Daniel Bird

I received my PhD from Monash University in 2009, working with Associate Professor Timothy Cole, using knockout mouse models to investigate how steroid hormones and cAMP signalling are required for neonatal lung development. In subsequent postdoctoral studies in this field, my work demonstrated how glucocorticoid steroid hormones and cAMP signalling are required for lung maturation and survival at birth in mammals. I then pivoted to reproductive biology, and focussed on the role of FGF signalling in sex determination at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research, working with Professor Vincent Harley. These studies identified key mechanisms involved in mammalian testis development and also human Disorders of Sex Development (DSDs). Now at the University of Melbourne (Department of Anatomy & Physiology), I work with A/Prof Dagmar Wilhelm, exploring the role of the Prorenin Receptor in steroidogenic organs such as the testis, ovary and adrenal gland.