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DR KIRSTY DIXON



Contact Details

Organization: Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences
Position: RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Email:
Level: 07
Building: Medical Centre
Campus: Parkville

Biography

Dr Dixon completed her PhD studies in Queensland and Western Australia where she investigated the induction and inhibition of post-lesional transcommissural reinnervation in the neonatal and adult rat brain (Dixon et al., 2005, Exp Neurol; Dixon & Sherrard, 2006, Exp Neurol; Sherrard et al., in press).  During her PhD Dr Dixon was awarded a Woodside Neurotrauma PhD Excellence Award.  Following completion of her PhD, she moved to Melbourne to undertake a post-doctoral position in the Neural Regeneration Laboratory, headed by Assoc Prof Ann Turnley in the Centre for Neuroscience at the University of Melbourne.  This postdoc position is investigating the effectiveness of ephrin-mimetic peptide inhibitors to induce spinal cord regeneration in the adult mouse and is a collaborative project with the Peptide Mimetic Laboratory headed by Dr Tony Hughes in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Melbourne.  Alongside this project, Dr Dixon also investigates the effectiveness of anti-apoptotic molecules following rodent spinal cord injury with collaborations with CSL Limited and Dr Alice Pebay (Stem Cell Laboratory, Centre for Neuroscience).  Further, in collaboration with Dr Helmut Butzkueven in the Multiple Sclerosis Group at the Howard Florey Institute, she investigates the functional outcome of EphA4 mutant mice in a model of multiple sclerosis.  Dr Dixon has successfully co-supervised 4 Honours students and during 2009 is the convenor of the postgraduate and early-career postdoc CNS seminar series.

Qualifications, Honours, Fellowships and Other Awards

Qualifications

Title Institution Date Awarded Abbreviation
BACHELOR OF APPLIED SCIENCE Queensland University of Technology 31-Dec-1997
BACHELOR OF APPLIED SCIENCE HONOURS Queensland University of Technology 31-Dec-1998
Doctor of Philosophy James Cook University of North Queensland 15-Nov-2007

Memberships

Membership Type Membership Body Description Start Date End Date
Member Australian Neuroscience Society Full Member 27-Jan-2002
Member Society for Neuroscience Member 03-May-2005
Member Federation of European Neuroscience Societies Member 03-May-2005
Member Symposium of Western Australian Neuroscience Member 03-May-2005

Government Research Classifications

Research Fields, Courses and Discipline Classifications

Socio-Economic Objective Classifications

Grants and Contracts

Research Grants, Contracts and Consultancies awarded to the University of Melbourne as the administering institution (since 2003) as recorded in Themis Agreements.

Contracts

Title Role Funding Source Award Date
VEGF IN SPINAL CORD INJURY - CSL CONTRACT Chief Investigator CSL LIMITED 15/08/2008

Publications

Publications produced at the University of Melbourne and reported in the Annual Publications Collection and 'Research Report' since 2001. The Themis Publications module, released in November 2006, allows additional publications from previous institutions and publications from past years to be entered.

Publications in 2006

Journal Articles

  • Brain-derived neurotrophic factor induces post-lesion transcommissural growth of olivary axons that develop normal climbing fibers on mature Purkinje cells
    Year: 2006
    Journal: Experimental Neurology
    Volume: 202
    Page numbers: 44-56
    Author(s):
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Publications in 2005

Journal Articles

  • Post-lesion transcommissural olivocerebellar reinnervation improves motor function following unilateral pedunculotomy in the neonatal rat
    Year: 2005
    Journal: Experimental Neurology
    Volume: 196
    Page numbers: 254-265
    Author(s):
    Super Search Source this item in the University's Catalouge locate this resource.
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