Stephanie F Bellmaine
Stephanie was awarded a Strategic Research Australian Postgraduate Award (STRAPA) in 2010 to complete a multidisciplinary PhD in both synthetic organic chemistry and stem cell biology. She conducts her PhD under the supervision of Assoc. Prof Spencer J. Williams (School of Chemistry and Bio21 Institute, Melbourne University), Prof. Martin Pera (School of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne) and Paul Savage (CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering).
Stephanie's PhD work focusses on synthesizing small molecular inhibitors of DYRK kinases, and assaying these compounds in cellular systems to investigate their role in moderating the self-renewal or differentiation processes of human embryonic stem (hES) cells. Ultimately this project aims to shed light on a new cellular process for controlling stem cell fate and perhaps to establish new protocols for stem cell culture, which will alleviate the need for exogenous growth factors and animal components in hES cell culture.
Abstracts this author is presenting: