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DR RICHARD SAFFERY



Contact Details

Organization: Paediatrics Royal Children's Hospital
Position: Honorary (Fellow)
Email:

Biography

Group Leader and Senior Research Fellow, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, NHMRC RD Wright Fellow

• NHMRC Grant funding since 2000 of $2.7 million, including over $450,000 as CIA
• Peer reviewed grant support from other bodies of over $4M as Principal Investigator or Chief Investigator, including $260,000 recent Perpetual Foundation Grant (CIA)
• Finalist (of two nationally) for a special Ramaciotti Foundation $1M initiative in 2007.
• Continuing productive National and International research collaborations
• Firmly established independent research profile and management role (currently 7 students, 2 post-docs, 3 research assistants and 4 research nurses).
• Established international recognition in chromatin biology and emerging recognition in epigenetics research reflected by invitations to speak at International Conferences, including a recent plenary lecture.
• Invited speaker at many National Conferences, and research institutes and universities

Research Expertise and International Linkages

Research Expertise

Research Interest Key Words Country of Expertise
Early Development & Disease, Cancer Cancer Genetics, Depression, Diabetes, Familial Cancer, Genetics, Leukaemia, Tumour Biology Australia
Genetics & development Cancer Epigenetics Stem Cell Chromatin Chromatin proteins Methylation, Human Mini Chromosomes, Australia

Qualifications, Honours, Fellowships and Other Awards

Qualifications

Title Institution Date Awarded Abbreviation
Bachelor of Science (honours) Monash University 31-Dec-1998
PhD Monash University 31-Dec-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.

Grants

Title Role Funding Source Scheme Award Date
Taming the intruders: the domestication of Tigger transposable elements in mammals Chief Investigator AUST RESEARCH COUNCIL Discovery Projects 01/01/2007

Additional Grant and Contract Information

Currently held grants:
1. Investigators Richard Saffery
Title/type #284562 - Chromosome analysis and production of Human Artificial Chromosomes (Biomedical CDA award)
Period 2004-2008
Funds $415,000
2. Investigators KH Andy Choo, Lee Wong, Richard Saffery
Title/type #384429 - The organization and function of DNA and protein components on human chromosomes (Project grant)
Period 2006-2008
Funds $447,000
3. Investigators Jeff Craig, Richard Saffery, John Carlin
Title/type #437016 - Environmental influences in the establishment of the epigenetic landscape in children (Healthy Start to Life Grant)
Period 2007 (June)-2010 (June)
Funds $667,000
4. Investigators George Patton, Craig Olsson, Richard Saffery, Jeff Craig
Title/type #437015 - Mental health across generations: Pre- and post-conception predictors of early life risks (Healthy Start to Life Grant)
Period 2008-2011
Funds $ 639,648
5. Investigators Brian Dean, Elizabeth Scarr, Richard Saffery, Anthony Hannon
Title/type #509333 - Studies on the expression of muscarinic receptors: Implications for the pathology of schizophrenia (Project grant)
Period 2008-2010
Funds $472,750

Other Project Funding

1. Investigators Andy Choo (CI), Lee Wong (AI), Richard Saffery (AI), Paul Kalitsis (AI), Jeff Craig (AI)
Title Analysis and manipulation of human neocentromeres
Period 2004-2008
Funds USD350,000
Source National Institutes of Health (USA)
2. Investigators Andy Choo (CI), Richard Saffery (AI), Nick Wong (AI)
Title/type Effects of Folate and DNA Methylation on Aneuploidy and Genomic Expression (Project grant)
Period June 2006-2009
Funds USD327,500
Source March of Dimes (USA)
3. Investigators Jeff Craig, Richard Saffery, Ruth Morley
Title/type Monitoring environmental influences on the establishment of the epigenetic landscape during pregnancy and implications for the health of children (Project grant)
Period June 2007-2009
Funds $70,750
Source Foundation for Children (AUST)
4. Investigators Richard Saffery, Jeff Craig, Brian Dean, Craig Olsson
Title/type A window to the brain: investigation of DNA methylation in post-mortem brain and peripheral blood. (Project Grant)
Period 2007-2008
Funds $54,000
Source Brockhoff Foundation (AUST)
5. Investigators Richard Saffery, Paul Kalitsis, Andy Choo
Title/type Investigation of novel domesticated Tigger transposon proteins in mammals. (Discovery Project Grant)
Period 2008-2010
Funds $236,000
Source Australian Research Council
6. Investigators Richard Saffery
Title/type Tumour suppressor gene silencing in the placenta: a model for the investigation of transition to malignancy in human cancers. (Project Grant)
Period 2008
Funds $45,000
Source Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
7. Investigators Jeff Craig, Richard Saffery
Title/type Epigenetic differences in newborn twins. (Special Project Grant)
Period 2008-2010
Funds $20,000
Source Scobie and Claire McKinnon Trust (AUST)

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 2012

Journal Articles

  • Cohort Profile: The Peri/post-natal Epigenetic Twins Study
    Year: 2012
    Journal: International Journal of Epidemiology
    Volume: 41
    Page numbers: 55-61
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Publications in 2011

Journal Articles

  • Evidence of increased DNA methylation of the androgen receptor gene in occipital hair follicles from men with androgenetic alopecia


    Year: 2011
    Journal: British Journal of Dermatology
    Volume: 165
    Page numbers: 210-213
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  • Evidence for age-related and individual-specific changes in DNA methylation profile of mononuclear cells during early immune development in humans
    Year: 2011
    Journal: Epigenetics
    Volume: 6
    Issue: 9
    Page numbers: 1085-1094
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  • Evidence for widespread changes in promoter methylation profile in human placenta in response to increasing gestational age and environmental/stochastic factors
    Year: 2011
    Journal: BMC Genomics
    Volume: 12
    Article number: 529
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  • Integrated genomic analysis of relapsed childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia reveals therapeutic strategies
    Year: 2011
    Journal: Blood
    Volume: 118
    Issue: 19
    Page numbers: 5218-5226
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  • Investigating the Potential Role of Genetic and Epigenetic Variation of DNA Methyltransferase Genes in Hyperplastic Polyposis Syndrome
    Year: 2011
    Journal: PLoS One
    Volume: 6
    Issue: 2
    Article number: e16831
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  • Reduced placental FOXP3 associated with subsequent infant allergic disease
    Year: 2011
    Journal: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
    Volume: 128
    Issue: 4
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  • The role of genetics and environment in the rise of childhood food allergy
    Year: 2011
    Journal: Clinical and Experimental Allergy
    Volume: 42
    Issue: 1
    Page numbers: 20-29
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  • Wide-ranging DNA methylation differences of primary trophoblast cell populations and derived cell lines: implications and opportunities for understanding trophoblast function
    Year: 2011
    Journal: Molecular Human Reproduction
    Volume: 17
    Issue: 6
    Page numbers: 344-353
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Publications in 2010

Journal Articles

  • DNA Methylation-mediated Down-regulation of DNA Methyltransferase-1 (DNMT1) Is Coincident with, but Not Essential for, Global Hypomethylation in Human Placenta
    Year: 2010
    Journal: Journal of Biological Chemistry
    Volume: 285
    Issue: 13
    Page numbers: 9583-9593
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  • DNA methylation analysis of multiple tissues from newborn twins reveals both genetic and intrauterine components to variation in the human neonatal epigenome
    Year: 2010
    Journal: Human Molecular Genetics
    Volume: 19
    Issue: 21
    Page numbers: 4176-4188
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  • DNA methylation and miRNA expression profiling in childhood B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia
    Year: 2010
    Journal: Epigenomics
    Volume: 2
    Issue: 5
    Page numbers: 697-708
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  • Distinct Patterns of Gene-Specific Methylation in Mammalian Placentas: Implications for Placental Evolution and Function
    Year: 2010
    Journal: Placenta
    Volume: 31
    Issue: 4
    Page numbers: 259-268
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  • Epigenetic silencing of BIM in glucocorticoid poor-responsive pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and its reversal by histone deacetylase inhibition
    Year: 2010
    Journal: Blood
    Volume: 116
    Issue: 16
    Page numbers: 3013-3022
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  • New directions in childhood obesity research: how a comprehensive biorepository will allow better prediction of outcomes
    Year: 2010
    Journal: BMC Medical Research Methodology
    Volume: 10
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  • Prospects for epigenetic research within cohort studies of psychological disorder: A pilot investigation of a peripheral cell marker of epigenetic risk for depression
    Year: 2010
    Journal: Biological Psychology
    Volume: 83
    Page numbers: 159-165
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  • Wheel Running and Environmental Enrichment Differentially Modify Exon-Specific BDNF Expression in the Hippocampus of Wild-Type and Pre-motor Symptomatic Male and Female Huntington's Disease Mice

    Year: 2010
    Journal: Hippocampus
    Volume: 20
    Issue: 5
    Page numbers: 621-635
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Publications in 2009

Journal Articles

  • A case-sibling assessment of the association between skin pigmentation and other vitamin D-related factors and type 1 diabetes mellitus
    Year: 2009
    Journal: Photochemistry and Photobiology
    Volume: 85
    Issue: 5
    Page numbers: 1267-70
    Author(s):
    URL - open access http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19453387
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  • A convergent model for placental dysfunction encompassing combined sub-optimal one-carbon donor and vitamin D bioavailability

    Year: 2009
    Journal: Medical Hypotheses
    Volume: 73
    Issue: 6
    Page numbers: 1023-1028
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  • Characterisation of histone variant distribution in human embryonic stem cells by transfection of in vitro transscribed mRNA
    Year: 2009
    Journal: Molecular Reproduction and Development
    Volume: 76
    Page numbers: 1128-1142
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  • Inherent promoter bidirectionality facilitates maintenance of sequence integrity and transcription of parasitic DNA in mammalian genomes
    Year: 2009
    Journal: BMC Genomics
    Volume: 10
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  • Microbial exposure, IFNg gene demethylation in naive T cells and the risk of allergic disease
    Year: 2009
    Journal: Allergy
    Volume: 64
    Issue: 3
    Page numbers: 348-53
    Author(s):
    URL - open access http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mksg/all/2009/00000064/00000003/art00004
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  • Placenta-specific Methylation of the Vitamin D 24-Hydroxylase Gene: Implications for Feedback Autoregulation of Active Vitamin D Levels at the Fetomaternal Interface
    Year: 2009
    Journal: Journal of Biological Chemistry
    Volume: 284
    Issue: 22
    Page numbers: 14838-14848
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  • Prospects for epigenetic epidemiology
    Year: 2009
    Journal: American Journal of Epidemiology
    Volume: 169
    Issue: 4
    Page numbers: 389-400
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Publications in 2008

Journal Articles

  • Archived Guthrie blood spots as a novel source for quantitative DNA methylation analysis
    Year: 2008
    Journal: Biotechniques
    Volume: 45
    Issue: 4
    Page numbers: 423-430
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  • Methylation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene in human placenta and hypermethylation in choriocarcinoma cells
    Year: 2008
    Journal: Cancer Letters
    Volume: 268
    Issue: 1
    Page numbers: 56-62
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  • Specific tumour-associated methylation in normal human term placenta and first trimester cytotrophoblasts
    Year: 2008
    Journal: Molecular Human Reproduction
    Volume: 14
    Issue: 9
    Page numbers: 547-554
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  • The rise of epigenetics in human health
    Year: 2008
    Journal: Highlights
    Volume: 16
    Issue: 2
    Page numbers: 1-1
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  • ZNF397, a new class of interphase to early prophase-specific, SCAN-zinc-finger, mammalian centromere protein
    Year: 2008
    Journal: Chromosoma
    Volume: 117
    Issue: 4
    Page numbers: 367-380
    Author(s):
    URL - open access http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18369653
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Publications in 2007

Journal Articles

  • Centromere RNA is a key component for the assembly of nucleoproteins at the nucleolus and centromere
    Year: 2007
    Journal: Genome Research
    Volume: 17
    Issue: 8
    Page numbers: 1146-1160
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Publications in 2005

Journal Articles

  • Analysis of mitotic and expression properties of human neocentromere-based transchromosomes in mice
    Year: 2005
    Journal: Journal of Biological Chemistry
    Volume: 280
    Issue: 5
    Page numbers: 3954-3962
    Publisher: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology(Maryland)
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  • Engineering chromosomes for delivery of therapeutic genes.
    Year: 2005
    Journal: Trends in Biotechnology
    Volume: 23
    Issue: 12
    Page numbers: 575-583
    Publisher: Elsevier Science London(London)
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Publications in 2004

Journal Articles

  • Chromosome size and origin as determinants of the level of CENP-A incorporation into human centromeres
    Year: 2004
    Journal: Chromosome Research
    Volume: 12
    Page numbers: 805-815
    Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers(Dordrecht)
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  • Effects of scaffold/matrix alteration on centromeric function and gene expression.
    Year: 2004
    Journal: Journal of Biochemistry
    Volume: 279
    Issue: 36
    Page numbers: 37631-37639
    Publisher: Japanese Biochemical Society(Tokyo)
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Publications in 2002

Journal Articles

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