Head, Molecular Neurobiology Unit

On completion of his undergraduate and honours (Microbiology and Biochemistry) training at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 1984, Dr Sherif Boulos worked as a molecular biologist in the Veterinary School, Murdoch University, and later in the same role at Monash University, Victoria. He returned to Perth and obtained his Master's degree in 1990 from the UWA, Dept of Paediatric Medicine, Princess Margaret Hospital, investigating the contribution of bacterial proteins to life threatening infections in Cystic Fibrosis. After gaining his MSc, Dr Boulos pursued a career in business, but eventually returned to research, and completed his doctorate with Clinical Prof. Neville Knuckey and A/Prof. Bruno Meloni at the ANRI in 2007.

His PhD studies focused on the neuroprotective role of Cypa/CD147 signalling in various cell models of stroke related injury. In his current position as head of the Molecular Neurobiology Unit, Dr Boulos and his team are investigating the role of cyclophilin A (Cypa) and its receptor, CD147, in other brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and in Glioblastoma Multiforme, a lethal brain cancer. In recognising that targeted treatment of complex neurodegenerative disorders, such as PD and AD, will ultimately require a fundamental understanding of neuronal cell death, his group is trying to gain clues by investigating direct genetic links to neuro-degeneration. For example, Dr Boulos' laboratory is interested in why mutations in the leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (llrk2), causes PD and similarly, how deletion of the survival of motor neuron 1 (smn1) gene causes motor neuron cell death in Spinal Muscular Atrophy, the leading genetic cause of infant death.