1990 Menzies Scholar in Medicine
MBBS BSc PhD FRACP FRCPA FASM GCM
Other awards and achievements
1997 Australian Society for Infectious Diseases Award
1995 Glaxo award for advanced research in infectious diseases
1993 Research
associateship, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge
1992 The Eric de Bunsen award, King's College (Cambridge, UK)
1989-93 Overseas Research Students ORS award, Committee of
vice-chancellors and principals of the universities of the UK (University
of Cambridge)
1989 King's College external studentship (Cambridge, UK)
1989 Royal
Australasian College of Physicians MSD fellowship in Infectious
Diseases
1983 Most valuable intern - Concord Hospital
1979 BSc(Med) student research award (Eli-Lilly)
Education
1997-2002 Graduate Certificate of
Management (GCM) component of the Executive MBA program, Australian
Graduate School of Management (AGSM), University of NSW
1996 Fellowship
of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia
1993 Postdoctoral scientist,
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge and Division of Virology,
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge.
1991 Fellowship of the Royal Australasian
College of Physicians
1989-93 PhD student, University of Cambridge,
U.K. Thesis: Studies
of the Genomes of HCMV and MCMV
1979-82 Bachelor of Science
(Medicine), University of Sydney. Thesis: The HLA
system and leprosy.
1979 Department of Immunology,
Sydney University & East Arm
Leprosy Hospital Darwin
1976-82 Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor
of Surgery; University of Sydney
1971-76 Pennant Hills High School, Higher School Certificate
Current positions
Senior Medical Virologist, South East Health
Associate Professor
University of NSW School of Medical Sciences and School of Biotechnology
and Biomolecular Sciences
Associate Professor (Adjunct) University
of Technology (Sydney)
Publications
Original Articles, Reviews
and Reports - more than 100
Published Abstracts - 42
Sequence Submissions to Databases - 4
Abstracts - 112
Professional/Other affiliations
Editorial Boards:
2004 Microbiology
Australia
2002 Microbiology Australia
2000 Pathology – Journal of
the Royal College of Pathologists, Australia (continuing)
Advisory Boards:
2003 SARS Diagnostic Development Advisory Committee
NSW Dept of Health SARS Taskforce
Member of the Therapeutic Goods Committee (TGC) in the capacity as expert in microbiology
and virology
Member of NSW Dept of Health Blood-borne Virus Advisory Group
Public Health Laboratory Network
Commonwealth Vaccine Group (VIG)
WHO Dept of Health Enteric Diseases Advisory Committee
Areas of Professional Interest - Research
The focus of my research group is on the molecular biology of viruses.
We have worked on herpesviruses, particularly cytomegalovirus,
and secondly on hepatitis viruses (HBV, HCV and HGV). Since starting
work on human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) in 1989, my research has concentrated
on how HCMV grows in cells, and what are the best points for control
of growth of the virus, using both vaccines and antiviral agents.
Laboratory strains of HCMV (such as strain AD169) have different
phenotypes to clinical isolates. The more recent work has been
determining variations in the genotype (DNA) that are associated
with the varying phenotypes of HCMV from infected patients and
the function of the protein kinase of HCMV. HCMV is only able to
infect humans and it became evident that our studies of HCMV mutants
for use in vaccine studies, could best be done in parallel with
an animal model for HCMV infection of humans. As considerable work
has been done by others on the phenotypes of murine cytomegalovirus
(MCMV), we completed a project to sequence the laboratory adapted
strain of MCMV (Smith strain) in order to provide more information
about MCMV at a genetic level.
The MCMV model has provided ongoing collaborations with Australian
and overseas laboratories. Analysis of the MCMV genome
has identified 70 genes that are very similar in HCMV and MCMV.
These include two homologues of cellular genes, and a homologue
of the HCMV protein kinase responsible for phosphorylation of some
antiviral agents such as ganciclovir. The future use of the murine
model as a vector in which mutated HCMV genes may be inserted will
be a significant step forward in allowing in vivo studies
prior to assessment of the mutants as potential vaccine candidates.
The second major recent research work has been on the molecular
biology of Hepatitis C (HCV) and Hepatitis G (HGV) viruses. The
work recently has concentrated on analysing glycoproteins of HCV,
and distinguishing the importance of genotype in different HCV
clinical infections. We recently published work on mixed infection
(i.e. infection with dual genotypes) and the relationship between
this and pathogenesis of infection in the host.
The third area of work
has been on a number of collaborative projects, broadly relating
to the pathogenesis of viral illness. We have recently described
in a skid mouse model the transmission of endogenous retroviruses
from porcine tissue to mouse tissue – the
first such description in the world. We have also explored the
role of enteroviruses in the pathogenesis of Juvenile Diabetes
Mellitus, and increasing the knowledge of enterovirus subtypes
and the role in infection through this work.
We are continuing to investigate mRNA splicing in cytomegaloviruses,
antiviral resistance of herpesviruses, glycoproteins of hepatitis
viruses, and retroviruses of eukaryotes.
In the longer term, the studies have resulted in more detailed
virological and molecular information about DNA and RNA viruses.
The work has allowed the dissection of some of the mechanisms viral
resistance, and basic information about the biology viruses.
The overall focus of the laboratory is to understand
better the pathogenesis of RNA and DNA viruses. In our work, we
have aimed to use molecular tools available to us to investigate
the number of important virological problems. The work to date
has provided important, internationally recognised data relating
to the pathogenesis of cytomegalovirus infections, the relationship
of mixed viral infection to pathology, the importance of endogenous
retroviruses in xenotransplantation, and the role of the glycoproteins
of hepatitis viruses in pathogenesis.
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