Profile
I graduated in Zoology (supervised by Professor George Stephenson) from La Trobe University in 1982 and trained thereafter in Biomedical Imaging and Image Processing with the late Professor Fred Fay at The University of Massachusetts Medical School in the USA. Postdoctoral work was supported by numerous career development and training fellowships including CJ Martin (NHMRC), National Heart Foundation (Aust), American Heart Association and Muscular Dystrophy Association (USA). Upon return to Australia I was awarded an NHMRC Career Fellowship which I relinquished when appointed as a lecturer in Physiology at the University of Melbourne in 1988. I am currently a Professor in the same department.
I was a Raine Foundation Visiting Professor at the University of Western Australia in 1995, and awarded an International Young Scientist award in 1996 by the Japanese Circulation Society.
My current research interests are in biomedical imaging particularly in relation to understanding cell-to-cell communication in brain function.
My favorite pastimes are travel, photography, the visual arts including drawing, painting and theatre, and “arm chair” sport. This year I have also used Long Service Leave to undertake six 1st and 2nd year undergraduate subjects in the Department of Creative Arts, University of Melbourne.
Qualifications:
PhD
BSc(Hons)
Teaching
Convenor & Lecturer:
536-201 Principles of Physiology (Science)
536-206 Physiology (Optometry)
511-224 Oral Health Sciences 2A (Dental Science)
536-211 Physiology: Control of Body Function (Science)
536-311 Molecular/Cellular Basis of Physiology (Science)
536-304 Experiments and Seminars in Physiology (Science)
Convenor (Physiology Stream):
516-307 Research Project (Science)
Lecturer:
536-302 Molecular Neuroscience (Science)
510-112 Nutrition Digestion & Metabolism (Medicine)
510-210 Cardio-respiratory & Locomotor Systems (Medicine)
Service to the University, discipline
or community and recent presentations
Departmental Committee (Physiology)
Faculty (FMDHS) Research Committee
University Academic Board
Seminars:
University of Queensland, Physiology and Pharmacology.
University of Sydney, Key Centre for Microscopy.
Conferences
Australian NeuroScience Society
Australian Physiological Society
New Zealand Microscopy Society
Calcium in Development, Health and Disease: Applications in Technology. Hong Kong university of Science and Technology, Dec, 2004
Research
Profile, Interests and Recent Publications
My special interest has been in the regulation of ionic balance in normal and diseased cells and tissues.
I was fortunate to publish some of the first work on fluorescent biosensors for physiologically important ions. This work set the tone and analytical framework for numerous papers that followed and contributed to the birth of a field that has impacted on the study of cell physiology and other disciplines of life sciences research.
My group has developed new and improved methods for the detection of Ca2+ and other ions in living cells and was among the earliest to merge this technology with digital imaging microscopy. These new methods have been applied to a body of work on the Ca2+ metabolism of skeletal and cardiac muscle that has earned international recognition. In recent years focus of the lab has turned to the Neurosciences and in particular, as part of a multidisciplinary NHMRC program, to neuronal function related to epilepsies.
Research training is a priority and approximately 40 honours and PhD students, many of whom are currently undertaking independent scientific careers, have graduated from my laboratory.
My laboratory also has a high profile in the Australasian Region running practical skills workshops for Biomedical imaging throughout Australia, New Zealand and South Korea that have trained over 200 research scientists and students.
Recent Publications:
Monif M, Smart ML, Reid CA & Williams DA. Development of calcium biosensors for measurement of presynaptic calcium. Clin Expt Pharm Physiol 31: (2004)
Smart ML, Gu B, Panchal RG, Wiley J, Cromer B, Williams DA & Petrou S. P2X7 receptor cell surface expression and cytolytic pore formation are regulated by a distal C-terminal region. J. Biol. Chem. 278:8853-60, (2003)
Bowser DN, Petrou S, Panchal, RG, Smart ML & Williams DA. Release of mitochondrial Ca2+ via the permeability transition activates endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ uptake. FASEB J 16:1105-1107 (2002).
Bowser DN, Wagner DA, Czaikowski C, Cromer CA, Parker MW, Wallace RH, Harkin LA, Mulley JC, Marini C, Berkovic SF, Williams DA, Jones MV, Petrou S. Altered kinetics and benzodiazepine sensitivity of a GABAA receptor subunit mutation [gamma 2(R43Q)] found in human epilepsy. Proc Natl Acad Scii USA 99:15170-5 (2002).
Panchal RG Smart ML Bowser DN Williams DA & Petrou S Pore-forming proteins and their application in biotechnology. Current Pharmaceutical BioTechnology 3(2):99-115 (2002).
Research
Funding
NHMRC Program Grant: Epilepsy. Berkovic, Jackson, Petrou, Reutens, Scheffer, Williams
ARC Discovery Grant: Calcium signaling in neurons of the central nervous system. Williams, Reid
NHMRC Equipment Grant: Multiphoton Optical Imaging System. Mendohlson, Furness, Harrap
RAGS Equipment Grant: Multiphoton Optical Imaging System. Williams, Mendohlson, Furness, Harrap
Ian Potter Foundation Grant: Multiphoton Optical Imaging System. Williams, Mendohlson, Furness, Harrap
Supervisor
Mark Hargreaves
Currently
Supervised Staff/Students
Mastura Monif
Adam Wall
