Brain development researcher joins Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute

22 June 2010

Professor Nadia Rosenthal, Director Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), today announced the appointment of Dr Julian Heng as Group Leader at the Institute.

Dr Heng is a leading neuroscientist with a research focus on the genetics of brain development in mammals.

“Julian Heng is an outstanding young researcher with a bright future”, said Professor Rosenthal.

“He will add to ARMI’s developing profile in neuroscience and our scientific expertise in brain development”, she said.

Dr Heng and his group research how brain abnormalities emerge during foetal development. In particular, they seek to understand how nerve cells are made and how they mature.

Through this work, Dr Heng and his group aim to gain a better understanding of how brain disorders such as epilepsy and mental retardation occur, as well as to explore potential new treatments for these neurological conditions.

“ARMI’s multi-disciplinary environment, facilities and expertise will provide an ideal platform for my research”, Dr Heng said.  

“I am looking forward to working with such a diverse group of scientists dedicated to finding answers to a host of debilitating conditions”, he said.

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.

ARMI is based at Monash University and is supported by funds provided by the Victorian Government and Monash University.

More information on Dr Heng and the Heng group can be found at: http://www.armi.org.au/Research1/Research_Groups/Heng.aspx

Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute: http://www.armi.org.au
Contact: Rachel Taylor 0411 288 672

Background

About Dr Julian Heng

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 the maturation of precursor cells into functional nerve cells of the mammalian brain.  His goals are to understand how neural diversity is generated within the mammalian central nervous system, and to investigate novel approaches to enhance the limited regenerative capacity within brain.    

Dr Heng received his postdoctoral training as C J Martin Fellow at the National Institute for Medical Research (UK), and runs research 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, UK and Singapore.

About ARMI

The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute is a state-of-the-art research facility established with support from Monash University and the Government of Victoria. Located on Monash’s Clayton campus, the Institute builds on the University’s existing strengths in biomedical research.

The Institute is one of the world's largest regenerative medicine and stem cell research hubs. Research focuses on understanding basic mechanisms underlying regeneration. Ultimately, this research aims to prevent, halt and reverse damage to vital organs due to disease, injury or genetic conditions. This will lead to treatments for conditions such as neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, arthritis, musculo-skeletal and cardiovascular diseases. 

Dr Julian Heng—selected publications

• Heng, JI,  Chariot, A  and  Nguyen,  L.   Molecular layers underlying cytoskeletal remodelling during cortical development.  Trends in Neurosciences. 2010 Jan;33(1):38-47
• 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.
• 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.
• 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
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

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