Two Australian scientists have each been awarded an AUD$1.25 million, five-year CSL Centenary Fellowship to further research that aims to help patients beat leukaemia and examine the origins of memory to better understand Alzheimer’s disease.
Professor Geoff Faulkner and Associate Professor Steven Lane are the inaugural Fellows in a $25 million program established by CSL in its centenary year to support Australia’s best and brightest biomedical researchers—fostering excellence in medical research by supporting mid-career scientists to pursue world-class research at an Australian institution.
Geoff Faulkner is testing a bold idea— he thinks long-term memory might be stored in our brain’s DNA. If he’s right, it will revolutionise both our understanding of life’s blueprint and how we manage diseases like schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s.
There’s DNA in every human cell called ‘junk’ or ‘non-coding’ DNA because our bodies don’t use it to generate proteins, the building blocks of life.
The strange thing is, this DNA makes up over 98 per cent of our genome. Surely it must do something. The question is: what?
Geoff Faulkner has been studying this question for years with his team from the MRI-UQ. Now, working with the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI), Geoff’s inaugural CSL Centenary Fellowship will help him delve deeper, using brains bequeathed by Alzheimer’s patients.
Leukaemia is one of Australia’s deadliest types of cancer. However, as Steven Lane knows, it’s not just one type—it’s hundreds of different types, each with its own genetic fingerprint.
This variation means some types of leukaemia are treatable, whereas others quickly develop resistance. Today, 85 per cent of children with leukaemia can be cured, but the outlook for patients over 60 is bleak—only 10 per cent survive beyond one year.
Steven wants to change that outlook. Together with his team at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Brisbane he has developed the capacity to rapidly profile the genetics of leukaemia types and model them in the lab.
CSL is proud to announce the establishment of a new flagship $25 million fellowship program for early stage and translational research in Australia.
The announcement was made last night by CSL’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Paul Perreault, at the CSL Centenary Celebration Gala. Mr Perreault also announced that the highly respected molecular biologist, Professor Ashley Dunn, will Chair the Selection Committee.
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CSL Limited Media Release
CSL Limited Media Release
Geoff Faulkner is testing a bold idea— he thinks long-term memory might be stored in our brain’s DNA. If he’s right, it will revolutionise both our understanding of life’s blueprint and how we manage diseases like schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s.
Leukaemia is one of Australia’s deadliest types of cancer. However, as Steven Lane knows, it’s not just one type—it’s hundreds of different types, each with its own genetic fingerprint.
CSL is proud to announce the establishment of a new flagship $25 million fellowship program for early stage and translational research in Australia.
