Lumen Summer 2017 - Flipbook - Page 13
Cell research
targets female epilepsy
Tracking the migration of the brain’s neurons
sounds like the stuff of science Þction.
B
ut that9s precisely what University of
Adelaide alumna and PhD student
Claire Homan has been doing as
she helps unravel the mysteries of one of
the most debilitating forms of epilepsy.
Her research is investigating the cause
of the female-speciûc Protocadherin
19 (PCDH19) related epilepsy which
affects the lives of thousands of young
girls worldwide.
Access to highly sensitive equipment
at the University9s Adelaide Microscopy
centre is helping Claire better
understand the functions of the PCDH19
X-chromosome gene during development
of a child9s brain.
In an important discovery she9s found
that PCDH19 plays a crucial role in
neuronal migration. It9s thought mutations
in the gene could disrupt normal
development and send the neurons to
the wrong part of the brain.
Claire says she9s been fascinated
by the workings of the human brain
since studying her Bachelor of Science
(Genetics and Biochemistry) degree at
Adelaide and then a ûrst class honours
Bachelor of Sciences (Genetics)
degree in 2009.
