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Life in the Lab
Meet PhD student Martha Blank
Posted 08th August 2019
Martha is a PhD student in our Bone Cell Biology & Disease Unit. Her supervisor is SVI Deputy Director, Professor Natalie Sims. Bone is a surprisingly dynamic tissue, continually changing its shape and composition in response to physical exercise, diet and other factors. This is controlled by three cell types within the bone tissue – osteoblasts (that form bone), osteoclasts (that destroy bone) and osteocytes (a network of cells that signal to osteoblasts and osteoclasts). Their research is focussed on understanding the way these cells communicate with each other to control bone health.
Meet PhD student Vanessa Tsui
Posted 08th August 2019
Vanessa is a PhD student in our Genome Stability Unit and her supervisor is Dr Wayne Crismani. The group studies the mechanisms cells use to protect themselves from cancer-causing mutations. We study familial cancer syndromes that cause predisposition to breast/ovarian cancer, leukaemias and other solid tumours.
Women in Research 2017
Posted 14th May 2017
Happy Mother's Day! The children of SVI's Women in Research help celebrate Mother's Day.
Research - Andrew Deans - Fanconi Anaemia
Posted 19th December 2016
Dr Andrew Deans, Head Genome Stability Unit SVI
Victorian Cancer Agency (VCA) Mid Career Fellow
Research interests: Familial breast/ovarian cancer; Fanconi Anaemia; Bloom’s Syndrome; DNA damage signalling and repair; regulation of ubiquitination; roles of DNA damage response proteins during chemotherapy.
Read more about Andrew's most recent discovery here.
Profile - Louise Purton - Stem Cell Regulation
Posted 06th July 2016
Professor Louise Purton
Co-Head, Stem Cell Regulation Unit
Professor, Dept of Medicine SVH, The University of Melbourne
Research Interests: The research in my lab primarily focuses on processes involved in blood cell production (haematopoiesis). All blood cells are formed from haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are capable of either self-renewing (to make more HSCs) or differentiating into mature blood cell types- each HSC makes hundreds of thousands of blood cells. Research in my laboratory is focused on understanding how HSCs are regulated, and determining the roles of the bone marrow microenvironment (where blood cells are made) in regulating haemopoietic diseases, including leukaemia.
Profile - Jonathan Oakhill - Metabolic signalling
Posted 06th July 2016
Dr Jonathon Oakhilll
ARC Future Fellow
Protein Chemistry and Metabolism Unit
Research Interests: My research aims to define mechanisms mediating energy-sensing by the master metabolic regulator AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key regulator of cellular and systemic energy homeostasis. The metabolic dimensions of diseases including type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer, have encouraged efforts to develop direct activating drugs for AMPK. My research has provided significant breakthroughs in understanding the complex regulatory mechanisms that enable AMPK to perform its critical roles.
Read more about Jon here.