Professor John Rasko
Chairman, Scientific Advisory Committee
In 2004 Prof. Rasko led a team that identified the gene for Hartnup Disease reported in Nature Genetics. He has championed gene therapy for haemophilia with collaborators in the USA, published in Nature Medicine papers.
He serves on national committees, editorial boards and grant review panels. He has authored ~100 publications and co-edited a book published by Cambridge University Press on the ethics of inheritable genetic modification.
He is a highly sought speaker and is active in fundraising for biomedical research.
Professor Christina Mitchell
Member, Scientific Advisory Committee
Professor Christina Mitchell trained as a physician scientist specialising in Clinical Haematology. She received her medical training from Melbourne University and consultant training in Haematology at the Alfred Hospital Melbourne.
Her advanced clinical training in Haematology included a PhD characterising the natural anticoagulants protein C and protein S and her post-doctoral studies were undertaken in the field of intracellular signalling in Professor Phil Majerus' laboratory at Washington University Medical School, St Louis, USA.
In 1991 she returned to Australia and became an independent investigator at the Department of Medicine, Box Hill Hospital. Eight years later she was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University and in June 2006, she was appointed Head of School of Biomedical Sciences at Monash University.
Professor Mitchell's work has focused on the molecular mechanisms of intracellular proteins that upregulate muscle hypertrophy and cell differentiation
A/Professor Peter Currie received his BSc (Hons) in 1987 from the University of Melbourne and PhD in 1993 from Syracuse University (USA) studying as aspects gene regulation. Peter's interest in muscle biology initiated during his postdoc in London at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (UK), where he studied the molecular genetics of muscle development.
Peter established his own research group at the MRC Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh (UK) in 1998 researching muscle development and disease, a research direction that has been maintained after being recruited to the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney (AUS) in 2003.
Peter's particular interest is in the study of the genetics of muscle formation in the embryo and how this processes is perturbed in human diseases such as dystrophies and myopathies. He is an expert in the application of zebra fish genetics to the study of muscle biology and specialises in the utilisation of sophisticated imaging techniques to study muscle formation within the intact organism.
Doctor Charles P. Emerson Jr
Member, Scientific Advisory Committee
Dr Emerson has been a Senior Scientist and Director of the Boston Biomedical Research Institute since 2003. He is the Director of the BBRI-based Senator Paul D. Wellstone Cooperative Research Muscular Dystrophy Centre as well as the lead investigator in studies of myogenesis in FSHD dystrophic muscles.
Dr Emerson is an internationally recognised developmental biologist through his research on skeletal myogenesis. His significant contributions include pioneering molecular work using cell culture models and the development of cell-based gene transfer approaches.
He received his A.B. from Princeton and a Ph.D. from the University of California San Diego, followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Virginia, where he initiated his research on skeletal myogenesis.
Dr Emerso has held faculty positions at the Univer
Dr Emerson has been the recipient of NIH Career Development and Merit Awards. Im addition to his academic and research leadership roles, he has also been director of two NIH traini
Professor Michael Morgan
Member, Scientific Advisory Committee
Professor Morgan is Dean of the Australian School of Advanced M
Professor Morgan graduated
He is an examiner in Neurosurgery for the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and is one of only two Australian surgeons who are members of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery.
Professor Morgan has interests in history, education, sport (particularly rugby where he has established a brain injury safety campaign for schoolboys), music and farming. In addition to FSHD Global, Professor Morgan is also involved with the Madeline Foundation.
Doctor Christine Bracy
Member, Scientific Advisory Committee
Dr Christine Bracy is a Speech Language Pathologist who received her Ph.D from LaTrobe University, Melbourne in 2002. Her research interests are in the areas of interpersonal communication following brain impairment and psychosocial adjustment to communication difficulties associated with degenerative disease or brain impairment.
Christine's doctoral work explored the impact of interpersonal communication difficulties within a marital context following traumatic brain injury. She maintains a passion for understanding how acquired communication problems influence the close relationships and support networks of those living with injury or illness.
Until her recent retirement, Christine was researching, teaching and supervising students undertaking the Master of Speech Pathology Degree in the Faculty of Health Sciences, LaTrobe University.
As someone living with FSHD, Christine has a keen desire to promote and support research efforts aimed at better understanding the pathogenic mechanisms underlying this condition and at developing effective treatments.
Doctor Alan Watts
Member, Scientific Advisory Committee
Dr Alan Watts has had an extensive career, with experience in the fields of science, business and technology. Alan has an Honours Degree in Science, for which he majored in Chemistry and Genetics, and he completed his Doctorate in Molecular Immunology at the University of Sydney.
Alan has experience in the general fi
Alan's career has seen him in many varied positions, including a post-doctoral position at the Weizmann Institute, Israel, as Scientific Director of a Sydney-based biotechnology company, and in the commercial division of pharmaceutical company Merck Sharpe and Dohme. Additionally, Alan has experience in business development, particularly in the context of start-up companies.
Alan currently holds the position of Medical Manager of U.S. pharmaceutical company Abbott. In addition to FSHD Global, Alan gives his time to two other not-for-profit organisations - in his role as Trustee of the Wenkart Foundation and as Director of a licensed sporting club.