Katharina Gaus

Katharina Gaus is an Australian immunologist and molecular microscopist. She is currently an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow[3] and founding head of the Cellular Membrane Biology Lab, part of the Centre for Vascular Research at the University of New South Wales.[4] Gaus uses new super-resolution fluorescence microscopes[5][6][7] to examine the plasma membrane within intact living cells, and study cell signalling at the level of single molecules to better understand how cells "make decisions".[8] A key discovery of Gaus and her team was how T-cells decide to switch on the body's immune system to attack diseases.[9][10] Her work is of importance to the development of drugs that can work with T-cells in support of the immune system.[8]

Katharina Gaus
Spouse(s)Professor Justin Gooding[1]
AwardsElizabeth Blackburn Fellowship, 2013; Gottschalk Medal, 2012
Scientific career
FieldsCell receptors and membrane biology, signal transduction and medical biochemistry[2]
External video
Katharina Gaus - Extreme Close-up on Immunity, AboutUNSW

Education

Gaus studied physics and mathematics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany and a MPhil (1996) and PhD (1999) from the Institute of Biotechnology[11] at the University of Cambridge.[2] While there she created a biosensor to detect protein-protein interactions and a ligand library, useful as a diagnostic tool.[11]

Career

Following her studies at the University of Cambridge, Katharina joined the Cell Biology Group at the Heart Research Institute in Sydney, Australia, led by Roger Dean and Wendy Jessup.[12] Around 2002, she moved with Wendy Jessup's group to the Centre for Vascular Research at the University of New South Wales.[11]

She has received several fellowships, spending three months of 2001 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, working with Enrico Gratton before returning to Australia to take up an Australian Research Council postdoctoral fellowship.[13] In 2005 Gaus was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship and spent six months at the Max Planck Institute for Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany,[13] working in the laboratory of Kai Simons.[12]

As of 2005, Gaus founded the Cellular Membrane Biology Lab, part of the Centre for Vascular Research at the University of New South Wales.[11][12] As of 2009 she became a senior research fellow and associate professor of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in Australia.[12]

Gaus is a member of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, founded in 2011, which is based at the University of New South Wales.[14] She is also Deputy Director and a Chief Investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging.[15]

Gaus is active in encouraging girls to enter scientific fields.[16]

Gaus was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS) in 2015.[17]

Awards
  • 2013, Elizabeth Blackburn Fellowship – Biomedical 2013 (NHMRC Research Excellence Award)[3][8]
  • 2013, NSW Science and Engineering Award for Excellence in Biological Sciences,[1] from the New South Wales Government[18]
  • 2012 Gottschalk Medal for outstanding research in the medical sciences, from the Australian Academy of Science[5]
  • 2010, Young Investigator Award from the Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology[3][11]
  • 2005, Tall Poppy Award, encouraging young Australian scientists[19]

References
  1. Gough, Myles (4 November 2013). "UNSW shines at science and engineering awards". UNSW Media Office. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  2. "Professor Katharina Gaus". University of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  3. Cooper, Alexis (11 June 2014). "Top researchers recognised with NHMRC Excellence Awards". National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Government. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  4. "Cellular Membrane Biology Lab". University of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  5. "Career research awards". Australian Academy of Science Awardees for 2012. Australian Academy of Science. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  6. "Katharina Gaus". Single Molecule Science. UNSW Australia. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  7. "Working with Industry – July news from the Imaging Centre of Excellence". Science in Public. ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  8. "Katharina Gaus: Elizabeth Blackburn Fellowship – Biomedical 2013". National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Government. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  9. Cave, Peter (6 June 2011). "Super microscope discovers the secrets of immune cells". ABC Radio - AM program. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  10. "Supermicroscope pins immune 'switch'". Australasian Science (June 2011). Control Publications Pty Ltd. 2011. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  11. Wylie, Fiona (2010). "ANZSCDB Young Investigator Award : Kat Gaus, Pushing the boundaries is all in a day's work" (PDF). Newsletter (June 2010). Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology. pp. 7–8. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  12. "Professor Katharina Gaus". UNSW Medicine.
  13. "Dr. Katharina Gaus". Australian Institute of Policy and Science (AIPS). Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  14. "ACN Members and Associate Members". Australian Centre for NanoMedicine (ACN). Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  15. "Chief Investigators". Centre for Advanced Molecular Imaging. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  16. "Inspiring the next generation of female scientists". Single Molecule Science. UNSW Australia. 22 May 2015.
  17. "Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences - October 2015" (PDF). Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  18. "Awards". NSW Government Department of Industry. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  19. "2005 New South Wales Award Winners". Tall Poppies. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.