Centre Head
The complex endocrine system impacts all aspects of health and disease. As a preeminent centre for endocrinology research originating from Prince Henry’s Institute, laboratories in the Centre for Endocrinology and Metabolism at Hudson Institute of Medical Research undertake basic and clinical research.
The centre’s goal is to improve the understanding of the role of hormones in human biology and disease to tackle key health challenges facing Australian and global communities, including reproductive health, bone health and cancer metastasis, cardiovascular disease, endocrine cancer and obesity. Clinical translation of these findings to improve diagnosis, therapeutic intervention, and prevention of disease remains a key focus for the centre.
Current key areas of interest
- The identification of novel pathways to promote bone growth and limit bone destruction, to improve treatment and management of bone disease such as arthritis and osteoporosis and the spread of cancer to bone
- The TGF-β family and the mechanisms that govern its regulation and impact on biological activity, including wound healing, immune function, fibrosis and tumour progression
- The investigation of reproductive hormones in men, such as testosterone and their role in maintaining health and fertility and management of ageing, and treatment and prevention of disease such as cardiovascular disease, and diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease and the Mineralocorticoid Receptor MR), primarily how the MR controls fibrosis and inflammation in the heart muscle and immune cells (macrophages).
- The role of reproductive hormone in regulating processes within the body, particularly the impact of interactions between the pituitary and ovary on reproduction and fertility regulation and the impacts of ageing including menopause
- The role and regulation of reproductive hormones in obesity and breast cancer, particularly the impacts of obesity (adiposity) and its links to an increased risk of breast cancer development in menopausal women. Improved understanding of the impacts of ageing on fat distribution and the development of Metabolic Syndrome is also a key interest
- The role of steroid hormones and their interactions with intracellular nuclear receptors (regulators of gene expression) in the development, treatment, and prevention of serious health challenges including breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. Other investigations include a collaborative thyroid cancer study and ongoing research to understand the underlying activating mechanisms of nuclear receptors and reproductive hormones secreted by the ovary
