO mouse models.
It is my goal to contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis
of muscle weakness in NM, and to help develop new treatment strategies.
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Kathryn North
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Professor Kathryn North is the Douglas Burrows Professor of Paediatrics,
Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney and Head of the Institute for
Neuroscience and Muscle Research based at The Children’s Hospital at
Westmead,
Professor North is trained as a paediatric physician, neurologist and
clinical geneticist and in 1994, was awarded a doctorate from the
University of Sydney for research into Neurogenetics. She completed a
postdoctoral fellowship in the Harvard Genetics Program and returned to
Australia in 1995 as the recipient of the Children’s Hospital Research
Career Development Award. In 2000, she received the Sunderland Award from
the Australian Neuroscience Society and in 2008 was named the Sutherland
Lecturer by the Human Genetics Society of Australasia. In 2011, Prof North
was awarded the GSK Australia Award for Research Excellence in recognition
of her body of work as a translational research scientist and her
world-first discovery of a common genetic mutation that influences muscle
function and performance,
Her laboratory research interests focus on the molecular basis of inherited
muscle disorders - particularly the muscular dystrophies and congenital
myopathies – as well as genes which influence normal skeletal muscle
function and elite athletic performance. Her clinical research focuses on
clinical trials of therapies for muscular dystrophy as well as the
development of interventions for children with learning disabilities.
Professor North also runs the Neurogenetics Clinical Service at the
Children’s Hospital which cares for ~1800 patients and their families with
a range of disorders including neuromuscular diseases such as muscular
dystrophy and neurofibromatosis.
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Chair: Lea Delbridge & Peter Molenaar
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Speakers:
Julia Gorelik
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Dr Julia Gorelik is a Reader within the National Heart and Lung Institute,
Imperial College London. She works with Scanning Ion Conductance Microscopy
(SICM), which enables recording of high-resolution topography of living
cells and tissues. Dr Gorelik improved SICM to measure localisation of ion
channels and receptors, contraction, rhythm and calcium dynamics of
cardiomyocytes, allowing the study of arrhythmias and heart failure
conditions on cultured heart cells and tissues. Recently she developed a
combination of SICM and fluorescence resonance energy transfer techniques
to investigate spatial β2-adrenoceptor-cyclic AMP signalling in failing and
non-failing hearts (Science, 2010). She received Welcome Trust University
Award and Rector Research Excellence Award, 2010.
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Livia Hool
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David Saint
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David Saint is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology at
the University of Adelaide. He is the co-founder and CEO of Rhinopharma
Ltd (Canadian Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Co), now re-listed on AIM as
Verona
Pharmaceuticals Ltd. He is now scientific advisor for Verona, Chairman of
Bioangels SA (Biotechnology Angel investor group based in Adelaide, Australia).
His research interests and expertise are in Biophysics, Pharmacology,
Toxicology, Cardiac Physiology, Electrophysiology and Pathophysiology.
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Peter Molenaar
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Peter Molenaar is head of the in vitro human heart laboratory (Prince
Charles Hospital) and Molecular human heart pharmacology laboratory (Inst
of Health and Biomedical Innovation, QUT). The laboratories have a long
standing interest in investigations of G-protein coupled receptor- and in
particular beta-adrenoceptor subtype signaling in human heart.
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Chair:Caryl Hill & Dirk van Helden
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Caryl Hill obtained her PhD from the University of Melbourne, studying
autonomic nerve development and function under the supervision of Geoffrey
Burnstock. Subsequent work at the Australian National University, employing
the vascular system as an autonomic target tissue, produced an enduring
fascination with the mechanisms underlying vasomotor activity; in
particular the impact of cell coupling on the vasodilatory capacity of the
endothelium and the coordination of vascular responses. Professor Hill’s
work aims to integrate data from electrophysiological studies with
anatomical and molecular biological techniques to gain insight into the
similarities and differences which underpin vascular function throughout
the body, with the ultimate aim of understanding vascular disease.
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Dirk van Helden: I am an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow at the University of
Newcastle. I trained in Engineering and then did some bridging studies in
Biomedical
Sciences followed by a PhD in Physiology at the University of NSW and a
brief postdoctoral period studying the neuromuscular junction in Peter
Gage’s laboratory. A subsequent postdoctoral period was undertaken as a
Nuffield Fellow at the University of Cambridge with Richard Keynes studying
sodium channel gating currents. I then returned to University of NSW on a
QEII Fellowship and subsequently moved to the John Curtin School of Medical
Research as a Research Fellow working with David Hirst on neurovascular
transmission. I then went to the University of Newcastle in 1987 to fulfil
my dream of running my own laboratory in an environment where the early
morning surf was not out of the question. My current interests encompass
research into pacemaker and signal propagation mechanisms in various smooth
muscles (e.g. lymphatic, gastrointestinal and uterine), the heart and the
brain (e.g. Locus coeruleus). Translational research is also underway into
snakebite first aid, an offshoot of the lymphatic studies. I am currently
the Director of the Cardiovascular Research Program in the Hunter Medical
Research Institute.
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Speakers:
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Barbara Kemp-Harper
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Barb Kemp-Harper is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of
Pharmacology, Monash University. After completing her PhD in 1995 she was
awarded a NHMRC CJ Martin fellowship and then a Foundation for High Blood
Pressure Research Postdoctoral Fellowship. Barb’s research aims to identify
novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of vascular disease with
a focus on the NO/cGMP signaling pathway. She is a leading expert in the
field of nitroxyl (HNO) pharmacology and her work has attracted funding
from the NHMRC and other national funding bodies. She has served as a Guest
Editor for Antioxidants & Redox Signaling and she is currently an ASCEPT
Councillor.
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Shane Thomas
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Shane Thomas received a PhD in 1999 from the University of Sydney. He
undertook post-doctoral studies at the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute,
Boston University as an NHMRC CJ Martin fellow and then moved to the Centre
for Vascular Research, University of New South Wales where he established
an independent research group as an NHMRC RD Wright Career Development
Fellow. He is currently Group Leader of the ‘Redox Cell Signalling Group’
at the same centre and institution. A major research focus of his group is
defining the reduction and oxidation (redox) reactions and cell signalling
pathways underlying endothelial dysfunction during cardiovascular disease
and the development of new treatments to combat such dysfunction.
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Rebecca Haddock
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Rebecca Haddock: I completed a BSc at the UoW and then Hons/PhD with Prof Hill (JCSMR, ANU)
examining the mechanisms underlying vasomotion in small blood vessels. I
then undertook a postdoctoral position with Dr Cunnane (Uni. Of Oxford, UK)
using confocal imaging to examine vascular smooth muscle calcium transients
associated with peripheral nerve activity before joining Prof Morris and Dr
Sandow (UNSW) as a NHMRC Doherty Fellow investigating the effects of
diet-induced obesity on the vascular endothelium. Most recently, I have
returned to the ANU where my studies have focussed on the effects of
obesity on sympathetic activity in the resistance vasculature.
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James Brock
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James Brock is an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Anatomy
and Cell Biology at the University of Melbourne. His primary research
focus is the mechanisms of transmission at sympathetic neurovascular
junctions. Recently this work has focussed on the effects of nerve
injuries on blood vessel function. James also has a particular interest in
the mechanisms that control the excitability of unmyelinated sensory nerve
terminals. He developed a technique that for first time allowed electrical
activity to be recorded directly from nociceptive nerve terminals. Using
this approach he is investigating mechanisms that regulate action potential
generation in nociceptors.
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Chair:
Simon Potocnik
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Simon Potocnik obtained his PhD at the Howard Florey Institute, University
of Melbourne and gained postdoctoral experience at the Baker Institute, St
Mary’s Hospital London and the Austin Hospital in the area of
micro-vascular physiology. At RMIT University since 1998 his research has
focused on the myogenic response of small arterioles to arterial pressure
and underlying smooth muscle signalling. Simon is the Honours Program
Coordinator for RMIT University School of Medical Sciences and Associate
Editor for the AuPS.
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Speakers:
Michael Hill
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Ph.D., University of Melbourne (1988). Postdoctoral training at Texas
A & M University before holding academic positions in physiology at Eastern
Virginia Medical School, RMIT University and University of New South Wales.
Current positions, Associate Director Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center
and Professor of Physiology, Department of Medical Pharmacology and
Physiology, University of Missouri, USA; and Distinguished Research Fellow,
RMIT University. President-elect Microcirculatory Society (USA) and Chair
of Nominating Committee/Member of the Steering Committee, American
Physiological Society (CV Section). Fulbright Alumni. Current funding,
National Institutes of Health (NHLBI). Member of editorial boards for
Microcirculation, Journal of Vascular Research and Frontiers in Vascular
Physiology.
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Tim Murphy
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Dr Tim Murphy completed his PhD in 1992 at the University of Melbourne,
Australia. He has held Postdoctoral positions funded by the NH & MRC and the
Wellcome Trust (UK) and was inaugural Senior Scientist at RMIT Drug
Discovery Technologies (RDDT). In 2004, Dr Murphy was appointed Senior
Lecturer in the Department of Physiology, University of New South Wales,
Sydney, where he is currently based.
Dr Murphy’s studies primarily focus on the interaction between
intra-luminal pressure and vascular smooth muscle function in small
arteries. He is also interested in the effects of obesity and diabetes on
the function of small arteries.
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Grigori Rychkov
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Grigori Rychkov obtained his Bachelor of Science (Physics) degree in
Rostov-on-Don state University (Russia) in 1983. After graduating from
University he moved to Research Institute of Experimental Biology in
Yerevan (Armenia) to do PhD in the area of biophysics of ion channels. In
1994 Dr Rychkov immigrated to Australia and started a post-doctoral
position with Prof Alan Bretag in University of South Australia
investigating gating properties of skeletal muscle chloride channels. In
2002 he was awarded ARC Research Fellowship and in 2007 NHMRC Senior
Research Fellowship. His Current research investigates the role
store-operated Ca2+ channels and transient receptor potential (TRP) cation
channels in the functions of animal cells.
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Owen Woodman
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Owen Woodman has more than 30 years experience in research into the
function of the cardiovascular system and the adverse effects of disease,
working at institutions including Harvard University and the University of
Melbourne before joining RMIT University in 2007. He is presently
Professor of Cell Biology in the School of Medical Sciences, RMIT
University, Deputy Head of School (Research) and Head of the Discipline of
Cell Biology and Anatomy. He has a particular interest in the development
of new drugs for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction and vascular
disease, including diabetes-induced vascular pathologies. His work in
conjunction with colleagues from the Howard Florey Institute and the School
of Chemistry, University of Melbourne has formed the basis of the
commercial development of cardioprotective drugs by the biotechnology
company Neuprotect Pty Ltd.
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Chair: David Adams & Roger Summers
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David Adams is currently Professor and Director of the Health Innovations
Research Institute at RMIT University, Melbourne. He was previously
Professor and Chair of Physiology at the University of Queensland, Head of
Department of Physiology & Pharmacology (1998-2000), Head of the School of
Biomedical Sciences (2000-07) and Professorial Research Fellow in the
Queensland Brain Institute (2008-09). He is an ARC Australian Professorial
Fellow (2010-14) and a Chief Investigator on an NHMRC Program Grant
(2005-14) to identify novel pain therapeutics based on venom peptides
(conotoxins) from cone snails. His research focuses on the function and
modulation of membrane receptors and ion channels and, in particular,
nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and voltage-gated calcium channels. The
study of the mechanism of action of conotoxins has led to their use as
selective probes of ion channel structure and function and their
development as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of chronic
and neuropathic pain. David has published 145 refereed journal articles (90
as first or senior author) in leading international physiology,
pharmacology and neuroscience journals and 15 book chapters He is the past
President of the Australian Physiological Society (AuPS; 2004-10), a former
member of the National Committee for Biomedical Science, Australian Academy
of Science (2005-09) and a member of three Editorial Boards of
international scientific journals.
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Roger Summers is Professor of Molecular Pharmacology and Theme Leader,
Drug Discovery Biology at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Fellow of the British Pharmacological Society and PhD honoris causa
Stockholm University. His research interests include ligand-directed
signalling bias whereby different ligands acting at the same receptor can
activate a particular spectrum of signalling pathways and the role of
receptor scaffolding protein complexes in GPCR function and is supported by
the NHMRC and ARC. Recipient of the David Syme Research Prize; ASCEPT/BPS
Visiting Lectureship; Kathleen & Lovat Fraser Award of the NHF; Swedish RC
Tage Erlander Visiting Professorship; Toho University Visiting
Professorship, ASCEPT Life membership and Michael Rand Medal.
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Speakers:
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Roger Summers
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John Miners
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Joe Lynch
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Joe Lynch completed a BSc in Physics at the University of Melbourne. He
subsequently completed a M.Biomed.E. and a Ph.D. at the University of NSW.
Following postdoctoral periods in Germany, France and the Garvan Institute
of Medical Research, he moved to University of QLD in 1996 as a Senior
Lecturer in the School of Biomedical Sciences. He was awarded an NHMRC
Research Fellowship in 2004 (renewed in 2009) and relocated to the QBI in
2007. His major research interests concern the molecular structure and
function of the glycine and GABA-A inhibitory neurotransmitter ion
channels.
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David Adams
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Chair: Jane Pillow & Gavin Pinniger
Gavin Pinniger
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Dr Gavin Pinniger (Co-Chair & speaker):
After obtaining his PhD in Biomedical Science from the University of
Wollongong (2002), Dr Pinniger was awarded a Travelling Research Fellowship
from The Wellcome Trust to undertake a post-doctoral appointment at the
University of Bristol, UK. He is currently Assistant Professor in
Physiology, School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences, UWA.
Dr Pinniger’s research focuses on the physiological evaluation of skeletal
muscle function. He is currently investigating the contribution of
inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species to skeletal muscle
weakness and the impact of clinically relevant antenatal exposures such as
glucocorticoids, inflammation and oxidative stress on foetal diaphragm
function.
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Speakers:
Graeme Zosky
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Dr Graeme Zosky is a Research Fellow and Head of the Lung Growth and
Respiratory Environmental Health Group at the Telethon Institute for Child
Health Research. He has an undergraduate degree in Zoology (1999) and a PhD
in Zoology/Physiology (2003) from the University of Western Australia. He
has since completed a Masters in Biostatistics at the University of Sydney
(2010). His research focuses on the role of early life exposures in the
development of chronic lung disease in later life. He is also an
international leader in the design and application of techniques for
assessing lung mechanics in animal models.
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Peter Henry
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Peter Henry is a graduate of UWA, completing a PhD in Pharmacology.
Following a post-doctoral period at the University of Melbourne, he
returned to UWA. He was awarded an NHMRC RD Wright Fellowship for New
Investigators, and then appointed to the NHMRC Fellowships Scheme as a
Research Fellow. In 2001, Peter was appointed to an academic teaching and
research position within the Pharmacology at UWA. He has spent over 20
years investigating novel pathways that protect the lungs from the
injurious effects of airborne allergens, respiratory tract viruses,
bacterial products and environmental toxins. These studies have typically
involved collaborations with scientists from international pharmaceutical
companies and academic institutions, and have been extensively funded by
the NHMRC.
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Peter McFawn
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I completed my PhD in 1997 at the University of Western Australia working
on developmental changes in bronchial compliance and airway responsiveness
using isolated bronchial segments. After working at Queen’s University in
Canada for four years on quantitative bronchoscopy and calcium
sensitisation of airway smooth muscle I returned to Perth in 2002 as an
academic staff member at The University of Western Australia. My current
research interests focus on the bronchodilator effects of deep inspiration
(DI) where by taking a deep breath in causes bronchodilation in healthy
people a response that fails or is impaired in both asthma and chronic
obstructive disease. Fortunately we have a productive collaboration with
clinical colleges at the Queen Elisabeth II Medical Centre allowing us to
obtain human lung samples from patients who are undergoing lung resection
to treat lung cancer. I am also an associate editor for the Canadian
Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology.
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Timothy Moss
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