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Dr Brent NeumannGRADUATE DEGREE: Dr Brent Neumann obtained his BSc (Honours) at the University of South Australia.
PhD: He completed his PhD in Prof Tom Gonda's lab at The University Of Queensland's Diamantina Institute, Australia. POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH: In 2008 he joined Prof Massimo Hilliard's lab as a postdoc at the Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Australia. There he studied the mechanisms of degeneration and regeneration in the nervous system. INDEPENDENT RESEARCH: In April 2015, Brent established the Nervous System Development and Repair laboratory within the Neuroscience Program, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at Monash University, Melbourne Australia. Google scholar page. ORCID page. |
Scientific Publications
Dr Brent Neumann published numerous scientific papers across his career, including in some of the world's leading journals, including Nature, Cell Reports, PNAS, Brain, and Journal of Neuroscience.
For a full list of his scientific manuscripts–with most PDFs freely available–please see here.
For a full list of his scientific manuscripts–with most PDFs freely available–please see here.
FUNDING for his Research |
HONOURS AND AWARDs |
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2020-2022: NHMRC Ideas Grant, sole CI: APP1184314 - Understanding the role of Dynamin in axonal repair; total budget $611,520.
2020-2022: ARC Discovery Project, sole CI: DP200102187 - Microtubule structure in nervous system repair; total budget $520,000. 2018: Monash University International Networks of Excellence Grant, co-CI: Partnering Monash researchers with The Rare Diseases: Models and Mechanisms (RDMM) Network in Canada; total budget $175,000. 2018: CMTAA Research Grant, sole CI: To purchase chemicals/reagents for research aimed at identifying the first effective therapeutics for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease; total budget $11,250. 2016-2018: NHMRC Project Grant CIA: APP1101974 - The role of membrane phospholipids in regenerative axonal fusion; total budget $571,950. 2016-2018: NHMRC Project Grant sole CI: APP1099690 - Uncovering the molecular mechanisms behind Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease; total budget $320,967. 2015-2016: CMTAA Research Grant, sole CI: To generate strains of C. elegans carrying specific mutations in Mfn2/fzo-1 that have been identified in CMT patients; total budget $12,500. |
2018-2020: Co-director of communications for the Australasian Society for Neuroscience (ANS)
2018: Grant Review Panel member for the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Project Grants. 2017-2018: Invited to join the Board of Directors for the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) for a two-year term 2016: Paxinos-Watson Award from the Australasian Neuroscience Society. 2016-2020: Nominated by The Australian Academy of Science as an Early–Mid Career Researcher member for the National Committee for Cellular and Developmental Biology. 2016: Featured with a ‘New Faculty Profile’ by the Genetics Society of America. 2016: Young Investigator Award for the 14th Meeting of The Asian-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry (APSN2016), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 2016: Monash University Biomedicine Discovery Institute Travel Award ($2,500). 2015: Best Queensland Brain Institute Publication Prize 2014: Best Queensland Brain Institute Publication Prize 2014: Brisbane Cell and Developmental Biology Meeting oral presentation prize, Brisbane. 2012: EMBL Conference Series C. elegans Neurobiology meeting poster prize, Heidelberg, Germany. 2012: EMBL Corporate Partnership registration fee fellowship, Heidelberg, Germany. 2010: Conference registration fee fellowship, Madison, USA. 2005: ASMR Postgraduate Student Conference poster prize, Brisbane. |
Research Profile |
REGENERATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
Injuries to the nervous system can cause lifelong disabilities due to ineffective repair. Understanding the basic molecular mechanisms regulating axonal regeneration is therefore essential for the development of effective therapies. As a postdoctoral fellow with Prof Massimo Hilliard, Brent identified a mechanism of repair known as axonal fusion in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (Dev Dyn 2011). This highly efficient means of nervous system repair occurs such that severed axons spontaneously repair themselves by regrowing, reconnecting, and fusing with their separated counterparts. Understanding precisely how axonal fusion occurs in C. elegans may allow it to be applied to other organisms and potentially allow similar mechanisms of nervous system repair to be induced in a clinical setting. Analysis of a novel mutation causing hyper-stabilisation of the axonal microtubules revealed that the microtubules play a key role in the axonal fusion process, with their disruption inhibiting the success rate for this repair mechanism (Mol Biol Cell 2013). In a pioneering manuscript published in Nature (2015) and featured on the journal's cover, he revealed how axonal fusion occurs on a molecular level. A series of molecules that function as "eat-me" signals for the recognition of dying cells are re-purposed as "save-me" signals for axonal repair through fusion. Following injury, the composition of the axonal membrane is altered, such that the phospholipid phosphatidylserine is exposed on the external surface to serve as a recognition, or ‘save-me’ signal for the regrowing axon. This ‘save-me’ signal is recognised by secreted ligands and receptors on the regrowing axon to allow recognition between the two axon segments. The final stage of fusing the separated axons is mediated by the a protein that functions to fuse adjacent membranes (EFF-1). In addition to the publication in Nature, additional fundings on axonal fusion have been published in PNAS, J Neuroscience, and PNAS Nexus, which have shown that complete neuronal function is returned by axonal fusion. DEGENERATION OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM Brent’s research also focuses on axonal degeneration, which can occur as a result of nerve injury or through the disruption of neuronal maintenance mechanisms, and is a common hallmark among many neurodegenerative disorders including motor neuron, Alzheimer’s, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) diseases. We lack a complete understanding of the mechanisms employed by neurons to preserve their axons over a lifetime, which has hampered the development of effective therapies. From a genetic screening method aimed at identifying molecules that cause axonal degeneration when they become inactive through genetic mutations, Brent found that mutation of the α-tubulin acetyltransferase protein, MEC-17/ATAT1 led to spontaneous, adult onset and progressive axonal degeneration (Cell Rep 2014). MEC-17 is highly conserved across species and normally protects against degeneration by stabilising the cytoskeletal structure. Brent’s laboratory in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology aims to identify and characterise additional cellular mechanisms necessary for the maintenance of axonal structure, and also uses C. elegans to model CMT, the most common inherited disorder of the peripheral nervous system, affecting up to 1 in 1,200 people. The disease is characterised by a progressive motor and sensory neuropathy, resulting in muscle weakness and mobility impairments. By modelling the disease in C. elegans, novel information about how the disease develops can be identified, and a better understanding of the disease provided to offer valuable insight for the future generation of therapeutics. Brent has published numerous other papers on the processes that normally protect our nervous systems from degeneration, including in additional articles in Cell Reports, Brain, Human Molecular Genetics, Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, and Scientific Reports. MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF CANCER Prior to his current research interests in neurobiology, Brent completed his PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry focusing on a family of genes, known as the Schlafens. The function of these genes were previously unknown, but were linked to the MYB oncogene, which is itself implicated in several types of cancer, including leukaemia and breast cancer. Brent sought to discover the function of the Schlafen genes, performing yeast two-hybrid screening to identify the molecules with which the Schlafens interact, providing a detailed characterisation of where each family member localises within the cell (BBRC 2008), and their role in cellular proliferation (BCMD 2008). |
the Neumann Lab
Dr Brent Neumann headed the Nervous System Development and Repair Lab within Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute from April 2015 - Dec 2022.
THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THE NEUMANN LAB
The Neumann Lab was made by our members, some who stayed for only a few months and others who stayed for many years, but all of whom made immense contributions. Detailed of all those who joined the lab can be found here.
NEWS BLOG FROM THE NEUMANN LAB
Check out the news that came out of the Neumann Lab here.
FUN TIMES IN THE NEUMANN LAB
We had lots of fun over the years in the Neumann Lab - you can see some photo evidence here.
THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THE NEUMANN LAB
The Neumann Lab was made by our members, some who stayed for only a few months and others who stayed for many years, but all of whom made immense contributions. Detailed of all those who joined the lab can be found here.
NEWS BLOG FROM THE NEUMANN LAB
Check out the news that came out of the Neumann Lab here.
FUN TIMES IN THE NEUMANN LAB
We had lots of fun over the years in the Neumann Lab - you can see some photo evidence here.