Biography

Professor Dunkley's research is focused on signal transduction in neuronal and endocrine tissues and especially on protein phosphorylation.

Professor Dunkley has published 108 articles in peer reviewed journals and a further 14 refereed reviews and book chapters. His life time citations are 2880, his h-index is 27 and his average number of citations per article is 28. In 2011the number of citations was over 160. Professor Dunkley was invited by Nature Protocols to write a protocol based on two of his earlier papers which have together been cited 637 times. Since 2004 he has worked on the activation of tyrosine hydroxylase by protien phosphorylation and his review in J Neurochemistry has been cited 145 times.

Professor Dunkley has maintained a strong collaboration and mentoring role with young researchers in Brazil and has published 20 papers with these colleagues.

Professor Dunkley has a post-doctoral fellow and two PhD students working with him in 2012.

Grants: Professor Dunkley had continuous support from the NHMRC for 31 years until he retired for research in which he was the first named chief investigator. He has also been involved in many other collaborative NHMRC grants as a secondary CI. Professor Dunkley has also had grants from the ARC and many other funding agencies.

Recognition: Professor Dunkley has presented his research at 7 overseas conferences over the last 10 years with 5 being invited presentations.

In 2002 Professor Dunkley received the Hunter Medical Research Institute award for research excellence in the form of a $10,000 prize.

Professor Dunkley has been the neuroscience representative on the ARC biological sciences panel for 3 years and on an NHMRC RGIC on four occasions, including being the deputy chair of the cellular neuroscience panel in 1999 and deputy chair of the molecular neuroscience panel in 2006. He was on the Medicine and Public Health committee of the ERA in 2010 and the New Zealand PBRF committee in 2012.

Professor Dunkley was the President (2002-2003) of the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN). He still serves as a member of the ISN finance committee. In addition he is a member of the Asian Pacific Society for Neurochemistry (APSN) council.

Professor Dunkley was the Foundation Head of The School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of Newcastle (1998-2002) and was the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Health) in 2010-2011. In 2012 he was the Director of the Hunter Medical Research Institute.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Melbourne, 1973
• Bachelor of Science (Honours), University of Melbourne, 1971
• Bachelor of Science, University of Melbourne, 1970

Research

Research keywords

• Catecholamines
• Depression
• Parkinsons' disease
• Protein chemistry
• Signal transduction
• Tyrosine hydroxylase
• protein phosphorylation

Research expertise

My basic training is that of a protein chemist and I work in the field of cellular and molecular biology. My research focuses on signal transduction mechanisms in neuronal and endocrine tissues and especially on protein phosphorylation.

I have focussed on a number of key proteins and especially myelin basic protein that is essential for myelin structure, synapsin I that controls neurotransmitter release and tyrosine hydroxylase that is the rate limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis. I have investigated these proteins in the context of diseases including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinsons' disease, depression and anxiety. My focus recently has been on been investigating the phosphorylation of tyrosine hydroxylase at Ser19, Ser31 and Ser40 and tyrosine hydroxylase activity in a number of tissues from the brain and from the adrenal medulla; the tissues have been collected from a range of animal models of stress and from human postmortem Parkinsons' disease patients.

I have also had an interest in nutritional biochemistry undertaking occasional studies on the uptake of dissolved nutrients in the Sydney rock oyster; the use of blood glucose monitors in diabetics; the teratogenic and oxidative consequences of ethanol consumption and the effects of vitamin A deficiency on gastrointestinal structure and function.

Fields of Research

Centres and Groups

Centre

• PRC - Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health (CTNMH)
• Hunter Medical Research Institute
• PRC - Priority Research Centre for Bioinformatics, Biomarker Discovery and Information-Based Medicine

Group

• Hunter Medical Research Institute - Brain and Mental Health

Memberships

ARC Committee member

• AO Biological Sciences Committee 1996-1998

Committee/Associations (relevant to research).

• International Society for Neurochemistry
• NHMRC RGIC Committees 1992-1994
• The American Society for Neurochemistry
• The Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Editorial Board.

• Member 1992-1995 - European Journal of Pharmacology
• Member 1991-1994 - Journal of Molecular Neuroscience
• Member 1993-1997 - Journal of Neurochemistry

Appointments

Awards

Research Award.

Invitations

Administrative

Administrative expertise

Member of the Griffith and University of Western Sydney Medical School Strategic Advisory Groups

Foundation Head, School of Biomedical Sciences

Member of the Executive of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Co-ordinator of Space for the Campus

University Strategic Planning Task Force elected by Academic Senate

Assistant Dean Finance and Personnel/Deputy Director, Medical School

University Planning and Resources Committee elected by the University Senate

Faculty of Medicine Structure Review Committee

Head of Medical Biochemistry (1988-1999)

Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Biochemistry
• Medical Biochemistry
• Neurochemistry
• Neuroscience

Teaching expertise

B Nutrition and Dietetics

Professional Skills for Laboratory Scientists-B Biomedical Science

Biomedical Sciences Degree and Biomedical Science Hons

International Development Programme Visiting Medical Specialist

B Medicine

Teaching interests

I teach Biochemistry to all students in the Faculty of Health. I focus on metabolism and endocrinology and neuroscience.

Programs

• B Biomedical Science
• B Medicine
• B Pharmacy

Courses

• MEDI1012
• MEDI1015
• MEDI2014
• MEDI2012
• HUBS3403
• HUBS2205