SEMINAR: "The Gene Mine Mouse Model for Diabetic Retinopathy". and "The role of the Yes-associated protein in the transformation of liver progenitor cells and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma�

Lakshini Graduated from Bangalore University in India in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology. After graduating, she worked as a research assistant at the Human Genetics Unit in the Colombo medical faculty, Sri Lanka. Moving to Australia in 2009 she worked as a research assistant at the Centre for Diabetes Research at WAIMR. In 2010 she was awarded a PhD enrolment through WAIMR and UWA’s School of Medicine and Pharmacology. Soon after, she secured the inaugural Alex Cohen Diabetes Scholarship to support her PhD studies. At the Centre for Diabetes Research, Lakshini is currently working on her PhD project under the supervision of Prof Grant Morahan and Dr. Lois Balmer, to develop a better mouse model for diabetic retinopathy and to characterize the genes which contribute to this complication of diabetes. This work will be a cutting-edge use of “The Gene Mine”, a world-leading genetic discovery resource.

The Yes-associated protein (YAP) is a transcriptional co-activator that cooperates with DNA-binding transcription factors to regulate an array of target genes involved in growth, proliferation and apoptosis. YAP has been implicated in the development of a range of human cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the third leading cause of cancer related death worldwide. The focus of my research is to establish and characterise the role that YAP may play in the tumorigenic transformation of liver progenitor cells (LPCs), which may lead to the development of HCC. I will focus on three main areas of interest 1) YAP expression level and sub-cellular localisation, 2) microRNAs regulated by YAP, and 3) micro RNAs regulating YAP and 3’ UTR shortening. Outcomes of this research may provide a novel diagnostic marker for the detection of cells that may have acquired cancerous traits that initiate HCC, and could highlight potential targets for the prevention of tumorigenic transformation, and assist in the development of LPC based therapies for the treatment of liver disease.