Haematology
Staff
Dr. Stephen Fuller - Academic Head of Pathology / Senior Lecturer
Dr. Leanne Stokes - Research Fellow
Ms. Kristen Skarratt - Research Assistant. Phone:+61 2 4734 3371
Email:
Ms. Phuong Dao-Ung - Research Assistant. Phone:+61 2 4734 1070
Email:
Dr Stephen Fuller
Head of Academic Pathology, Lecturer Medicine
Stephen is a Clinical Haematologist at Nepean Hospital and is responsible for investigating and treating outpatients and inpatients with a range of malignant and non-malignant Haematological disorders. In addition to Clinical Haematology, Stephen is qualified in Laboratory Haematology and is the Head of the Flow Cytometry Service at Nepean.
Stephen is the senior Haematology academic at Sydney Medical School, Nepean and is University Chair of Haematology, Stage1, Block 4, Teaching.
Research Interests:
1. Biology of the ATP-gated, cation-selective, P2X7 receptor and significance to human infectious, malignant and autoimmune diseases.
2. The genetics of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Projects
PhD and Masters Projects:
1. P2X7 receptor splice variants: role in malignant disease
2. P2X7 receptor and HLA-G shedding: role in autoimmune and malignant disease
3. P2X7 receptor and innate immunity: role in host-response to Toxoplasma gondii (in collaboration with Professor Nick Smith, University of Technology, Broadway campus)
4. Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: genetic association studies and familial linkage studies
Graduate Medical Program Honours Projects:
1. Clinical audit
2. Blood Bank audit
Dr. Stephen J. Fuller
Phone: +61 2 4734 2599
Email:
Dr Leanne Stokes
Dr Leanne Stokes graduated with a Bsc (Dual Honours) in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of Sheffield, UK in 1999. Following this she undertook a research based Masters degree (Mphil in Cellular Immunology & Oncology) and then a PhD in Immunology at the University of Birmingham, UK. In 2004 she completed her PhD thesis entitled “Characterisation of an antigen-receptor activated calcium channel in human lymphocytes” under the supervision of Dr Gillian Grafton and Professor John Gordon. Following her research interest into ion channels in immune cells, Dr Stokes joined the group of Professor Annmarie Surprenant at the University of Sheffield, UK for a postdoctoral scientist position studying the P2X7 receptor. In 2007 Dr Stokes relocated to the University of Sydney to join the group of Professor James Wiley to study genetic variation in the human P2X7 receptor gene. Dr Stokes has introduced the patch clamp technique at Nepean Clinical School through the award of two equipment grants and in 2009 she was awarded an NHMRC Project grant as a New Investigator to establish her own research group at Nepean Clinical School.
Research Interests
The main focus of Dr Stokes’ work is investigation into the role of the P2X7 receptor in immune cells. The P2X7 receptor is a ligand-gated ion channel activated by extracellular ATP. It is expressed on a number of immune cells including monocytes, macrophages, T and B lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells and dendritic cells.
1 - Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the human P2RX7 gene
2 - The P2X7 receptor and genetic association with bipolar and unipolar disorders
3 - Physiological roles of the P2X7 receptor in immune cells
4 - P2Y2 receptor and secretion of chemokine MCP-1 from monocytes & macrophages
Projects
The P2X7 receptor and inflammation in the pathophysiology of mood disorders.
This project will further investigate the genetic association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in P2RX7 and mood disorders. Dr Stokes recently showed that the Gln 460>Arg mutation (rs2230912) in the C-terminus of the P2X7 receptor is co-inheritedwith three gain-of-function SNPs in a haplotype designated P2X7-4 (Stokes et al, 2010). Individuals carrying this gain-of-function P2X7-4 haplotype showed higher ATP-induced dye uptake and pro-inflammatory IL-1 secretion than individuals carrying a wild-type P2X7 haplotype. This project will focus on a role for the dysregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion in the pathogenesis of mood disorders.
Contact Details:
Telephone: 02 4734 2674
Email: