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Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Professor Ryan Lister, a genome biologist and Future Fellow in the ARC Centre for Excellence in Plant Energy Biology has been recognised as Western Australia's brightest young scientist in the 2013 Tall Poppy Awards.

Professor Lister, an expert in using advanced DNA sequencing technologies and computational biology to understand how the genomes of complex biological organisms work, was last night presented with his award at a reception held at Curtin University.

The Tall Poppy Awards recognise individuals who combine world-class research with a passionate commitment to communicating science and who demonstrate great leadership potential.

Other Tall Poppy Award winners included Dr Jean-Paul Hobbs, from UWA's Oceans Institute, Dr Louise Naylor from the UWA School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health and Adjunct Associate Professor Graeme Zosky and Dr Hannah Moore from the UWA-affiliated Telethon Institute for Child Health Research as well as Dr James Miller-Jones from Curtin University.

Professor Lister's research focuses on epigenetics and genomics.  The epigenome - a molecular code superimposed upon the genome that controls how our genes are turned on and off - plays a pivotal role in normal development and disease/stress states in animals and plants.

Researchers had previously only been able to glimpse small snippets of this epigenetic information, but by developing new techniques utilizing cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology, Professor Lister was able to generate the first accurate whole epigenome maps for humans and plants.

His research is giving scientists critical insights into how the epigenome regulates gene expression and is perturbed in disease or stress, providing great leaps forward in our understanding of the epigenome will provide benefits to human health, regenerative medicine and agriculture.

Media references

Professor Ryan Lister (ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology)  (+61 8)  6488 4407
UWA Public Affairs Media Team  (+61 8)  6488 7977  /  (+61 4) 32 637 716

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