We congratulate Professor Sally Dunwoodie (AO), who has been recognised with an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her remarkable career dedicated to understanding the causes and possible preventatives of birth defects.
In 2022, Professor Dunwoodie BSc PhD FAHMS joined Phenomics Australia as a Scientific Director as part of the In Vitro services at the Stem Cell Production Facility iPSC Reprogramming Service.
Prof. Dunwoodie is an internationally renowned biomedical researcher investigating the genetic and environmental causes of birth defects, and Deputy Director at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. She is Director of the VCCRI Innovation Centre which provides researchers with access to equipment and expertise in facilities that enable molecular, pre-clinical and clinical research.
“Collaboration and ready access to specialist platforms and expertise has a significant impact on the quality of research output, the speed with which it is generated, and the impact of the new information. Importantly it also provides crucial training opportunities across disciplines for researchers. Our partnering with Phenomics Australia to generate induced pluripotent stem cells will have many benefits for those engaged in medical research.”
Professor Dunwoodie and her team are currently working on a potential new treatment for preventing some types of birth defects and miscarriages. In 2017, Professor Dunwoodie discovered that being deficient in a common molecule called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) can impact the development of the embryo. Her team is now investigating a promising potential solution through vitamin B3 supplementation and is progressing towards world-first clinical trials. Read more at Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute website here.
