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Head, Epigenetics

Honorary Research Associate

To describe the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and health care workers on genomics in cancer care to inform the National Framework for Genomics in Cancer Control (the Framework).

Human milk bacteria contribute to gut microbiome establishment in breastfed infants. Although breastfeeding is recommended throughout infancy, temporal variation in the milk microbiome-particularly beyond solid food introduction-remains understudied. We analyzed 539 milk samples from 83 mother-infant dyads between 1 week and 12 months postpartum using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Functional studies of how early-life interventions shape the airway microbiome remain scarce. Here, we performed metagenomic sequencing of 704 longitudinal nasal swabs from infants with and without cystic fibrosis (CF) to construct and characterize a non-redundant gene atlas of the infant nasal microbiome. We aimed to determine how the nasal microbiome is perturbed by early therapies, as CF is commonly treated with inhaled hypertonic saline to improve mucociliary clearance.

Timo Lassmann BSc (Hons) MSc PhD Feilman Fellow; Head, Precision Health Research and Head, Translational Intelligence timo.lassmann@thekids.org.au

Spatial transcriptomic techniques provide a wealth of information useful in guiding drug development, while three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures have demonstrated power in accelerating drug approvals. However, techniques for robust spatial analysis of 3D cultures are limited. Here, we present a transfection-based method for constructing cellular spheroids through a layer-by-layer approach, in which DNA barcodes encode the spatial positioning of cells.

The specific role of chromatin modifying factors in the timely execution of transcriptional changes in gene expression to regulate organ size remains largely unknown. Here, we report that in Drosophila melanogaster depletion of the histone demethylase dLsd1 results in the reduction of wing size. dLsd1 depletion affects cell proliferation and causes an increase in DNA damage and cell death.

Type-2 diabetes is a systemic condition with rising global prevalence, disproportionately affecting Indigenous communities worldwide. Recent advances in epigenomics methods, particularly in DNA methylation detection, have enabled the discovery of associations between epigenetic changes and Type-2 diabetes. In this review, we summarise DNA methylation profiling methods, and discuss how these technologies can facilitate the discovery of epigenomic biomarkers for Type-2 diabetes. 

The goal of this study was to understand individuals with cerebral palsy (CP) and their family's attitudes and preferences to genomic research, including international data sharing and biobanking.