Associate Professor Geoff Faulkner has won the $25,000 Centenary Institute Lawrence Creative Prize, announced during an awards reception in Sydney yesterday, for his creative research into mobile DNA and its impact on the brain.
 
A/Prof Faulkner believes that the differences in the way each human brain functions could be determined by a segment of mobile DNA known as L1 and said that because L1 has the capacity to insert itself into the genome of individual brain cells, his research may have consequences for how memories form, for brain disorders and may impact our understanding of some diseases.
 
“My research team and I are investigating whether patients with neurological disorders have more, or less, genes mutated by L1 insertions than normal,” he said.
 
“For example, research to date indicates that people with schizophrenia may have substantially more insertions.”
 
The Centenary Institute Lawrence Creative Prize is an initiative to promote medical research in Australia and recognises the young talent that already exists in the field.
 
The Prize is awarded for creative biomedical research excellence in its broadest definition, including trans-disciplinary research.
 
For further information about the Prize visit the Centenary Institute website.

Original article: http://research.mater.org.au/News-and-Events/Latest-News/Researcher-recognised-for-DNA-investigations.aspx 
Image credit: Micah Baldwin