Scientific Advisory Board

The ASCC has an independent Scientific Advisory Board consisting of the below highly qualified scientific and clinical experts. The Scientific Advisory Board provides formal assessment on applications for funding of new projects to the ASCC, and continuation of funding for existing projects.

Professor Bryan Williams

Professor Bryan Williams
Director, Monash Institute of Medical Research

Professor Bryan Williams was appointed as the Director of the Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) from January 1 2006 and heads the Centre for Cancer Research at MIMR. Prior to this appointment, Professor Williams was the Chairman of the Department of Cancer Biology at the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, a position he had held since 1991. He was also an Associate Director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Cleveland.

Professor Williams has a distinguished history in cancer research. He has previously worked in New Zealand, England, Canada and America, specialising in the molecular biology of tumour suppression, and focusing on the role tumour suppressor genes may play in regulating cell growth, maturation and apoptosis (programmed cell death). He is internationally recognised for his contributions to research on Wilms Tumour, a cancer of the kidney that primarily affects children, for studies on protein kinase R, an important cellular signalling molecule and for work on innate immunity.

Professor Nicos Nicola

Professor Nicos Nicola
Head of Division of Cancer and Haematology and Assistant Director, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Professor Nicos Nicola is head of the Division of Cancer and Haematology and Assistant Director at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne. He obtained his PhD as a protein chemist in the Biochemistry Department at Melbourne University and for the last 25 years has studied the molecular control of blood formation at the Hall Institute. He and his associates purified the cytokine G-CSF in 1983. This cytokine is currently extensively used in patients receiving cancer chemotherapy. They also cloned one of the first cytokine receptors (that for GM-CSF) in 1989 and a novel family of negative regulators of cytokine signalling (the SOCS proteins) in 1997.

Professor Nicola is a member of the Australian Academy of Science and has received several awards including the Gottschalk, Wellcome, AMGEN Australia and LKB-Pharmacia Biotechnology (ASBMB) medals. He is an ISI Australian citation laureate and has authored 187 primary research papers, four books and is an inventor on 17 patents. His main current focus is in understanding the molecular regulation of cytokine signalling pathways in a physiological context.

Professor Patrick Tam

Professor Patrick Tam
Professor and NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow, Medicine and Head of
Embryology Research Unit and Acting Director, Children's Medical Research Institute,
University of Sydney

Professor Patrick Tam is a Senior Principal Research Fellow of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, and heads the Embryology Research Unit and is the Acting Deputy Director of the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI). He holds a conjoint appointment as Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney and an Honorary Professorship at the University of Hong Kong.

Professor Tam's research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of body patterning during mouse development. He pioneered the application of micromanipulation and embryo culture for analysing mouse embryos and examining the development of the head and embryonic gut. The embryological analysis undertaken by his team at CMRI has enabled the construction of a series of fate-maps revealing the organisation of the basic body plan of the early embryo. His other current research is on X-linked diseases and the genetics of eye development. In recognition of his research achievement, Professor Tam was awarded the President’s Medal of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Cell and Developmental Biology in 2007.

Dr Kirsten Herbert

Dr Kirsten Herbert
Haematology Fellow, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

SDr Kirsten Herbert's association with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre began in 1999 as a third year Hospital Medical Officer in the Haematology Unit. Since then, her involvement in haematology research at the centre has evolved considerably, culminating in her promotion to Haematology Fellow in July 2007 upon achievement of a Doctorate in Philosophy. Dr. Kirsten Herbert was recently awarded the Cancer Council of Victoria Early Career Clinician Researcher Fellowship for 2008 – 2011.

Dr Herbert's research has focused on the investigating of retinoids and their role in human and murine haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) mobilisation. Initial preclinical studies were performed using murine models to clarify the effect of specific retinoids on HSC mobilisation, and assessing for response to treatment. This research progressed on to the design and execution of phase I and II clinical trials involving the use of a novel retinoid to synergise with granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in HSC mobilisation in human patients.

Professor George Yeoh

Professor George Yeoh
Associate Dean for Research, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences,
University of Western Australia and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
School of Biomedical & Chemical Sciences, University of Western Australia

Professor George Yeoh received his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 1972. Shortly after he was awarded the CJ Martin Overseas Research Fellow (NHMRC) and studied at the University of Pennsylvania USA and the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow, Scotland. He filled many roles as Visiting Scientist at a number of prestigious universities in the USA and in Europe.

Following his return to Australia Professor Yeoh was successful in obtaining an NHMRC Fellowship and achieved successive renewals to the level of Principal Research Fellow. He is currently the Associate Dean for Research in the UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, as well as a Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. His current research focus is on investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying liver development. His work has centred upon three distinct areas, the regulation of liver specific genes during development; liver carcinogenesis and the changes in gene expression accompanying the transformation of normal liver cells to cancer; and liver stem cells and their potential use in cell and gene therapy to treat liver disease.

Professor Norio Nakatsuji

Professor Norio Nakatsuji DSc.
Director and Professor, Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences and Professor,
Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

Professor Norio Nakatsuji is a graduate of Kyoto University (Biology) and obtained his Doctor of Science in Developmental Biology from Faculty of Science, Kyoto University in 1977. He then spent several years of postdoctoral training abroad at Umea University in Sweden, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and George Washington University in USA, and MRC Mammalian Development Unit in London. He returned to Japan to join Meiji Institute of Health Science in 1984 and became a professor at National Institute of Genetics in 1991.

In 1999, Professor Nakatsuji moved to the Institute for Frontier Medical Sciences at Kyoto University, which aims at both basic and application research for regenerative medicine with special emphasis on the stem cell biology and medicine. His laboratory established ES cell lines from monkey blastocysts in 2000 and working on manipulation and utilisation of primate ES cells. Recently, he has been appointed as the founding director of the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), which is aiming at cross-disciplinary research and technological innovation based on cell biology, chemistry and physics, with special emphasis on meso-scale-control and stem cells.

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