Simon Hawke
Professor
Pathology
University of Sydney
Australia
Biography
Prion diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob diseases in humans and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or Mad Cow Disease) in cattle are fatal neurodegenerativie disorders without effective treatment. Underlying these disorders is the transformation of normal cellular protein into infections proteins or prions. Prof Hawke and his colleagues are attempting to harness the immune system to inhibit this transformation and the replication of prions. Already, they have shown that prion replication outside the brain can be substantially inhibited by passively transferring monoclonal antibodies specific for prion protein. Studies are in progress aiming to control replication in the central nervous system.
Research Interest
Neurosciences and Mental Health
Publications
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Zinger, A., Latham, S., Combes, V., Byrne, S., Barnett, M., Hawke, S., Grau, G. (2016). Plasma levels of endothelial and B-cell-derived microparticles are restored by fingolimod treatment in multiple sclerosis patients. Multiple Sclerosis Journal, 22(14), 1883-1887.
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Reimann, R., Sonati, T., Hornemann, S., Herrmann, U., Arand, M., Hawke, S., Aguzzi, A. (2016). Differential Toxicity of Antibodies to the Prion Protein. PLOS Pathogens, 12(1), 1-19
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Bukhari, W., Prain, K., Waters, P., Woodhall, M., O'Gorman, C., Clarke, L., Silvestrini, R., Bundell, C., Abernethy, D., Dale, R., Fulcher, D., Hawke, S., Heard, R., Lin, M., Pollard, J., Reddel, S., Spies, J., Vucic, S., Barnett, M., et al (2017). Incidence and prevalence of NMOSD in Australia and New Zealand. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 88(8), 632-638.
