Melanie White wins the CJ Martin Award!

Melanie White, a recent graduate of the University of Sydney has been awarded a NH&MRC CJ Martin Postdoctoral Fellowship for her work in Dr Stuart Cordwell’s cardiac proteomics group.

The CJ Martin Fellowship will allow Melanie to work with Dr Cordwell and Professor Jennifer Van Eyk at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA. Receiving this award will allow Melanie to investigate the production of peptides as a function of ischemic injury to the heart.

Given the short duration of ischemia required to induce cellular injury in the heart, the alterations that result in prolonged, yet reversible contractile dysfunction are mediated by alterations at the protein level. Work previously published by the cardiac proteomics group has shown that proteolysis occurs to myocardial proteins with transient periods of ischemia. It is therefore important to screen the heart for the products of proteolysis. Melanie will be using proteomic based techniques that screen for such peptides in the heart and surrounding biofluids.

Melanie is pleased to receive this award, which will encourage collaborations between the School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences at the University of Sydney and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.