Phillip Nagley

Biography

 Professor Phillip Nagley graduated from the University of Sydney in 1967, where he was awarded the University Medal in Biochemistry. He completed his MSc at the same University before moving to Melbourne to undertake his PhD in the Department of Biochemistry at Monash University. His research work at Sydney encompassed studies of mammalian ribosomes and endoplasmic reticulum, then work on bacterial DNA replication. He integrated these two different experiences to embark on his PhD studies on the formation of mitochondria in yeast cells. Phillip Nagley's PhD studies, completed in 1972, focussed on a molecular genetic and biochemical study of mitochondrial biogenesis. One highlight of this early work was the discovery he made of yeast cells that lack mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) completely. These cells were termed rho0 by Nagley and Linnane (1972), a term which is current use today for similar cells that can be isolated from mammalian sources and which are extremely useful in many aspects of research on the role of mitochondria in cellular life and death. Phillip Nagley continued his research in the Department of Biochemistry (now Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) at Monash University since 1972, with two periods of sabbatical leave at the University of Paris, France, and Stanford University, California, USA. He has also held Exchange Fellowships for collaboration with scientists in Japan (University of Nagoya, University of Tokushima) and Taiwan (National Yang-Ming University). He has researched extensively into the formation of mitochondria in yeast, covering many aspects of cell and molecular biology. He was awarded his DSc degree in 1986 for his collected publications to that time, in a thesis entitled The Molecular Biology of Mitochondria. He was awarded a Personal Chair in Biochemistry in 1990

Research Interest

  Mitochondria and oxidative stress in neuronal injury and cell death  Significance of mitochondria in survival and death of cancer cells The process of release of apoptotic signalling proteins from mitochondria Understanding host-pathogen interactions in bacterial infection of mammalian cells