Bioengineering live human brain tissue in a petri dish

Our laboratory has established a pre-clinical platform in vitro to facilitate the discovery and validation of treatments for brain disorders.  Our research is at the frontier of human cellular neuroscience research and translational applications that benefit global public health. 

Human iPSC-derived neuronal models

The large majority of the work in our lab is based on human neuronal cultures derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) or brain biopsies. New cell-reprogramming technologies provide us with a unique advantage to study human neuronal physiology in health and disease. 

Adult and paediatric neurodegenerative disorders

We investigate the neurobiological and genetic predispositions of Parkinson's disease and childhood-onset dementia (MPS) with iPSC-derived neuronal models. 

Cell biology, electrophysiology, single-cell transcriptomics, high-content microscopy, drug screens and bioinformatics

Our multidisciplinary analytical approach combines many technical expertise, including: automatized tissue culture​, patch-clamping, high-content imaging, single-cell trancriptomics, robotized drug screens, flow cytometry,  molecular biology, machine learning analysis and bioinformatics.

Cancer Neuroscience

We investigate the biological properties of brain cancer patient-derived cells (glioblastoma) and their interaction with the human brain microenvironment. ​

SAHMRI - South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute

Our laboratory is  located in the iconic South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) in Adelaide and affiliated with Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI) and the College of Medicine and Public Health (Flinders University). 

SAHMRI is a new, vibrant medical research institute, which houses 800 international scientists. The state-of-the-art research facility and cores provide an outstanding environment for scientific discoveries. SAHMRI was listed on the top 40 of the world's best research institutes by the Times Higher Education.

The strong collaborative research community within SAHMRI, local universities and international partners fosters an exceptional environment where scientists can thrive to the best of their creativity and productivity in one of the cities ranked as the most livable in the world.

SAHMRI highly benefits from the close partnership with 3 major local universities and a total of 90,000 students: Flinders University, The University of Adelaide, The University of South Australia.

SAHMRI and our lab are essentially oriented towards translational applications. SAHMRI's central location in the growing Biomed city, beside the ultramodern Royal Adelaide Hospital and a new international technological hub (Lot Fourteen) stimulates fruitful collaborations with clinicians, patients, engineers and industry partners.
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