Hudson seminar: “Epigenetic programming in the germline: setting the foundation for the next generation”, 6 July

Thursday 6 July, 12 - 1pm, Seminar rooms 1 and 2, TRF

Speaker:  Dr Patrick Western
Research Group Head, Germ Cell Development and Epigenetics
Centre for Genetics Diseases, Hudson Institute of Medical Research

Dr Patrick Western’s research is focused on understanding the epigenetic processes underlying establishment of the germ cell lineage and the impact of transmitted epigenetic information on the next generation.

Dr Western completed his doctoral studies on temperature dependent sex determination in the American alligator. He then moved to Professor Azim Surani’s laboratory at the Wellcome Trust Gurdon Institute, Cambridge University, where he studied the reacquisition of pluripotency in differentiated somatic cells and identified novel genes associated with pluripotency in embryonic stem cells and germ cells. Dr Western then joined the ARC Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and Development where he pursued an interest in germ cell development with a focus on differentiation of male germ cells and the molecular and epigenetic regulation of germ cell pluripotency. In 2011, Dr Western established the Germ Cell Development and Epigenetics Group within the Centre for Genetic Diseases at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research (formerly Monash Institute of Medical Research). The Germ Cell Development and Epigenetics group is focused on mechanisms regulating epigenetic reprogramming in the germline and establishment of epigenetic information required for development in offspring.