Address: Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, 3168
* Fetal and neonatal development Development of the lungs and respiratory control in the fetus and newborn, sudden infant death syndrome, fetal-maternal endocrinology and fluid balance, fetal responses to stress, control of events leading to parturition, development of the central nervous system and vulnerability of the brain to hypoxia. Control of fetal and placental growth, control of fetal muscle development.
* Reproductive biology Production and secretion of reproductive hormones, role of hypothalamus and pituitary, responses of endocrine cells to stimuli. Hormonal control of sexual differentiation. Contraceptive effects of breastfeeding and population control. Development of techniques for fertility control in feral animals. Hormonal control of oestrous cycle, menstrual cycle and early pregnancy.
* Autonomic neurobiology Mechanisms of smooth muscle contraction. Ion channels and their modulation, spread of excitation, roles of neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, function of autonomic ganglion cells, enteric nervous system. Peripheral neural networks, neuroendocrine cells, pineal function and innervation of adrenal chromaffin cells. Simultaneous measurement of muscle tension, electrical events and intracellular calcium concentration.
* Regulation of muscle function The interrelationship between calcium, contraction and energy output of muscles. Physiological determinants of oxygen usage in heart muscle. Effects of age on mechanical and energetic properties of cardiac muscle. Control of smooth muscle contraction by calcium and other second messenger systems. The mechanisms whereby second messengers modulate contractile activity and metabolic consequences of this. Mechanisms of relaxation of smooth muscle. Mechanical and energetic aspects of fatigue in skeletal muscle.
* Neuroscience Pain mechanisms. Function of small nerve fibres in inflammatory disorders, axon reflexes and effects of drugs on the microvasculature of the skin. Effect of diabetes on inflammatory process. Muscle sense organs, their development and regeneration, internal functioning and spinal reflex action. Recovery from nerve and muscle injury, nerve regeneration, axonal sprouting and deafferentation, exercise-induced changes in skeletal muscle, structural and mechanical aspects of muscle development. Brain processing of auditory signals, plasticity of the auditory cortex and deafness, function of auditory efferent systems, sound localisation, comparative aspects of hearing in Australian native animals. Brain pathways involved in movement control. Function of the cerebellum, development of somatic sensory receptors and pathways and central connections. Control of motor function in the primate, movement programming by cortical motor areas and basal ganglia.
Research in conjunction with Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research
Monash Medical Centre, 246 Clayton Road, Clayton, 3168
Neuroendocrinology and endocrinology including studies relevant to nutrition, reproduction, growth, lactation, cancer and stress. Work is carried out using sophisticated in vivo and in vitro models and molecular and single cell techniques.