Deanne Whitworth

I completed a BSc (Hons) and a PhD at the University of Melbourne before undertaking post-doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. My research focused on marsupial and eutherian developmental biology. After 6 years in the US I returned to Australia to study Veterinary Science (BVSc) at the University of Queensland (UQ), going on to work in equine and small animal practice. A longing to get back into research lead to my current position as a Teaching & Research academic in the School of Veterinary Science, UQ. My lab has generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from dogs and horses that are being used to model diseases in vitro and as the basis for research into stem cell-based treatments for a variety of diseases. We have also produced iPSCs from the Tasmanian devil and the platypus, the first stem cells ever described from a marsupial and a monotreme, respectively, allowing us to pursue research directed at treating devil facial tumour disease, understanding marsupial and monotreme embryonic development, and the conservation of endangered species. Induced pluripotent stem cells from domestic and native Australian species: Our research uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from domestic and native Australian species to address several key areas of research including regenerative medicine, reproduction, species conservation and mammalian evolution.

[2024] Advancing stem cell technologies for conservation of wildlife biodiversity. Hutchinson, Ashlee M., Appeltant, Ruth, Burdon, Tom, Bao, Qiuye, Bargaje, Rhishikesh, Bodnar, Andrea, Chambers, Stuart, Comizzoli, Pierre, Cook, Laura, Endo, Yoshinori, Harman, Bob, Hayashi, Katsuhiko, Hildebrandt, Thomas, Korody, Marisa L., Lakshmipathy, Uma, Loring, Jeanne F., Munger, Clara, Ng, Alex H. M., Novak, Ben, Onuma, Manabu, Ord, Sara, Paris, Monique, Pask, Andrew J., Pelegri, Francisco, Pera, Martin, Phelan, Ryan, Rosental, Benyamin, Ryder, Oliver A., Sukparangsi, Woranop ... Kohler, Timo N. (2024). Advancing stem cell technologies for conservation of wildlife biodiversity. Development, 151 (20) dev203116. doi: 10.1242/dev.203116 [2024] Applying iterative student feedback across flipped classroom