Staff Directory

Home
>
About Us
>
Staff
>
Julian Heng

Title:	Dr
First Name:	Julian
Surname:	Heng
Position:	Group Leader
Group:	Heng
Phone No:	+61 3 9902 9719
Email Address:	Julian.Heng@monash.edu

Research Interests:	Nerve cell production and maturation in the mammalian brain
Biography:	Dr Heng studies how nerve cells of the brain are produced, and how they assemble into the final remarkable structure that is the cerebral cortex. He has a long-standing interest in the role of DNA-binding transcription factors which control the expression of genes necessary for nerve cell maturation within mammalian brain. His goals are: to understand how neural diversity is generated within the mammalian central nervous system to investigate novel approaches to enhance the limited regenerative capacity within brain. Dr Heng was awarded a prestigious CJ Martin Fellowship (NH&MRC, Australia) to conduct his postdoctoral research at the National Institute for Medical Research (UK). He extended his overseas tenure as an MRC Career Development Fellow before returning to Melbourne to complete his training at the Howard Florey Institute. Dr Heng joins ARMI as a Group Leader through a Monash Fellowship, and runs projects that are currently funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC) of Australia. He also maintains collaborations with research groups in Japan and Europe. Click here for an overview of the Heng group.
Selected Publications:	Pacary, E., Heng, J., Azzarelli, R., Riou, P., Castro, D., Lebel-Potter, M., Parras, C., Bell, D., Ridley, AJ., Parsons, M., Guillemot, F. Proneural Transcription Factors Regulate Different Steps of Cortical Neuron Migration through Rnd-Mediated Inhibition of RhoA Signaling Neuron, Volume 69, Issue 6, 1069-1084, March 2011    PMID: 21435554 Heng, JI, Chariot, A and Nguyen, L. Molecular layers underlying cytoskeletal remodelling during cortical development. Trends in Neurosciences. 2010 Jan;33(1):38-47    PMID: 19837469 Merot, Y, Reteaux, S and Heng, JI. Molecular mechanisms of projection neuron migration and maturation in the developing cerebral cortex. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology. 2009 Aug;20(6):726-34.    PMID: 19442543 Heng, JI, Nguyen, L.,Castro, D., Zimmer, C., Armant, O., Skowronska-Krawczyk, D., Bedogni, F., Matter, J-M., Hevner, R., Guillemot, F. Neurogenin2 controls cortical neuron migration through regulation of Rnd2. Nature. 2008 Sep 4;455(7209):114-8. PMID: 18690213 Zhao, X, Heng, JI, Guardavaccaro, D., Pagano, M., Guillemot, F., Iavarone, A., Lasorella, A. The HECT-domain ubiquitin ligase Huwe1 controls neural differentiation and proliferation by destabilizing the N-Myc oncoprotein. Nature Cell Biology. 2008 Jun;10(6):643-53.5    PMID: 18488021 Heng, JI, Moonen, G., Nguyen, L. Neurotransmitters regulate cell migration in the telencephalon. European Journal of Neuroscience. 2007 Aug;26(3):537-46. (Invited review)     Nguyen L, Besson A, Heng JI, Schuurmans C, Teboul L, Parras C, Philpott A, Roberts JM, Guillemot F. p27kip1 independently promotes neuronal differentiation and migration in the cerebral cortex. Genes & Development. 2006 Jun 1;20(11):1511-24.     PMID: 18405000 Ge W, He F, Kim KJ, Blanchi B, Coskun V, Nguyen L, Wu X, Zhao J, Heng JI, Martinowich K, Tao J, Wu H, Castro D, Sobeih MM, Corfas G, Gleeson JG, Greenberg ME, Guillemot F, Sun YE. Coupling of cell migration with neurogenesis by proneural bHLH factors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 2006 Jan 31;103(5):1319-24.    PMID: 16432194 Hand R, Bortone D, Mattar P, Nguyen L, Heng JI, Guerrier S, Boutt E, Peters E, Barnes AP, Parras C, Schuurmans C, Guillemot F, Polleux F. Phosphorylation of Neurogenin2 specifies the migration properties and the dendritic morphology of pyramidal neurons in the neocortex. Neuron. 2005 Oct 6;48(1):45-62. PMID: 16202708
Other Info: