Fields of Research

Cardiology (incl. cardiovascular diseases)
Gene mapping
Obstetrics and gynaecology
Genomics
Epigenetics (incl. genome methylation and epigenomics)
Mental health services
Cancer genetics
Cancer diagnosis
Medical biochemistry - lipids
Statistical and quantitative genetics
Genetic immunology
Genomics and transcriptomics
Medical bacteriology
Cancer cell biology
Cardiovascular medicine and haematology
Molecular targets

Research Objectives

Diagnosis of human diseases and conditions
Clinical health
Women's and maternal health
Expanding knowledge in psychology
Preventive medicine
Expanding knowledge in the biomedical and clinical sciences
Behaviour and health
Determinants of health
Public health (excl. specific population health)
Health status (incl. wellbeing)
Expanding knowledge in the health sciences
Prevention of human diseases and conditions
Treatment of human diseases and conditions

Career Best Publications

Research Publications

A genetic risk score predicts coronary artery disease in familial hypercholesterolaemia: enhancing the precision of risk assessment; Clinical Genetics
A methylome and transcriptome analysis of normal human scar cells reveals a role for FOXF2 in scar maintenance; The Journal of Investigative Dermatology
Analysis of the epigenome in multiplex pre-eclampsia families identifies SORD, DGKI, and ICA1 as novel candidate risk genes; Frontiers in Genetics
Assessment of cognition and personality as potential endophenotypes in the Western Australian Family Study of Schizophrenia; Schizophrenia Bulletin
Association of known melanoma risk factors with primary melanoma of the scalp and neck; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention
Comprehensive genetic analysis of the human lipidome identifies loci associated with lipid homeostasis with links to coronary artery disease; Nature communications
Evaluation of epigenetic age calculators between preeclampsia and normotensive pregnancies in an Australian cohort; Scientific Reports
Familial and non-familial risk factors associated with incidence of colorectal cancer in young and middle-aged persons in Western Australia; Cancer Epidemiology
Genome-wide association meta-analyses combining multiple risk phenotypes provide insights into the genetic architecture of cutaneous melanoma susceptibility; Nature Genetics
Heritability of 596 lipid species and genetic correlation with cardiovascular traits in the Busselton Family Heart Study; Journal of Lipid Research
High-coverage plasma lipidomics reveals novel sex-specific lipidomic fingerprints of age and BMI: evidence from two large population cohort studies; PLoS Biology
Identification of differentially methylated CpG sites in fibroblasts from keloid scars; Biomedicines
Identification of novel sarcoma risk genes using a two-stage genome wide DNA sequencing strategy in cancer cluster families and population case and control cohorts; BMC Medical Genetics
Is mammographic breast density an endophenotype for breast cancer?; Cancers
Late/post-term decidual basalis-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells show evidence of advanced ageing and downregulation of microRNA-516b-5p; Placenta
Potential role for immune-related genes in autism spectrum disorders: Evidence from genome-wide association meta-analysis of autistic traits; Autism
To test, or not to test: that is the question for the future of lipoprotein(a); Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy
Western oropharyngeal and gut microbial profiles are associated with allergic conditions in Chinese immigrant children; World Allergy Organization Journal
Whole genome sequencing of 91 multiplex schizophrenia families reveals increased burden of rare, exonic copy number variation in schizophrenia probands and genetic heterogeneity; Schizophrenia Research

Research Projects

Early Identification and Treatment of Heart Disease to Prevent Heart Attacks; Heart Foundation (HF)
Epigenetic Biomarker Discovery for Cardiovascular Disease Risk Stratification of Women Following Preeclampsia; National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
The Busselton family heart study; National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC)

Research Candidate Supervision