A microRNA-independent function of the microRNA machinery in haematopoietic stem cells

Coming up on the 20th Feb is this special seminar featuring Dr Mark Chong, special guest speaker from St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research. 

Speaker Profile

Mark Chong is Head of the Genomics and Immunology Laboratory at St Vincent’s Institute and a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne. He also holds a Senior Research Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Mark completed his PhD with Tom Kay at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and then moved to the US for postdoctoral work with Dan Littman at New York University. It was during this time that he initiated many of this current research interests.

Mark’s lab has two general research interests. Firstly, they study the molecular mechanisms that control immune cell development. They are particularly interested in the differentiation of T cells in the thymus and of haematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. Secondly, his lab is interested in the biogenesis and function of non-coding RNAs. In particular, their studies have focused on how microRNAs are transcribed and processed in order to generate functional molecules. They are interested in understanding the regulation of the microRNA machinery.