"The Stars Align"
The Hogan Lab (Dept of Anatomy & Physiology) and lymphedema research feature in this remarkable story from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
Peter Mac have captured the remarkable story of two researchers - Professor Ben Hogan from the Department of Anatomy & Physiology (School of Biomedical Sciences) and his third year PhD student Ryan Brown - who met under unexpected circumstances. They were brought together by a determination to find answers, and goal to change the lives of cancer patients.
Over a decade ago Professor Ben Hogan - Head of the Hogan Laboratory in the Department of Anatomy & Physiology and Peter Mac - was involved in a case study diagnosing the genetic cause of Hennekam syndrome in a family from Queensland. Heenkam syndrome is a rare genetic disorder with a range of issues including lymphedema - swelling caused by the accumulation of lymph fluid. The case study involved three brothers in the family that had Hennekam syndrome, one of those was Ryan Brown.
Image: Prof Ben Hogan & Ryan Brown in the Department of Anatomy & Physiology at the University of Melbourne
Ryan later contacted Ben to learn more about his work in lymphedema - and from this chat decided that he wanted to pursue a research career. Ryan moved to Melbourne and joined the Hogan Laboratory to do his PhD. Now in his third year, Ryan's project is focused on how to regenerate lymphatic vessels in lymphedema and aims to benefit both rare and common forms of lymphedema.
This story and video were originally produced by Peter Mac, published on 17 December 2023.