Staff
Associate Professor Andrew Heggie, Director of MRUFD (Clinical)
In 1999, Associate Professor Andrew Heggie, together with colleague Dr Paul Schneider (orthodontist), founded the MRUFD following a generous private donation to the University of Melbourne from Allan and Maria Myers, AO. Associate Professor Heggie is Head of the Section of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery within the Department of Plastic & Maxillofacial Surgery at the Royal Children's Hospital. He maintains an active interest in paediatric maxillofacial surgery, clinically related research and teaching. This work has led to publication of several applied clinical studies since the Unit was established. Besides directing continued development of the Unit in liaison with Prof. Hubbard and the Departmental Heads of Paediatrics and Pharmacology, Assoc. Prof. Heggie maintains primary responsibility for the bone research theme of the Unit.
Professor Mike Hubbard, Director of MRUFD (Research)
In January 2003, Mike Hubbard commenced work within the MRUFD as Professor of Oral and Facial Sciences. This position is hosted by the Department of Paediatrics, initially in conjunction with the School of Dental Science and now with the Department of Pharmacology. Honorary appointments are also held at the Royal Children's Hospital, both in the Department of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute. Originally trained as a dentist, Prof. Hubbard went on to do a PhD in Biochemistry followed by postdoctoral training in the USA and Scotland. He then established his independent research career investigating how calcium is handled by cells, using the developing tooth as a novel model. Investigating why some cells but not others are sensitive to high amounts of calcium led to discoveries with significance not only to the dental and craniofacial fields, but also to broader health areas such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. Proteomics, a cutting-edge technology involving the analysis of many proteins simultaneously, played a central role in these discoveries and remains a core theme of Prof. Hubbard’s ongoing research. Besides overseeing basic research translation in liaison with Associate Prof. Heggie, Prof. Hubbard maintains primary responsibility for the dental research theme of the Unit.
Dr Jocelyn Shand, Deputy Director of MRUFD
The MRUFD's activities are supported by our Deputy Director, Dr Jocelyn Shand, who is an active surgeon and researcher in the craniomaxillofacial field. Dr Shand is a consultant surgeon at the Royal Children’s Hospital with a strong interest in paediatric maxillofacial surgery, particularly involving the correction of upper airway obstruction in infants with diminutive jaws (micrognathia).
Mr Jon Mangum, MRUFD Research Fellow
Managing Prof. Hubbard's lab and assisting MRUFD members with their experiments, Jon Mangum is a biochemist and molecular biologist with several years experience in calcium and dental biology. Jon played a lead role initiating the Unit’s collaborative investigations of tooth and facial development (publications) and continues to drive our multidisciplinary laboratory efforts directed at understanding the causes of defective enamel development.