Kerry Manton talks molecular biology, curing cancer and human regeneration.
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Give me some skin - Kerry Manton from National Science Week.
QUT molecular biologist Dr Kerry Manton sits on the university's ethics committee which controls the use of human tissue in experiments. Her research into biological regeneration will enable doctors to heal skin without scars. She is able to use human skin cells, instead of animal skin, because plastic surgery patients (who have breast reductions or liposuction) allow her to use the excess skin which would normally be thrown out. She thinks within 10 to 15 years this research will enable doctors to regenerate lungs damaged by smoking. Part of her work is on breast cancer but rather than find "a cure" for cancer her research is part of a larger effort to come up with a way of custom making a treatment to suit individual people - this is called individual medicine.
While she would like to discover a cure for cancer or knowledge to regrow a human limb, she hasn't given up on her dream to be an astronaut...
She is a Research Fellow in Tissue Repair and Regeneration Program ( Cells & Tissue Domain )at QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation or IHBI. As Queensland's Tall Poppy she is also one of our leading young scientists and has published several papers. But she has also devoted herself to science education in rural schools through the Science in Schools program for several years. She gave a talk at the Kingaroy State High School on July 12 and her team participated in QUT Science Van school activities on July 12 & 13.
