Dr. Hannah Brown is a Robinson Research Institute Postdoctoral Fellow and is under the mentorship of Associate Professor Jeremy Thompson and Professor Sarah Robertson. She gained her PhD from the University of Adelaide and took up international postdoctoral posts in both France (INRA) and the United States (Baylor College of Medicine). Her interests lay in the fields of epigenetics and metabolism, and in particular the changing epigenetic landscape of the early embryo. She is particularly interested in how the embryo responds to physiological and pathological environmental cues, including in vitro culture, hyperglycaemia (diabetes) and inflammation (infection). Understanding the molecular mechanisms by which these cues are translated into an altered epigenetic backdrop is the key question her growing team are addressing. She is passionate about science communication and is currently a SA Young Tall Poppy.
Dr Hannah Brown is an early career researcher establishing herself in the field of reproductive metabolism, oxygen biology and epigenetics following two international postdoctoral posts. During two international post-doctoral positions, she honed her skills in the fields of metabolism and genetics/genomics and is establishing herself in the Reproductive Epigenetics field since returning to Australia. Her research focuses on mechanisms by which the pre-implantation embryo alters its internal dialogue in response to environmental changes (diabetes, infection, culture, oxygen), altering the transcriptional and epigenetic landscapes to establish the trajectory of the embryo, and the resultant offspring. This research provides critical understanding into the mechanisms for the intergenerational transmission of disease (diabetes and obesity), and has direct implications for understanding the stress associated with generating embryos in vitro, as well as for providing the basis for emerging developments to assisted reproductive technologies (in vitro culture, oxygen, haemoglobin).
2019 Frank, L., Rose, R., Anastasi, M., Tan, T., Barry, M., Thompson, J., & Brown, H. (2019). Artificial blastocyst collapse prior to vitrification significantly improves Na+/K+-ATPase-dependent post-warming blastocoel re-expansion kinetics without inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress gene expression in the mouse. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 31(2), 294-305.
2018 Robertson, S., Chin, P. -Y., Femia, J., & Brown, H. (2018). Embryotoxic cytokines-Potential roles in embryo loss and fetal programming. Journal of reproductive immunology, 125, 80-88.
2017 Zohora, N., Kandjani, A., Orth, A., Brown, H., Hutchinson, M., & Gibson, B. (2017). Fluorescence brightness and photostability of individual copper (I) oxide nanocubes. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 16905-1-16905-8.
2017 Akison, L., Andraweera, P., Bertoldo, M., Brown, H., Cuffe, J., Fullston, T., . . . Schjenken, J. (2017). The current state of reproductive biology research in Australia and New Zealand: core themes from the Society for Reproductive Biology Annual Meeting, 2016. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 29(10), 1883-1889.
2017 Brown, H., Cruz, M., & Mol, B. (2017). Social media is essential for research engagement: FOR: Facilitating stakeholder engagement is key!. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 124(6), 902.
2016 Fernandez, R., Marino, J., Varcoe, T., Davis, S., Moran, L., Rumbold, A., . . . Moore, V. (2016). Fixed or rotating night shift work undertaken by women: implications for fertility and miscarriage. Seminars in Reproductive Medicine, 34(2), 74-82.
2016 Russell, D., Gilchrist, R., Brown, H., & Thompson, J. (2016). Bidirectional communication between cumulus cells and the oocyte: old hands and new players?. Theriogenology, 86(1), 62-68.
2016 Kyle, S., Saha, P., Brown, H., Chan, L., & Justice, M. (2016). MeCP2 co-ordinates liver lipid metabolism with the NCoR1/HDAC3 corepressor complex. Human Molecular Genetics, 25(14), 3029-3041.
2016 Tan, T., Ritter, L., Whitty, A., Fernandez, R., Moran, L., Robertson, S., . . . Brown, H. (2016). Gray level co-occurrence matrices (GLCM) to assess microstructural and textural changes in pre-implantation embryos. Molecular Reproduction and Development, 83(8), 701-713.
2015 Thompson, J., Brown, H., Kind, K., & Russell, D. (2015). The ovarian antral follicle: living on the edge of hypoxia or not?. Biology of Reproduction, 92(6), 153-1-153-6.
2015 Kind, K., Tam, K., Banwell, K., Gauld, A., Russell, D., Macpherson, A., . . . Thompson, J. (2015). Oxygen-regulated gene expression in murine cumulus cells. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 27(2), 407-418.
2014 Sen, P., Dharmadhikari, A., Majewski, T., Mohammad, M., Kalin, T., Zabielska, J., . . . Stankiewicz, P. (2014). Comparative analyses of lung transcriptomes in patients with alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins and in foxf1 heterozygous knockout mice. PLoS One, 9(4), e94390-1-e94390-10.
2014 Brown, H., Fabre Nys, C., Cognié, J., & Scaramuzzi, R. (2014). Short oestrous cycles in sheep during anoestrus involve defects in progesterone biosynthesis and luteal neovascularisation. Reproduction, 147(3), 357-367.
2014 Scaramuzzi, R. J., Oujagir, L., Menassol, J. B., Freret, S., Piezel, A., Brown, H. M., . . . Fabre Nys, C. (2014). The pattern of LH secretion and the ovarian response to the 'ram effect' in the anoestrous ewe is influenced by body condition but not by short-term nutritional supplementation. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 26(8), 1154-1165.
2014 Brown, H., & Russell, D. (2014). Blood and lymphatic vasculature in the ovary: development, function and disease. Human Reproduction Update, 20(1), 29-39.
2013 Buchovecky, C., Turley, S., Brown, H., Kyle, S., McDonald, J., Liu, B., . . . Justice, M. (2013). A suppressor screen in Mecp2 mutant mice implicates cholesterol metabolism in Rett syndrome. Nature Genetics, 45(9), 1013-1022.
2013 Care, A., Diener, K., Jasper, M., Brown, H., Ingman, W., & Robertson, S. (2013). Macrophages regulate corpus luteum development during embryo implantation in mice. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 123(8), 3472-3487.
2011 Johnson, L., Fabre Nys, C., Chanvallon, A., François, D., Fassier, T., Menassol, J. B., . . . Scaramuzzi, R. J. (2011). The effect of short-term nutritional supplementation and body condition on the pituitary and ovarian responses of anoestrous ewes to the "ram effect". Journal of Veterinary Science & Technology, S2(001), 1-10.
2010 Everaert, N., Willemsen, H., Hulikova, A., Brown, H., Decuypere, E., Swietach, P., & Bruggeman, V. (2010). The importance of carbonic anhydrase II in red blood cells during exposure of chicken embryos to CO2. Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology, 172(3), 154-161.
2010 Scaramuzzi, R., Brown, H., & Dupont, J. (2010). Nutritional and Metabolic Mechanisms in the Ovary and Their Role in Mediating the Effects of Diet on Folliculogenesis: A Perspective. Reproduction in Domestic Animals, 45, 32-41.
2005 Brown, H., Pritchard, M., & Russell, D. (2005). Early ovarian follicle dysgenesis in a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs type 1 (ADAMTS-1) null mice. Reproduction Fertility and Development, 17(9), 87.
2015 Brown, H., Tan, T., & Thompson, J. (2015). Metaboloepigenetics: providing alternative hypotheses for regulation of gene expression in the early embryo. In Animal Reproduction Vol. 12 (pp. 437-443). Brazil: Brazilian College of Animal Reproduction.
2014 Brown, H., Frank, L., & Thompson, J. (2014). Hyperglycaemia: A new player in oocyte epigenetics. Poster session presented at the meeting of ANIMAL REPRODUCTION SCIENCE. Quebec, CANADA: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV.