Dr. Sean Grimmond - Gene Genies
Based at the Institute of Molecular Bioscience (IMB)'s Expression Genomics Laboratory, Dr Sean Grimmond and his colleague Rohan Teasdale are poised to unravel the invaluable secrets of the human genome and determine the biological functions of individual genes.'Now that the human genome is sorted, we are developing one of the first tools to make sense of how to use it,' Dr Grimmond said.
His award will facilitate a collaboration with RIKEN researchers in Japan to mass-screen up to 10,000 human genes to determine which biological functions they control.
This information will give insights to the cancer cycle and mammalian development in ways that can change modern medicine forever.
It will build a library catalogue of the genes that make up the body, where they are located and the biological process they control - be it cell growth, the cell cycle or cell suicide.
'When we identify the genes that are definitely involved in the suicide cycle or controlled cell death (apoptosis), it is conceivable that we can introduce those genes to cancer cells and reverse the process,' Dr Grimmond said.
Dr Grimmond first studied microarrays at the Mammalian Genetics Unit in the United Kingdom and is a recipient of a National Health and Medical Research Council (NMHRC) career development award (2002-2006).
