My research program aims to better understand the causes of cancer and factors that influence outcomes after cancer diagnosis.

This project seeks to provide insights into new mechanisms that could be used to enhance or inhibit neuronal signalling. The family of pentameric neurotransmitter receptors that are key components in the process of neuronal signalling and are the target of this study.

Chronic pain is a common debilitating symptom affecting between 50% and 80% of MS patients. However, despite its widespread occurrence, chronic pain is a rarely studied symptom of this disease.

Williams-Beuren Syndrome (WBS) is a neurdevelopmental genetic disorder characterized by specific cognitive and behavioural defects resulting in a unique debilitating personality profile.

The human face is a highly complex structure and the finished physiognomy and skin surface is of deep social and psychological significance because so much of human social behaviour is focused on facial recognition, the language of facial expression and the subjective perception of facial beauty.

Improvements in childhood cancer treatments have lead to a survival rate of more than 80%, but 2/3 of the survivors further develop at least one severe complication, notably metabolic disorders. Radiation therapy seems to be the most prominent risk factor.

Mitochondria are the major site for fuel oxidation in cells and strategies that stimulate mitochondria to burn more calories may prove beneficial for preventing obesity and insulin resistance.

There is a clear relationship between excess intake of dietary fat (particularly animal-based fats such as lard) and the development of obesity and insulin resistance.

Cancer cells reprogram their metabolism to use fuel (fat, protein and glucose) in a different way to normal cells. This adaptation is thought to allow cancer cells to make the building blocks (proteins, DNA, lipids) they need to grow and divide rapidly.

Excess fat in the diet typically leads to weight gain and inappropriate deposition of lipid in organs such as liver and skeletal muscle.

Peripheral nerve injury often results in persistent and debilitating neuropathic pain. My overall objective is to understand the immunological mechanisms responsible for such pain.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective treatment for depression, used in Australia and throughout the world to treat severe depression that has not responded to other treatments.

The aims of this research are to assess the effects of immune modulation by inducing immune tolerance and manipulating regulatory T cells on pain behaviours following nervous system injury.

The actin cytoskeleton has long been known to be a key regulator of cell proliferation linking biochemical sensing of the environment with cell cycle progression.

A potential target for anti-cancer drugs is the actin cytoskeleton; however, it has been unattainable because the toxicity associated with disabling this target has been unacceptable.

Colorectal cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, with more than 13500 cases recorded annually. Oxaliplatin is an effective chemotherapy for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

DNA methylation provides a mechanism by which external environmental factors can modify gene expression.

Cancer of unknown primary (CUP) is a diagnosis used to describe patients with metastatic cancer with no identifiable primary site of origin at the time of presentation. CUP is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in NSW, but little is known about its risk factors or management.

Ovarian cancer is a difficult disease to treat, because often women are diagnosed at an advanced stage of the disease.

Annually more than 900 Australians are diagnosed with follicular lymphoma. The proposed research aims to identify the environmental and genetic causes of this blood cancer. People diagnosed with lymphoma, and an unaffected family member, will be enrolled in a 5-year study in NSW and Victoria.

The congregation of students, who may have similar infectious diseases risks, may amplify infectious disease outbreaks, as seen in the USA. In contrast to the USA, there are no existing requirements at universities in Australia regarding proof of immunisation.

This proposed research addresses the need for real-time tracking of emerging infectious diseases, both spatially and temporally, to inform international and national outbreak response teams, aid in the implementation of real-time containment strategies and ultimately the timely control of emergin