Anatomy & Pathology

Leesa Grier

Lecturer, Anatomy and Pathology
leesa.grier@jcu.edu.au

Shashidhar Venkatesh Murthy

Associate Professor- Pathology
venkatesh.shashidhar@jcu.edu.au

Ernie Jennings

Associate Professor, Anatomy
ernest.jennings@jcu.edu.au

Helen Anscomb

Adjunct Professor
helen.anscomb@jcu.edu.au

Alex Trollope

Associate Professor
alexandra.trollope@jcu.edu.au

Monika Zimanyi

Associate Professor
monika.zimanyi@jcu.edu.au

Amanda Meyer

Senior Lecturer, Anatomy and Pathology
amanda.meyer@jcu.edu.au

Development of an E-Book - Introduction to Organogenesis

Alex Trollope

Organogenesis is an area that students struggle with mainly because the processes that are being taught have no physical representation such as cadavers or models for the gross anatomy and tissue slides for the histology. This makes an interactive ebook an ideal platform for the students to interact with and grasp the main concepts of organogenesis, in order for them to achieve a deeper understanding of human anatomy and complement the current curriculum.

Effect of angiopoietin 1 in a mouse model of ischaemic stroke

Alex Trollope

01 May 2014 - 01 May 2015

Stroke is the second biggest cause of mortality in Australia and has a huge socio-economic burden to the health care system. Our research aims to look at how cerebral ischemic stroke outcome can be improved. We aim to establish an animal model for cerebral ischemic stroke, explore the mechanism behind the reduction of a key protein after stroke and assess the effect this protein has in improving patient outcome. This research will provide a reproducible stoke model, establish whether our protein of interest can improve stroke outcome and help explain the mechanism behind the regulation of this protein.

A novel protective role for Sclerostin in abdominal aortic aneurysm

Alex Trollope

01 Aug 2015 - 01 Aug 2016

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a potentially fatal cardiovascular disease with multifactorial development and progression. Sclerostin is an inhibitor of the bone morphogenesis protein and our preliminary data highlights its potential role in AAA. We aim to assess the role of Sclerostin in experimental AAA progression and the mechanisms of Sclerostin expression in AAA.

Epigenetic mechanisms in cognitive deficit after ischemic stroke

Alex Trollope

01 Feb 2014 - 01 Feb 2015

Determining the molecular mechanisms and pathways behind pathology is essential in the understanding and treatment of disease. The deterioration in cognition after ischemic stroke has been linked to epigenetic modifications. The Bioruptor is a sonicator that allows gentle, reproducible shearing of chromatin, DNA, RNA and cell/tissue disruption, which can be used for many downstream applications.

Exploring the sexual dimorphism of ischemic stroke outcome by analysing the role of epigenetics in the regulation of angiopoietin1. (Rising Star - personal award)

Alex Trollope

01 Jul 2014 - 01 Aug 2015

Stroke is the second biggest cause of mortality in Australia and has a huge socio-economic burden to the health care system and affects more women than men according to the National Stroke Association. This project aims to elucidate whether the differences in male and female stroke outcome is associated with differences in the expression of a key protein. The epigenetic mechanism by which this protein is regulated will also be explored and could provide novel targets for intervention. This project will allow me to establish an epigenetic research lab with high throughput sequencing at JCU.

HART-BEAT: Diabetes Research from the Bench to Real World Practice

Alex Trollope

01 Dec 2013 - 01 Dec 2014

The HART-BEAT (Health practitioners And Researchers Together-Blood, Endothelium And Tissue) research group forms an alliance between laboratory based researchers, health practitioners and their patients within one research group to tackle the issues of diabetes and it’s associated complications. Individuals with diabetes have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, impaired wound healing, mental health issues or catching a secondary pathogenic infection with the risk even higher for the Indigenous community. The expected outcome from the HART-BEAT studies is a better understanding of the underlying disease mechanism of diabetes and it’s complications and development of more targeted therapies.

Establishing a rodent model for stroke

Alex Trollope

09 May 2016 - 09 Nov 2016

Advance Queensland Women's Academic Fund Application Stroke is the second biggest cause of mortality in Australia and has a huge socio-economic burden to the health care system. Our research aims to look at how cerebral ischemic stroke outcome can be improved. I aim to establish an animal model for cerebral ischemic stroke, explore the mechanism behind the reduction of a key protein after stroke and assess the effect this protein has on improving patient outcome. This research will provide a reproducible stoke model, establish whether our protein of interest can improve stroke outcome and help explain the mechanism behind the regulation of this protein.

Dissecting cadavers at the molecular level

Alex Trollope

01 Aug 2021 - 01 Aug 2022

The aims of the project are 1) to assess whether DNA can be extracted from cadaveric tissues after they have been embalmed. 2) Determine which of 2 recommend methods are more effective at extraction DNA. 3) Test a number of different tissues in the cadavers to determine which tissues can be utilised in the future.

Microscopy: revealing the hidden detail of our world

Amanda Meyer

01 Apr 2022 - 08 Aug 2022