Geoff Howlett

The Howlett research group is studying the misfolding and aggregation of plasma apolipoproteins and their propensity to accumulate in disease-related amyloid deposits.

Proteins self-assemble into toxic amyloid fibrils in a number of age-related diseases including dementia, diabetes and heart disease. The Howlett research group aims to discover the mechanism that drives normal proteins to form amyloid fibrils and to develop inhibitors that block and reverse fibril growth.

Amyloid fibril formation by human apolipoprotein C-II provides a convenient experimental system for the groups studies.

Techniques include: analytical ultracentrifugation, fluorescence, NMR and mass spectroscopy to explore the formation and breakdown of amyloid fibrils and the interactions of fibrils with other amyloid components.

Our strategy to develop inhibitors is potentially applicable to a range of amyloid fibrils of clinical importance.

Geoff Howlett Bio

Geoff Howlett is an Associate Professor within the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. In 2005, he relocated his research group to the Bio21 Institute. Throughout his career, he has been invited to give a number of keynote lectures and seminars and has been active in organising key scientific conferences. These include:

"Amyloid-like structures formed by apolipoproteins in atherosclerosis" at the Queenstown Molecular Biology meeting, (Queenstown, November, 2004)
"HDL is a major amyloid fibril binding species in human plasma" at the COMBIO meeting of the Australian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Adelaide, October, 2005).

Role in conference organization

Member of the organizing committee of the annual Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function
Chair of a "Biomolecular Dynamics and Interactions" satellite meeting of the 2005 Lorne Protein conference
Member of the organizing committee of a "Protein Misfolding Diseases" satellite meeting of the 2006 Lorne Protein Conference
International chair of a Gordon Conference on "Reversible Associations in Structural and Molecular Biology" held in January, 2006 in Ventura, CA.
Invited chair of a symposium on "Protein Folding" at the annual conference of the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology" in Brisbane in September, 2006.
Member of organising committee on "Biomolecular Dynamics and Interactions: from single molecules to complex assemblies" satellite meeting of the 2007 Lorne Protein conference
Member of the organising committee for a "Protein Folding Symposium" to be held as a satellite meeting of the International Peptide meeting to be held in Cairns, 2007