Renee is Head of the Biomedical Imaging Facility within the Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre. Her main role is overseeing the operation and strategic development of the facility. She leads a team of expert scientists to collaborate and provide research support and training in design, specimen preparation, acquisition and analysis of microscopy data for more than 320 active users. In addition she also conducts research in novel imaging applications to a range of biomedical projects.
Renee’s interests are in drug delivery, nanomedicine and the application of advanced functional imaging approaches to solve scientific problems. In particular understanding how a drug enters a cell, accumulates and whether it reaches its intracellular target intact to carry out its action is a complex problem and the visualization and characterization of these processes via light and optical microscopy reveals information unattainable readily by other means. Recent publications include; Science Translational Medicine, Stem cells, PNAS, Methods, ACS Nano and Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.
The rapid advances in technology in the area of light and optical imaging have been driven by the need of researchers to visualize and quantify a dynamic process. The applications of fluorescence spectroscopy, spectral imaging, superresolution and image analysis, once in the realm of the mathematician, chemist or biophysicist are becoming more applicable across the disciplines and collaborating with researchers to utilise these tools is a specialization.
Light sheet, FRAP, FLIM, FRET,STED, photoactivation, live cell imaging, superresolution and spectral imaging are some of her favourite techniques.
Capraro A; Whan R; Thomas S; Jaffe A; Bridge W; Waters S, 2020, 'Novel Antioxidant Therapy with the Immediate
Precursor to Glutathione,
-Glutamylcysteine (GGC),
Ameliorates LPS-Induced Cellular Stress in In Vitro
3D-Differentiated Airway Model from Primary Cystic
Fibrosis Human Bronchial Cells',
Antioxidants,
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/antiox9121204Syed SM; Kumar M; Ghosh A; Tomasetig F; Ali A; Whan RM; Alterman D; Tanwar PS, 2020, 'Endometrial Axin2
+ Cells Drive Epithelial Homeostasis, Regeneration, and Cancer following Oncogenic Transformation',
Cell Stem Cell, vol. 26, pp. 64 - 80.e13,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2019.11.012Tjandra KC; McCarthy N; Yang L; Laos AJ; Sharbeen G; Phillips PA; Forgham H; Sagnella SM; Whan RM; Kavallaris M; Thordarson P; McCarroll JA, 2020, 'Identification of Novel Medulloblastoma Cell-Targeting Peptides for Use in Selective Chemotherapy Drug Delivery',
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 63, pp. 2181 - 2193,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.9b00851Putra VDL; Song MJ; McBride-Gagyi S; Chang H; Poole K; Whan R; Dean D; Sansalone V; Knothe Tate ML, 2020, 'Mechanomics Approaches to Understand Cell Behavior in Context of Tissue Neogenesis, During Prenatal Development and Postnatal Healing',
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, vol. 7,
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2019.00354Millar E; Browne L; Slapetova I; Shang F; Ren Y; Bradshaw R; Brauer HA; O’toole S; Beretov J; Whan R; Graham PH, 2020, 'Tils immunophenotype in breast cancer predicts local failure and overall survival: Analysis in a large radiotherapy trial with long-term follow-up',
Cancers, vol. 12, pp. 1 - 15,
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers12092365Pandzic E; Morkel CA; Li A; Cooke R; Whan RM; dos Remedios CG, 2020, 'Nanomolar ATP binding to single myosin cross-bridges in rigor: a molecular approach to studying myosin ATP kinetics using single human cardiomyocytes',
Biophysical Reviews, vol. 12, pp. 1031 - 1040,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12551-020-00716-2Kopecky C; Pandzic E; Parmar A; Szajer J; Lee V; Dupuy A; Arthur A; Fok S; Whan R; Ryder WJ; Rye KA; Cochran BJ, 2019, 'Translocator protein localises to CD11b
+ macrophages in atherosclerosis',
Atherosclerosis, vol. 284, pp. 153 - 159,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2019.03.011Park M; Richardson A; Pandzic E; Lobo EP; Whan R; Watson SL; Lyons JG; Wakefield D; Di Girolamo N, 2019, 'Visualizing the Contribution of Keratin-14
+ Limbal Epithelial Precursors in Corneal Wound Healing',
Stem Cell Reports, vol. 12, pp. 14 - 28,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2018.11.014Sitiwin E; Madigan MC; Gratton E; Cherepanoff S; Conway RM; Whan R; Macmillan A, 2019, 'Shedding light on melanins within in situ human eye melanocytes using 2-photon microscopy profiling techniques',
Scientific Reports, vol. 9,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-54871-yMeiring JCM; Bryce NS; Lastra Cagigas M; Benda A; Whan RM; Ariotti N; Parton RG; Stear JH; Hardeman EC; Gunning PW, 2019, 'Colocation of Tpm3.1 and myosin IIa heads defines a discrete subdomain in stress fibres',
Journal of cell science, vol. 132,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jcs.228916Pandžić E; Abu-Arish A; Whan RM; Hanrahan JW; Wiseman PW, 2018, 'Velocity landscape correlation resolves multiple flowing protein populations from fluorescence image time series',
Methods, vol. 140-141, pp. 126 - 139,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ymeth.2018.02.011Sagnella SM; Trieu J; Brahmbhatt H; MacDiarmid JA; MacMillan A; Whan RM; Fife CM; McCarroll JA; Gifford AJ; Ziegler DS; Kavallaris M, 2018, 'Targeted doxorubicin-loaded bacterially derived nano-cells for the treatment of neuroblastoma',
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, vol. 17, pp. 1012 - 1023,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-17-0738Vennin C; Chin VT; Warren SC; Lucas MC; Herrmann D; Magenau A; Melenec P; Walters SN; Del Monte-Nieto G; Conway JRW; Nobis M; Allam AH; McCloy RA; Currey N; Pinese M; Boulghourjian A; Zaratzian A; Adam AAS; Heu C; Nagrial AM; Chou A; Steinmann A; Drury A; Froio D; Giry-Laterriere M; Harris NLE; Phan T; Jain R; Weninger W; McGhee EJ; Whan R; Johns AL; Samra JS; Chantrill L; Gill AJ; Kohonen-Corish M; Harvey RP; Biankin AV; Evans TRJ; Anderson KI; Grey ST; Ormandy CJ; Gallego-Ortega D; Wang Y; Samuel MS; Sansom OJ; Burgess A; Cox TR; Morton JP; Pajic M; Timpson P, 2017, 'Transient tissue priming via ROCK inhibition uncouples pancreatic cancer progression, sensitivity to chemotherapy, and metastasis',
Science Translational Medicine, vol. 9,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aai8504Ng JL; Knothe LE; Whan RM; Knothe U; Knothe Tate ML, 2017, 'Scale-up of nature's tissue weaving algorithms to engineer advanced functional materials',
Nature Scientific Reports, vol. 7,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep40396Chua SW; Cornejo A; Van Eersel J; Stevens CH; Vaca I; Cueto M; Kassiou M; Gladbach A; Macmillan A; Lewis L; Whan R; Ittner LM, 2017, 'The Polyphenol Altenusin Inhibits in Vitro Fibrillization of Tau and Reduces Induced Tau Pathology in Primary Neurons',
ACS Chemical Neuroscience, vol. 8, pp. 743 - 751,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acschemneuro.6b00433Pandzic E; Gelissen IC; Whan R; Barter PJ; Sviridov D; Gaus K; Rye KA; Cochran BJ, 2017, 'The ATP binding cassette transporter, ABCG1, localizes to cortical actin filaments',
Scientific Reports, vol. 7,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep42025Yu NYC; O'Brien CA; Slapetova I; Whan RM; Knothe Tate ML, 2017, 'Live Tissue Imaging to Elucidate Mechanical Modulation of Stem Cell Niche Quiescence.',
Stem Cells Transl Med, vol. 6, pp. 285 - 292,
http://dx.doi.org/10.5966/sctm.2015-0306Nicovich PR; Janco M; Sobey T; Gajwani M; Obeidy P; Whan R; Gaus K; Gunning PW; Coster ACF; Böcking T, 2016, 'Effect of surface chemistry on tropomyosin binding to actin filaments on surfaces',
Cytoskeleton, vol. 73, pp. 729 - 738,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cm.21342Chandrakanthan V; Yeola A; Kwan JC; Oliver RA; Qiao Q; Kang YC; Zarzour P; Beck D; Boelen L; Unnikrishnan A; Villanueva JE; Nunez AC; Knezevic K; Palu C; Nasrallah R; Carnell M; Macmillan A; Whan R; Yu Y; Hardy P; Grey ST; Gladbach A; Delerue F; Ittner L; Mobbs R; Walkley CR; Purton LE; Ward RL; Wong JWH; Hesson LB; Walsh W; Pimanda JE, 2016, 'Pdgf-ab and 5-Azacytidine induce conversion of somatic cells into tissue-regenerative multipotent stem cells',
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, vol. 113, pp. E2306 - E2315,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1518244113Constantine M; Liew CK; Lo V; MacMillan A; Cranfield CG; Sunde M; Whan R; Graham RM; Martinac B, 2016, 'Heterologously-expressed and Liposome-reconstituted Human Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 4 Channel (TRPM4) is a Functional Tetramer',
Scientific Reports, vol. 6,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep19352Moore SR; Heu C; Yu NYC; Knothe U; Milz S; Knothe Tate ML, 2016, 'Translating Periosteum's Regenerative Power: Insights from Quantitative Analysis of Tissue Genesis with a Periosteum Substitute Implant',
Stem Cells Translational Medicine, vol. 5, pp. 1739 - 1749,
http://dx.doi.org/10.5966/sctm.2016-0004Yu NYC; O'Brien CA; Slapetova I; Whan R; Knothe Tate ML, 2016, 'Live cell imaging to elucidate mechanical modulation of stem cell niche quiescence',
Stem cells translational medicine, vol. 6, pp. 285 - 292,
http://dx.doi.org/10.5966/sctm.2015-0306Benda A; Aitken H; Davies DS; Whan R; Goldsbury C, 2016, 'STED imaging of tau filaments in Alzheimer's disease cortical grey matter',
Journal of Structural Biology, vol. 195, pp. 345 - 352,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsb.2016.07.003Carmona-Mora P; Widagdo J; Tomasetig F; Canales CP; Cha Y; Lee W; Alshawaf A; Dottori M; Whan RM; Hardeman EC; Palmer SJ, 2015, 'The nuclear localization pattern and interaction partners of GTF2IRD1 demonstrate a role in chromatin regulation',
Human Genetics, vol. 134, pp. 1099 - 1115,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00439-015-1591-0Carnell M; Macmillan A; Whan R, 2015, 'Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP): Acquisition, analysis, and applications',
Methods in Molecular Biology, vol. 1232, pp. 255 - 271,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1752-5_18Di Girolamo N; Bobba S; Raviraj V; Delic NC; Slapetova I; Nicovich PR; Halliday GM; Wakefield D; Whan R; Lyons JG, 2015, 'Tracing the fate of limbal epithelial progenitor cells in the murine cornea',
Stem Cells, vol. 33, pp. 157 - 169,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/stem.1769Li Y; Duong HTT; Laurent S; Macmillan A; Whan RM; Elst LV; Muller RN; Hu J; Lowe A; Boyer C; Davis TP, 2015, 'Nanoparticles based on star polymers as theranostic vectors: Endosomal-triggered drug release combined with mri sensitivity',
Advanced Healthcare Materials, vol. 4, pp. 148 - 156,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201400164Sevimli S; Sagnella S; Macmillan A; Whan R; Kavallaris M; Bulmus V; Davis TP, 2015, 'The endocytic pathway and therapeutic efficiency of doxorubicin conjugated cholesterol-derived polymers',
Biomaterials Science, vol. 3, pp. 323 - 335,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c4bm00224eJalilian I; Heu C; Cheng H; Freittag H; Desouza M; Stehn JR; Bryce NS; Whan RM; Hardeman EC; Fath T; Schevzov G; Gunning PW, 2015, 'Cell elasticity is regulated by the tropomyosin isoform composition of the actin cytoskeleton',
PLoS ONE, vol. 10,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0126214Nicovich PR; Macartney EL; Whan RM; Crean AJ, 2015, 'Measuring Sperm Movement within the Female Reproductive Tract using Fourier Analysis',
Microscopy and Microanalysis, vol. 21, pp. 256 - 263,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1431927614014627Dunn AE; Dunn DJ; Macmillan A; Whan R; Stait-Gardner T; Price WS; Lim M; Boyer C, 2014, 'Spatial and temporal control of drug release through pH and alternating magnetic field induced breakage of Schiff base bonds',
Polymer Chemistry, vol. 5, pp. 3311 - 3315,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C4PY00150HSagnella SM; Hien D; MacMillan A; Boyer C; Whan R; McCarroll JA; Davis TP; Kavallaris M, 2014, 'Dextran-Based Doxorubicin Nanocarriers with Improved Tumor Penetration',
BIOMACROMOLECULES, vol. 15, pp. 262 - 275,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/bm401526dBoyer CA, 2013, 'Functionalizing biodegradable dextran scaffolds using living radical polymerization: New versatile nanoparticles for the delivery of therapeutic molecules',
Molecular Pharmaceutics, vol. 9, pp. 3046 - 3061,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/mp300144yBasuki JS; Duong HTT; Macmillan A; Erlich RB; Esser L; Akerfeldt MC; Whan RM; Kavallaris M; Boyer C; Davis TP, 2013, 'Using Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy to Monitor Theranostic Nanoparticle Uptake and Intracellular Doxorubicin Release',
ACS NANO, vol. 7, pp. 10175 - 10189,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nn404407gBryce NS; Pham BTT; Fong NWS; Jain N; Pan EH; Whan RM; Hambley TW; Hawkett BS, 2013, 'The composition and end-group functionality of sterically stabilized nanoparticles enhances the effectiveness of co-administered cytotoxins',
Biomaterials Science, vol. 1, pp. 1260 - 1272,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c3bm60120jChandra-hioe M; Addepalli R; Osborne SA; Slapetova I; Whan R; Bucknall MP; Arcot J, 2013, 'Transport of folic acid across Caco-2 cells is more effective than 5-methyltetrahydrofolate following the in vitro digestion of fortified bread',
Food Research International, vol. 53, pp. 104 - 109,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2013.03.044Basuki JS; Duong HTT; Boyer C; MacMillan A; Whan R; Davis TP, 2013, 'Polymer-grafted, nonfouling, magnetic nanoparticles designed to selectively store and release molecules via ionic interactions',
Macromolecules, vol. 46, pp. 7043 - 7054,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ma401171dMorris VB; Selvakumaraswamy P; Whan R; Byrne M, 2011, 'The coeloms in a late brachiolaria larva of the asterinid sea star Parvulastra exigua: deriving an asteroid coelomic model',
Acta Zoologica, vol. 92, pp. 266 - 275,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6395.2010.00468.xWolfe JE; Ishiwata S; Braet F; Whan R; Su Y; Lal S; dos Remedios CG, 2011, 'SPontaneous Oscillatory Contraction (SPOC): Auto-oscillations observed in striated muscle at partial activation',
Biophysical Reviews, vol. 3, pp. 53 - 62,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12551-011-0046-7dos Remedios CG; Robinson JE; Whan R; Braet F; Su Y; Kraft T; van der Velden J; Marston SB; Steenman M; Macdonald PS; Lal S, 2011, 'Spontaneous Oscillatory Contraction (SPOC): Quantifying the Contractile Performance of Human Cardiomyocytes',
Biophysical Journal, vol. 100, pp. 298a - 298a,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2010.12.1828Ma Y; Bryce NS; Whan RM; Xiao L; Li K; Ruys AJ; Hambley TW; Boughton P, 2010, 'Growth of DLD-1 colon cancer cells on Variotis™ scaffolds of controlled porosity: A preliminary study',
Journal of Biomimetics, Biomaterials, and Tissue Engineering, vol. 8, pp. 79 - 89,
http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/JBBTE.8.79Su Y; Nykanen M; Jahn KA; Whan R; Cantrill L; Soon LL; Ratinac KR; Braet F, 2010, 'Multi-dimensional correlative imaging of subcellular events: Combining the strengths of light and electron microscopy',
Biophysical Reviews, vol. 2, pp. 121 - 135,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12551-010-0035-2Morris VB; Selvakumaraswamy P; Whan R; Byrne M, 2009, 'Development of the five primary podia from the coeloms of a sea star larva: homology with the echinoid echinoderms and other deuterostomes',
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, vol. 276, pp. 1277 - 1284,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1659Bryce NS; Zhang JZ; Whan RM; Yamamoto N; Hambley TW, 2009, 'Accumulation of an anthraquinone and its platinum complexes in cancer cell spheroids: The effect of charge on drug distribution in solid tumour models',
Chemical Communications, pp. 2673 - 2675,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/b902415hWhan RM; Messerle BA; Hambley TW, 2009, 'Binding of [Pt(1C3)(dien)]2+ to the duplex DNA oligonucleotide 5¢-d(TGGCCA)-3¢: the effect of an appended positive charge on the orientation and location of anthraquinone intercalation',
Journal of the Royal Chemical Society, Dalton Transactions, pp. 932 - 939,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/b814604gZhang J; Whan R; Hambley T, 2008, 'Platinum Anticancer Drugs, Chemical Biology of',
,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9780470048672.wecb657
