Staff Profile

Career Summary

Biography

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy, University of Queensland, 14/10/1995

Research

Research keywords

• Aging and Brain Function
• Animal Models
• Cell Culture Models
• Gene Expression
• Immunocytochemistry
• Mitochondrial genomics
• Neuroanatomy
• Single Cell Genomics
• Viral Vectors

Research expertise

The main aim of my lab's research is to better understand the effects of ageing on nervous system function. It is well known that the world's population is ageing and soon there will be more people over the age of 65 than there are children. If we are to improve the quality of life of the aged, then we must first understand how ageing affects the body's various physiological systems. As the nervous system has an important role in most functions, its preservation with ageing is paramount. We are primarily using molecular approaches and focussing on ageing-related changes in the cell's two genomes - the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. It is well-established that both genomes accumulate mutations with ageing, although it is not completely clear whether these mutations are more detrimental to cell function if they accumulate more so in one of the genomes as opposed to the other. It is also not known whether the mutation accumulations occur in a cell-specific manner. This is particularly important for the nervous system with its highly heterogeneous cell population. A number of nervous system functions appear more susceptible to the ageing process than others. For example, the special senses of hearing, vision and balance are particularly prone, although it remains to be determined whether the peripheral components of these systems (cochlea, retina, and vestibular apparatus, respectively) are more affected than their central nervous system connections and processes. Cognitive function and motor control are two more nervous system functions that are affected by the ageing process as can be readily observed in the aged population. We are characterising the genomic changes in specific populations of cells within these ageing-affected systems. For example, using state-of-the-art, laser based microdissection, we can collect midbrain dopamine neurons, which play an important role in motor control as can be appreciated from Parkinson's disease, at different ages and determine changes in mitochondrial DNA and the expression level of various genes. Similar approaches are being used for spinal cord motor neurons and inner ear vestibular hair cells. Knowing how ageing affects the nervous system is important, but we also need to be able to intervene if we are to improve the quality of life of aged individuals. Calorie restriction, whereby the daily calorie intake is reduced by 20-40% (but without malnutrition), is the only presently known intervention that retards the ageing process, at least in animal models. We are establishing CR to determine whether the ageing-related changes we see in the various cell populations of interest are modified by this intervention. If this is the case, we will then set out to determine how CR achieves this.

Research methods used in the lab include:

Animal models

Laser based microdissection

Immunocytochemistry

RNA and DNA techniques

Real-time and end-point PCR

Immunofluorescence microscopy

Cryosectioning

Fields of Research

Awards

Research Award.

Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Anatomy
• Developmental Neurobiology
• Ergonomics
• Modern Techniques
• Molecular Biology
• Neurobiology
• Physiology