Professor Leonie Quinn

PhD
Group Leader
Professor

Professor Quinn completed PhD studies in Adelaide (2000), conducted postdoctoral research at the Peter MacCallum Centre in Melbourne (2000-07), and established her independent laboratory at the University of Melbourne (2007-17). In 2017, Prof. Quinn was recruited to the John Curtin School of Medical Research, where she leads the Brain Cancer Discovery Group, Heads the Division of Genome Science and Cancer, and the Canberra Brain Cancer Collaborative.

Research interests

Prof Quinn’s research uses a combination of sophisticated Drosophila genetic systems and of Human mini-brain models to understanding molecular mechanisms of primary brain cancer (glioma) initiation and progression.

Areas of expertise

  • Cell And Nuclear Division
  • Gene Expression (Incl. Microarray And Other Genome Wide Approaches)
  • Genetics
  • Cancer Cell Biology
  • Cell Development, Proliferation And Death
  • Developmental Genetics

Recent Selected Publications

  • Naomi Mitchell, Elissaveta Tchoubrieva, Arjun Chahal, Simone Woods, Amanda Lee, Jane Lin, Linda Parsons, Gretchen Poortinga, Katherine Hannan, Richard Pearson, Ross Hannan and Leonie Quinn.
    Signalling to ribosomal RNA synthesis: MYC-driven rDNA transcription requires S6 Kinase. Cellular Signalling 2015 doi: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2015.07.018.
  • Jue Er Amanda Lee, Naomi Mitchell, Olga Zaytseva, Arjun Chahal, Peter Mendis, Linda Parsons, Gretchen Poortinga, David Levens, Ross Hannan, and Leonie Quinn. 
    Hfp-dependent transcriptional repression of dMYC is fundamental to tissue overgrowth in Drosophila XPB models. Nature Communications 2015; doi:10.1038/ncomms8404.  [IF=10.742]
  • Olga Zaytseva, Nora Tenis, Naomi Mitchell, Shin-ichiro Kanno, Akira Yasui, Jörg Heierhorst and Leonie Quinn.
    ASCIZ regulates development and mitosis in Drosophila as a conserved regulator of Cutup/dynein light chain. Genetics 2014; 196 (2): 443–53. doi:10.1534/genetics.113.159541.
  • Poortinga, G., L. M. Quinn, and R. D. Hannan. 2014.
    Targeting RNA Polymerase I to Treat MYC-Driven Cancer. Oncogene 2014; (10) 1038/onc.2014.13.
  • Jane Lin, Naomi Mitchell, Elly Tchoubrieva, Mary Stewart, Steven Marygold, Richard Pearson, Leonie Quinn and Ross Hannan.  
    Drosophila Ribosomal Protein Mutants Control Tissue Growth Non-Autonomously via Effects on the Prothoracic Gland and Ecdysone. PloS Genetics 2011; 7 (12) e1002408
  • Naomi Mitchell, Timothy Johanson, Nicola Cranna, Amanda Lee, Helena Richardson, Ross Hannan and Leonie Quinn.
    Hfp inhibits Drosophila myc transcription and cell growth in a TFIIH/Hay-dependent manner.
    Development 2010; 137, 2875-2884.
  • Georg Mayer, Chiharu Kato, Björn Quast, Rebecca Chisholm, Kerry Landman and Leonie Quinn.
    Growth patterns in Onychophora: lack of a localised posterior proliferation zone. BMC Evolutionary Biology 2010; 10:339.
  • Adrian Monk, Nicole Siddall, Talila Volk, Barbara Fraser, Leonie Quinn, Eileen McLaughlin and Gary Hime.
    How is required for stem cell maintenance in the Drosophila testis and for the onset of transit amplifying divisions. Cell Stem Cell 2010; 6(4): 348-60.
  • Naomi Mitchell, Nicola Cranna, Helena Richardson and Leonie Quinn.
    The Ecdysone- inducible zinc finger transcription factor, Crol regulates wg transcription and cell cycle progression in Drosophila. Development 2008; (featured on the front cover). 135(16): 2707-16.