Congratulations to our new Professors

The Centre for Stem Cell Systems congratulates University of Melbourne researchers Alice Pébay, Andrea O’Connor and Andrew Pask, who have been promoted to Professor. This promotion recognises their noteworthy contribution to their areas of research and teaching as well as their leadership in engaging with the broader scientific and engineering communities.

Professor Alice Pébay, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences

Alice’s research focuses on using stem cells for modelling and correcting retinal degeneration.

Alice and her lab have the established techniques and methodologies to efficiently generate patient-specific eye cells that are affected by age-related macular degeneration, as well as other diseases. Using stem cells, they model these disease conditions in a dish to investigate how the diseases progress. The lab is also investigating whether gene editing technology can assist the correction of diseases that originate from a mutation is a single gene.

Members from Alice’s lab recently explored using robots to produce high quality stem cells and investigating the break-down of the blood and retina barrier, a common feature in many retinal diseases.

For more information, see our Stem Cells and Disease Modelling theme page.

Professor Andrea O’Connor, School of Engineering

Andrea's research focuses on interdisciplinary applications of engineering involving biological systems, biomaterials for implants, tissue engineering, stem cell culture, antimicrobial and cardiovascular applications. A recent project looked at a tissue regeneration trial for patients recovering from breast cancer.

For more information, see our Stem Cell and Engineering theme page.

Professor Andrew Pask, Faculty of Science

Andrew's research studies reproduction and development of mammals, especially in the light of evolution.

The main research themes include sexual development (especially in relation to disease), early embryonic development and marsupials, as well as establishing stem cells from native Australian mammals.

For more information, see our Stem Cells and Developmental Biology theme page.