Upcoming Seminars for 2009
How will they work?
The School of Biomedical has introduced a new format for the delivery of Seminars in 2009 -
Part 1: The Laboratory Head will explain the background and 'evolution' of their main research program;
Part 2: Up to 3 current project seminars will be given by members of that Laboratory.
Nibbles and drinks will be provided at all seminars.
Seminar Contact: Dr Ulrike Siebeck email: u.siebeck@uq.edu.au Ph. 3365 4070
Current:
Friday 3 July, Skerman Seminar Room - 3pm
Adrian Bradley
Continental drift, palaeoclimatology and adaptive radiation of marsupials. How are these related to the effects of stress on hippocampal structure and function in marsupial mice?
This short talk will describe the relevance of ecophysiological studies to our understanding of how adaptive physiological change operates in both health and disease. Animal models will be discussed together with experiences in the UK, Siberia, China, the Canadian Yukon, Brazil and the Kimberley, WA to show that, in many instances, field work can be much more fun than laboratory work
Nicole Davies (PhD student)
Fine-scale habitat use, physiological condition and genetic structure of western koala populations
Conservation rules devised from research carried out in a limited part of a species range and uniformly applied over multiple regions may be ineffective for these species as they occupy different habitat types and climatic zones throughout their range I will briefly outline how satellite tracking and remote sampling methods are being used in Western Queensland to assess genetic variability and steroid hormone changes in fragmented koala populations.
Grant Brearley (PhD student )
Ecological and physiological responses of arboreal mammals to urban habitat edges: A squirrel glider case study
This talk will describe the potential effects that loss, isolation and degradation of habitat may have on forest dependent mammal species living in human dominated landscapes. Specifically, the talk will outline the impacts that road and residential edges may have on the marsupial squirrel glider living in habitat patches within the populated south east Queensland region
Sarah Bell (PhD student)
Ecophysiology of the Marsupial Squirrel Glider ; “The Costs and Benefits of Island Life”
This study will be outlined to show how populations of the squirrel glider have adapted to living in island habitats and will describe the role of these adaptations in ensuring the long-term survival of the species. It is predicted that on islands there are different regulatory mechanisms acting on populations, such as reduced predation and increased intra-specific competition. A comparative study is being completed on mainland and island populations of the squirrel glider, to determine what effect different regulatory mechanisms have on aspects of their biology, ecology, demographics and social behaviour and in turn how these affect the long term viability of a population by measuring immunocompetence and the level of genetic variation.
Past:
Friday 19 June
Prof Walter Thomas (Head, Receptor Biology Group)
This seminar will give a flavour of our interests in cardiovascular biology – from the molecular dissection of receptor function to the control heart cell growth and vascular performance.
Dr Hsiu-wen Chan (post-doctoral fellow) The hijacking of growth factor receptors by angiotensin
Dr Adriane Lechtken (post-doctoral fellow) Nuclear orphan receptors and heart growth
Dr Tamara Paravicini (NHF post-doctoral fellow) Magnesium and cardiovascular function
Friday 5 June
Dr Ethan Scott - Over recent years, several groundbreaking techniques have been developed that allow for the anatomical description of neurons, and the observation and manipulation of their activity.
Chi-Ching Goh - The cerebellum controls fine motor activity involved in movement and posture. Despite having a simple circuitry wired up by only five types of cells, knowledge is lacking with regards to the functional complexity behind the motor tasks it regulates.
Friday 22 May
Bradley S. Launikonis (Lab Head) Fluorescence imaging in muscle cells.
Tanya R Cully - My project will address how calcium is regulated across the major membranes in healthy muscle and compare this to dystrophic muscle to identify the deleterious effects on muscle function in dystrophy.
Joshua N Edwards - In skeletal muscle, the tubular (t-) system is the invagination of the surface membrane which forms the main interface between the myoplasm and the extracellular environment. The t-system consists of transverse and longitudinal tubules, interconnected throughout to form an extensive membranous network along the fibre.
Friday 8 May
Dr Ulrike Siebeck (Lab Head Research in my laboratory has investigated what the fish can see (physiology: ocular media, photoreceptor types), (behavioural: basic colour discrimination, shape discrimination) and what they use their visual abilities for (species discrimination, covert communication). We have shown that many reef fish have advanced discrimination abilities, including in the ultraviolet waveband. A second stream of research has been looking into the trade-off between the positive and negative impact of sensitivity to UV light and the special measures that reef fish take to minimise its harmful impact.
Maxi Eckes (PhD student) UV protection in marine fish
Amira Parker (PhD student) UV vision in reef fish
Friday 24 April
Dr Karen Moritz (Lab Head): Programming of adult onset disease: models and mechanisms.
Dr Megan Probyn (Post-doctoral fellow)
Carlie Cullen - (1st year PhD student) - High levels of prenatal ethanol exposure are well known to alter brain development and affect the behaviour of children
James Cuffe - (1st year PhD student) - Gene microarray to investigate the gene changes that occur in the developing kidney using a mouse model of maternal glucocorticoid exposure
Friday 3 April
Professor David Pow
We have been working since about 1991, on how the brain and retina regulates the cellular location of small molecules such as glutamate. Glutamate is a critical excitatory neurotransmitter, so tight homeostasis is required. If it is present in the extracellular space at high concentrations for too long, it over-activates receptors such as the NMDA receptor. This causes excessive calcium influx which contributes to the death of neurons. We are particularly interested in the roles of glial cells, as these cells (rather than neurons) are responsible for the de novo synthesis of glutamate in the brain. Similarly, these cells express most of the glutamate transporters needed to remove glutamate from the extracellular space after it has been released. This seminar will discuss some of the things that go wrong in the brain after an hypoxic insult (lack of oxygen), some adaptations of the brain to this, and some possible future directions.
Aven Lee: The GLAST glutamate transporter complex
Friday 20 March
Professor Rod Minchin Laboratory Group - Our group works in several different areas, all linked by our interest in molecular and cellular pharmacology.
Jackie Tiang (PhD student) – Silencing of arylamine N-acetyltransferase I with shRNA
Gysell Mortimer (PhD student) - Accumulation of Synthetic Nanoclays in Human Cells
Jason Deng (PhD student) - Plasma Protein binding to Nanoparticles
Friday 6 March
Professor Shaun Collin Laboratory Group
Sensory Neurobiology Group
Professor Shaun P. Collin - An eye for detail: Assembling the pieces of an evolutionary puzzle
Ms. Barbara E. Wueringer (PhD student) - Elasmobranch sensory systems: the function of the saw in sawfishes
Mr. Jeremy Ullmann (PhD student) - Novel uses of MRI in neuroethological studies of sensory processing in fish.
Dr. Shelby Temple - Optical and spatial problems encountered by archerfish.
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