The Team at IMVS
The team of scientists at the IMVS is experienced in the field and well equipped to take the technology forward.
Dr. Stuart Pitson
PhD BAppSc
Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science
Dr Stuart Pitson is Head of the Molecular Signalling Laboratory in the Division of Human Immunology at the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, Adelaide. He has considerable experience in enzymology and protein, carbohydrate and lipid biology gained from his current position, and from his research training during his PhD at La Trobe University, and postdoctoral positions at Wageningen University (The Netherlands) and at The University of New South Wales. Dr Pitson's research interests focus on understanding the molecular basis of sphingosine kinase regulation and sphingosine-1-phosphate signalling in mammalian cells, and the role this pathway plays in pathophysiological conditions such as cancer and inflammation. He has made numerous important advances in this area, including identifying and characterising the novel ATP binding site of sphingosine kinase, elucidating the mechanisms of activation of sphingosine kinase, and establishing the critical role of the cellular localisation of sphingosine kinase in oncogenic signalling by this enzyme.
Dr Pitson is also an Affiliate Senior Lecturer of the School of Molecular and Biomedical Science at the University of Adelaide, currently serves on Grant Review and Scholarship Panels for the National Health and Medical Research Council, is a member of the Editorial Boards of the international journals, Prostaglandins and Other Lipid Mediators and International Journal of Biological Chemistry, and is a national Council Member of the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He has published over 40 research publications, and has received numerous invitations to present his work at conferences in Australia and overseas. He also serves on the Scientific Organising Committee of the highly respected 'Science Amongst the Vines' series of biennial cell biology meetings.
Dr. Claudine Bonder
PhD BSc (Hons)
Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science
Dr Claudine Bonder is a senior post-doctoral research fellow running her own group in the Vascular Biology Laboratory in the Division of Human Immunology at the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science, Adelaide. From her research training during her PhD at Flinders University in South Australia and post-doctoral position at the University of Calgary (Canada) she has gained considerable experience in cellular biology, immunology, inflammation and auto-immunity within mammals (both human and small animal). Dr Bonder's research interests focus on understanding the role of sphingosine kinase and sphingosine-1-phosphate in mammalian inflammation and the pathophysiology of autoimmunity and inflammation. Her training has culminated in important advances in this area, including identifying the novel role of sphingosine kinase and sphingosine-1-phosphate in endothelial progenitor cell differentiation as well as identifying key surface expressed receptors which regulate major cell survival signals.
Dr Bonder has published over 20 research publications in addition to numerous invited reviews, has received distinguished accolades from her peers as well as numerous invitations to present her work at conferences in Australia and overseas. She is an invited assessor for the National and Medical Research Council of Australia as well as for the peer reviewed journals of Microcirculation, American Journal of Physiology – Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and is an Affiliate Senior Lecturer of the School of Medicine at the University of Adelaide and the SA/NT state councillor for the Australasian Society for Immunology.
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