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Bioinformatics & Cellular Genomics

We focus on the challenges of analysing and interpreting large-scale biological data. Bringing together expertise in bioinformatics, statistics and machine learning, we develop new methods and software and collaborate closely with a wide range of colleagues on studies motivated by specific biologically-focused questions.

Lab head: Dr Davis McCarthy

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Bone Cell Biology & Disease

We study the cells inside the skeleton that control bone strength so we can design better ways of treating bone diseases like osteoporosis.

Lab head: Professor Natalie Sims

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Cancer & RNA Biology

We are interested in understanding the regulation of RNA and how this is important in normal development and cancer. It is now recognised that RNA is actively regulated at many levels, and this is important for the function both normal cells and in cancer.

Lab head: Professor Carl Walkley

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Cardiac Regeneration

As part of the Institute's O'Brien Department we use human stem cells to engineer beating heart tissue on a lab dish to develop effective and translatable treatments for heart disease.

Lab head: Associate Professor Shiang (Max) Lim

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Diabetes & Metabolic Disease

We aim to identify and develop novel therapeutic target for diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease.

Lab head: Dr Kim Loh

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DNA Damage & Cancer Therapy

We are developing new therapeutic approaches to target drug resistance in ovarian cancer and in the blood cancer multiple myeloma.

Lab head: Associate Professor Elaine Sanij

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DNA Repair & Recombination

Our vision is to translate basic knowledge of DNA repair pathways to treatments for cancer, bone marrow failure syndromes, and infertility.

Lab head: Associate Professor Wayne Crismani

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Genome Stability

We investigate the process of DNA repair, with applications in treatment of genetic disorders, cancer diagnosis and cancer therapy.

Lab head: Associate Professor Andrew Deans

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Heart, Exercise & Research Trials

The HEART Lab conducts scientific investigations focused on understanding the effect of exercise on cardiovascular health and well-being, employing sophisticated exercise testing and specialised cardiac imaging methodologies to assess the heart's capacity to respond to physiological challenges posed by exercise. Our research encompasses a wide spectrum of health conditions, from severely abnormal heart function through to the best performing hearts of elite athletes.

Lab head: Professor André La Gerche

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Human Genomics & Evolution

We study the ways in which natural selection and evolution have shaped humans, in order to understand how our species' past defines our present.

Lab head: Dr Irene Gallego Romero

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Human Immunology

The Human Immunology Laboratory has two related goals: 1) to determine how and why the immune system turns against insulin-producing cells, leading to type 1 diabetes, and 2) to develop ways to measure and prevent the disease-causing immune response.

Lab head: Associate Professor Stuart Mannering

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Immunology

We study the precise mechanisms by which T cells destroy beta cells – the ultimate cause of type 1 diabetes – and test ways to prevent this from happening.

Lab head: Professor Tom Kay

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Islet Biology

We study the interaction between the immune system and insulin-producing cells in the pancreas to develop immune-based prevention and cure strategies for type 1 diabetes.

Lab head: Professor Helen Thomas

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Lymphatic, Adipose & Regenerative Medicine

As part of the Institute's O'Brien Department, we investigate and seek new treatments for Radiation Injury Bystander Effect (RIBE) in cancer patients and for lipoedema, a condition often misdiagnosed as obesity.

Lab head: Associate Professor Ramin Shayan Lab co-head: Dr Tara Karnezis Professor Marc Achen

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Metabolic Signalling

We investigate how cells maintain their fuel levels to function and grow properly. This knowledge can be used to design better treatments for diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

Lab head: Associate Professor Jon Oakhill

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Molecular Cardiology

The Molecular Cardiology Unit researches the commonest causes of death and sickness in our community: heart disease and kidney disease, and lung inflammation as occurs in COVID and other forms of pneumonia.

Lab head: Associate Professor Duncan (Jock) Campbell

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RNA & T Cell Biology

We interrogate the genetic mechanisms that control development of the immune system, to better understand human health and disease.

Lab head: Associate Professor Mark Chong

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Stem Cell Regulation

Our laboratory does discovery through to translational research, with an ultimate goal to improve therapies for patients with different diseases that affect blood cell production. We study how blood cell production is regulated, both by proteins made by the blood cells themselves and by proteins made by the bone marrow microenvironment, which is the factory where blood cells are produced.

Lab head: Professor Louise Purton

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Structural Biology

We determine the three-dimensional atomic structures of proteins involved in disease, with a focus on neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. These structures help us to explore protein function, as well as to discover new drugs.

Lab head: Professor Michael Parker

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Structural Immunobiology

We aim to reveal the way immune cells – with particular emphasis on ‘natural killer’ cells – communicate with their environment. We wish to harness this information to improve diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as leukaemia, HTLV1 infection, multiple sclerosis and psoriasis.

Lab head: Dr Julian Vivian

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Vascular Biology

As part of the Institute's O'Brien Department, our main research focus is generating human blood vessels for integration in various human tissues grown in the laboratory, including human skin and small pieces of human liver (liver organoids). We also study the structure and function of these lab-generated human tissues.

Lab head: Associate Professor Geraldine Mitchell Lab co-head: Dr Kiryu Yap

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