Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics

Many human diseases involve interactions between various cell types, tissues and organ systems that cannot readily be reproduced in the tissue culture dish. The main goal of the Centre for Developmental and Biomedical Genetics is to use non-mammalian species to model human disease processes in a whole organism context. Our approach is based on discoveries made in the past two decades that have revealed that organisms as simple as a tropical fish, fruit fly or even a worm share many cellular functions and have many genes in common with humans. By manipulating these organisms’ versions of human disease associated genes, we can establish models for a variety of debilitating diseases and exploit these to discover new therapeutic agents. In addition, we can generate pathological conditions – such as the blockage of arteries – in these simple organisms and use these to discover novel genes that underlie the corresponding human pathology. Through these approaches we aim to expand our knowledge of the molecular basis of a range of human diseases, including cardiovascular, inflammatory and neurodegenerative, giving new insights into their causes and providing new leads for their diagnosis, management and cure.