Dr Peter Farlie

contact details

  Dr Peter Farlie
  Craniofacial Research
  Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
  Royal Children's Hospital
  Flemington Road
  Parkville Victoria 3052

  T +61 3 8341 6409
  F +61 3 9345 5834
  E peter.farlie@mcri.edu.au

biography

Peter trained in Biochemistry at La Trobe University completing his PhD in developmental neurobiology at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. His focus is still on developmental biology and in particular on the mechanisms regulating skeletal development and the way that the shapes of skeletal elements are controlled. These issues are particularly important in trying to understand the causes of birth defects.

The Craniofacial Development Group investigates the mechanisms of normal craniofacial development and how these processes are altered to cause craniofacial defects. Many children with craniofacial defects also have related problems with their limbs. Studying the limbs and face allows us to make comparisons between the systems to gain insights that are not apparent by studying each system in isolation.

In addition to leading the Craniofacial Development group, Peter is the Doyal eputy Director for Research in the Department of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery, Royal Children's Hospital and is on the Editorial Board of the journal Genesis. The group is committed to providing a dynamic learning environment and routinely host Honours and PhD students.

research focus & interest

Every human is derived from a single cell created at fertilization. Within this cell resides all the information required to create a highly complex, three-dimensional, free-living individual. How this process occurs is one of the oldest scientific questions. Many birth defects arise following errors in the program that controls how normal three-dimensional shapes are achieved.

Peters work focuses on determining how the patterns and shapes of the craniofacial and limb skeleton are established in the early embryo. The majority of birth defects affecting the face also involve malformation of the limbs, indicating that the patterning mechanisms in the two systems work in similar ways. Comparison of the genetic pathways functioning during development of the craniofacial and limb skeletons in animal models is providing novel insights into how each system is controlled.

In addition, research into human genetics is enabling identification of the genes responsible for birth defects and is providing a much deeper understanding of how skeletal development is controlled.

publications

Wong, JTT, Farlie, PG ,Holbert, S ,Lockhart, PJ and Thomas, PQ (2007). Polyalanine expansion mutations in the X-linked hypopituitarism gene SOX3 result in aggresome formation and impaired transactivation. Frontiers in Bioscience 12:2085-95.

Brachvogel B, Pausch F, Farlie P, Gaipl U, Etich J, Zhou Z, Cameron T, von der Mark K, Bateman JF, Pöschl E (2007). Isolated Anxa5(+)/Sca-1(+) perivascular cells from mouse meningeal vasculature retain their perivascular phenotype in vitro and in vivo. Experimental Cell Research, 313(12): 2730.

Di Bella, C, Farlie, PG*, Penington, T. (2008) Bone regeneration in a rabbit critical sized skull defect using adipose derived cells. Tissue Engineering Part A, 14: 483-90 (* corresponding author).

Allen JM, Brachvogel B, Farlie PG, Fitzgerald J, Bateman JF. (2008). The extracellular matrix protein WARP is a novel component of a distinct subset of basement membranes. Matrix Biology 27: 295-305

Benko S, Fantes JA, Amiel J, Kleinjan DJ, Thomas S, Ramsay J, Jamshidi N, Essafi A, Heaney S, Gordon CT, McBride D, Golzio C, Fisher M, Perry P, Abadie V, Ayuso C, Holder-Espinasse M, Kilpatrick N, Lees MM, Picard A, Temple IK, Thomas P, Vazquez MP, Vekemans M, Crollius HR, Hastie ND, Munnich A, Etchevers HC, Pelet A, Farlie PG, Fitzpatrick DR, Lyonnet S.  (2009). Highly conserved non-coding elements on either side of the SOX9 gene associated with Pierre Robin sequence. Nature Genetics 41(3):359-64.

Gordon, CG., Rodda, FA. and Farlie, PG. (2009). RCAS retroviral expression system in the study of skeletal development. Dev Dynamics. 238: 797-811.

Cameron, TL. Belluoccio, D. Farlie, PG. Brachvogel, B. and Bateman JF. (2009). Global comparative transcriptome analysis of cartilage formation in vivo. BMC Developmental Biology 9:20.

Jugessur, A. Farlie PG. and Kilpatrick N (2009) The Genetics of Isolated Orofacial Clefts: From Genotypes to Subphenotypes. Oral Diseases 15:437-53.

Christopher T. Gordon, Tiong Yang Tan, Sabina Benko, David FitzPatrick, Stanislas Lyonnet and Peter G. Farlie (2009). Long-range regulation at the SOX9 locus in development and disease. J Med Genet 46:649-56.

Craig A. Smith, Kelly N. Roeszler, Thomas Ohnesorg, David M. Cummins, Peter G. Farlie , Timothy J Doran and Andrew H Sinclair (2009) The conserved avian Z-linked gene DMRT1 is required for male sex determination in the chicken embryo. Nature 461:267-71

Tan, TY, Gordon, CT, Amor DJ and Farlie PG (2010) Developmental perspectives on copy number abnormalities of the 22q11.2 region. Clinical Genetics 78(3):201-18.

Gordon CT. Brinas IML, Rodda FA, Bendall AJ and Farlie PG (2010). Role of Dlx genes in craniofacial morphogenesis: Dlx2 influences skeletal patterning by inducing ectomesenchymal aggregation in ovo. Evolution and Development 12(5):459-73.

Tan TY, Collins A, James PA, McGillivray G, Stark Z, Gordon CT, Leventer RJ, Pope K, Forbes R, Crolla JA, Ganesamoorthy D, Burgess T, Bruno DL, Slater HR, Farlie PG, Amor DJ (2011). Phenotypic variability of the distal 22q11.2 copy number abnormalities. Am J Med Genet 155:1623-33

Gordon, CT., Wade, C., Brinas, I. and Farlie, PG. (2011) CXCL14 expression during chick embryonic development. Int J Dev Biol 55: 335-40.