Welcome Dr Stephanie Trend
We welcome MSWA Research Fellow Dr Stephanie Trend to the Demyelinating Diseases Research group at the Perron Institute.
Dr Trend joins us from the Telethon Kids Institute where she holds an Honorary Research Associate appointment and has been part of Professor Prue Hart’s team.
The team has been involved in pioneering research on UVB phototherapy intervention for people with clinically isolated syndrome (PhoCIS trial) in collaboration with Professor Allan Kermode, head of Demyelinating Diseases Research at the institute, and his group. Collaborators also include Professors David Booth and Scott Byrne at Sydney University and Professor Robyn Lucas at the Australian National University. It aims to investigate whether a novel early intervention alters multiple sclerosis progression and severity.
Dr Trend’s lab-based immunology expertise will complement the clinical work within the Demyelinating Diseases Research group. Her area of interest is immune regulation and dysfunction in early-onset MS. Dr Trend’s position has been funded by MSWA for five years to continue investigating the immune system in MS.
Dr Trend completed both her Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) and PhD at The University of Western Australia. She received an Australian Postgraduate Award scholarship to complete her PhD in immunology at the Centre for Neonatal Research, UWA.
Since completing her PhD in 2015, Dr Trend has published nine first author scientific papers and contributed to a further five publications from collaborators.
She has served on grant review panels for the NHMRC, the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation and Wesfarmers Centre for Vaccines and Infectious Diseases.
Dr Trend has supervised Honours and graduate research students from the University of Western Australia and Curtin University and has been on the organising committee for a number of local scientific meetings.
Dr Trend and some other members of the Demyelinating Diseases Research group and other collaborators presented at the Progress in MS Research Conference held recently in Melbourne. Dr Trend will also be presenting at the Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting in December in Adelaide.