2019 DOHaD international

Make the most of your trip to Melbourne, Australia, for the 2019 DOHaD World Congress by organising a local lab visit.
See for yourself the amazing facilities where our world-class DOHaD research is undertaken, and meet with the remarkable researchers who make it all happen!
If you are interested in this networking opportunity and would like to schedule a visit, please contact directly the researcher(s) listed below by email:

Researchers

		Professor M. Jane Black Contact: jane.black@monash.edu Monash University Clayton, Victoria https://www.monash.edu/about/our-locations/clayton-campus Keywords: preterm birth, kidney development, cardiac development, developmental programming, human, animal models, early life developmental insults. Professor Mary Jane Black is the Head of the Cardiovascular and Renal Programming laboratory in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, within the Biomedicine Discovery Institute, at Monash University, Australia. Her research focuses on the early life origins of cardiovascular and renal disease; in particular, how perturbations in growth in early life can program for long-term vulnerability to disease. Over recent years, her research group has made major contributions to the understanding of how preterm birth affects the development of the kidneys and cardiovascular system and the long-term consequences. She is recognised for her expertise relating to the development of the kidneys and heart (human and animal models) and for her morphological and stereological analyses of these organs.

		Associate Professor Jeffrey Craig Contact: jeffrey.craig@deakin.edu.au Deakin University Waurn Ponds, Victoria http://www.deakin.edu.au/locations/geelong-waurn-ponds-campus Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Parkville, Victoria https://www.mcri.edu.au/contact Keywords: epigenetics, twins, biomarker, neurodevelopmental disorder, autism, cerebral palsy. Associate Professor Jeff Craig is a Lecturer in Medical Sciences at School of Medicine at Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria. Prior to this, he spent twenty years as a researcher at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne. He studies the role of epigenetics in mediating the effects of early life environment on the risk for chronic disease. He is currently developing epigenetic biomarkers from easy-to-collect biosamples. Dr Craig has established a number of longitudinal cohorts in collaboration with clinicians and epidemiologists. Most have involved twins, due their ability to resolve the effects of genes and environments, particularly in the prenatal period. His longest-running cohort, the Peri/postnatal Epigenetic Twin Study (PETS), is currently funded to study children at eleven years of age. Dr Craig is also a Chief Investigator on the NHMRC-funded Twins Centre of Research Excellence and President of the International Society for Twin Studies. He has a keen interest in the applications of his research for public health and to do this, he is engaging with the public and with colleagues from a wide range of disciplines including ethics, sociology and law. In the broader context, he is interested in the two-way interactions between human health and the health of the environment.

		Professor Kate Denton Contact: kate.denton@monash.edu Monash University Clayton, Victoria https://www.monash.edu/about/our-locations/clayton-campus Keywords: renal programming of hypertension, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, sex-differences, neural control of renal function. An integrative cardiovascular and renal physiologist Prof Denton’s goal is to improve cardiovascular health for men and women across their lifespan. Her work focusses on the integrative control of arterial pressure, with a strong emphasis on the contribution of the kidney. Current work focuses on the developmental origins of cardiovascular disease; Understanding sex-differences in the regulation of blood pressure; and investigates the efficacy and safety of catheter-based renal denervation, an emerging treatment for hypertension. The challenges of managing and preventing the development of hypertension are increasing as it is predicted that 60% of the population will be hypertensive by 2025. Greater understanding of the mechanisms causing increased blood pressure, and identification of new therapies to prevent hypertensive tissue injury are pivotal in meeting this challenge. She has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the Harriet Dustan Award from the American Heart Association-Council for Hypertension, 2017. She serves on the editorial boards of Hypertension, American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, Experimental Physiology and Frontiers in Physiology and APS-select.

		Professor Vincent Harley Contact: vincent.harley@hudson.org.au Hudson Institute of Medical Research Clayton, Victoria https://hudson.org.au/about/contact-us/ Keywords: disorders of sex development, Parkinson's disease, SOX genes, transgender, sex bias. Professor Vincent Harley is the head of the Molecular Genetics and Development laboratory at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, and a Professor in the Anatomy and Biochemistry Departments of Monash University. His research interest is in the genetics of sexual differentiation. Specifically intersex conditions, gender identity, and sex bias in neurological conditions such as Parkinson's and ADHD. Professor Harley is the President of the Lorne Genome Inc and the Director of the Human Variome Project Australia. He shares a NHMRC Program grant, "Disorders of Sex Development; genomic and diagnosis to inform clinical care". Professor Harley is a strong advocate for improved clinical management of intersex patients and has been an invited member on international panels such as LWPES/EPES (US and European) taskforce on intersex and IOC-convened panel on Gender and Sport.

		Professor Kate Loveland Contact: kate.loveland@monash.edu Hudson Institute of Medical Research Clayton, Victoria https://hudson.org.au/about/contact-us/ Keywords: testicular cancer, fetal testis development, tumor immunology, cell signalling. I am Head of the Centre for Reproductive Health in the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Academic co-Leader of a joint PhD training program with Justus-Liebig University Giessen in Germany, and Head of Postgraduate Research for the Monash University School of Clinical Sciences. My research objective is to identify and characterise the molecular switches that regulate cell fate decisions in sperm precursor cells (germ cells) and in the somatic cells that support them. Our disease focus is on testicular dysgenesis and the aetiology of testicular cancer. My laboratory investigates the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underpin mammalian testis development and sperm production, in humans and in mouse models. Our specific research focus areas are: Signalling crosstalk by activin/ TGFβ superfamily, cross-talk between immune cells and germ cells in normal and pathological conditions, andthe contribution of regulated nuclear transport molecules to cellular development and stress responses.

		Dr Francine Marques Contact: francine.marques@monash.edu Monash University Clayton, Victoria https://www.monash.edu/about/our-locations/clayton-campus Keywords: gut microbiota, microbiome, short-chain fatty acids, hypertension, heart failure, microRNAs, next-generation sequencing, flow cytometry. Dr Francine Marques is a National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow and a former National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Heart Foundation Early Career Fellow (2013-2017). She completed a BSc with first class Honours in Genetics and a Masters in Molecular Biology and Genetics, at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. She then moved to Australia, where she was offered a competitive Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (EIPRS) to complete a PhD at the University of Sydney. Dr Marques was awarded her PhD in 2012, in the field of the molecular genetics of hypertension. Her research interests include finding new therapies and early markers to prevent cardiovascular disease, in particular high blood pressure and heart failure. Her research has shown that a diet reach in fibre is able to lower blood pressure and improve heart function through the modulation of the bacteria in our gut. She is now studying the mechanisms involved and how to take advantage of the gut microbiota to prevent cardiovascular disease, including in the offspring. Dr Marques has published >50 peer-reviewed papers, including in the journals Circulation, Molecular Psychiatry and Nature Reviews Cardiology. She receives funding from the NHMRC, the National Heart Foundation and the Foundation for High Blood Pressure Research. She is part of the executive committee of the High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia as a co-program manager and part of the mentoring committee of the International Society of Hypertension. She is also an adjunct senior lecturer at Federation University Australia.

		Associate Professor Sarah Spencer Contact: sarah.spencer@rmit.edu.au RMIT University Bundoora, Victoria https://www.rmit.edu.au/about/our-locations-and-facilities/locations/melbourne-bundoora-campus Keywords: obesity, microglia, early life programming, neuroinflammation. Sarah Spencer is a neuroendocrinology researcher with approximately 14 years’ experience. Her core research focus is on understanding the obese brain; the neurological causes and consequences of diet and obesity. She has substantial expertise in the fields of developmental, stress, and neuroimmune physiology, including a body of work showing how early life challenges, like poor diet, disrupt neuroimmune function and revealing how metabolic hormones control stress and anxiety. Sarah’s group has recently transitioned into a focus on microglia and how they play a role in mediating brain changes with obesity. Sarah is now the group leader of the “Neuroendocrinology of the Obese Brain” laboratory at RMIT.

		Professor David Burgner Contact: david.burgner{AT}mcri.edu.au Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Parkville, Victoria https://www.mcri.edu.au/contact Keywords: child, cardiovascular, metabolic, life course, inflammation, innate immunity Professor David Burgner is a paediatric infectious diseases clinician and researcher. His research interests are on the drivers and consequences of early life infection and inflammation, particularly in relation to cardiometabolic risk. He leads the Inflammatory Origins research group, co-leads the Complex Disease Flagship Initiative at MCRI, and is an investigator on The Barwon Infant Study, Child Health CheckPoint, GenV, and the Drakenstein Child Health Study. The group uses diverse methodological approaches, including total population data linkage, population-derived and high risk longitudinal cohorts, model systems and ‘omics technologies and has particular interests in preclinical cardiovascular phenotyping and assessment of inflammation and trained immunity.

		Professor Anthony Hannan Contact: anthony.hannan@florey.edu.au Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health Parkville, Victoria https://www.florey.edu.au/about/contact Keywords: gene-environment interactions, epigenetic inheritance, experience-dependent plasticity, cognitive disorders, epigenopathy, enviromimetics Professor Anthony Hannan is an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and Head of the Epigenetics and Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne. Prof. Hannan received his undergraduate training and PhD in neuroscience from the University of Sydney. He was then awarded a Nuffield Medical Fellowship at the University of Oxford, where he subsequently held other research positions before returning to Australia on an NHMRC RD Wright Career Development Fellowship to establish a laboratory at the Florey Institute. He subsequently won other fellowships and awards, including an ARC FT3 Future Fellowship and NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship. Prof. Hannan and colleagues provided the first demonstration in any genetic animal model that environmental stimulation can be therapeutic. This has led to new insights into gene-environment interactions in various brain disorders, including Huntington’s disease, dementia, depression, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. His research team at the Florey explores how genes and the environment combine via experience-dependent plasticity in the healthy and diseased brain. Their research includes models of specific neurological and psychiatric disorders which involve cognitive and affective dysfunction, investigated at behavioural, cellular and molecular levels so as to identify pathogenic mechanisms and novel therapeutic targets. Most recently, this has included studies of intergenerational and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance.

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