RESEARCHER PROFILE
Professor Divya Mehta, Principal Research Fellow
Stress Genomics Laboratory, School of Biomedical Sciences
QUT (Queensland University of Technology), Australia
Understanding the interaction between genes and lifestyle factors in response to stress can lead to potential therapeutic interventions for stress-related disorders. This research is crucial for promoting health and well-being.
Professor Divya Mehta works as a Principal Research Fellow at the Stress Genomics Laboratory, in QUT (Queensland University of Technology) in Australia, specialising in stress genomics and mental health. Her education started in the UK with undergraduate and Masters, followed by her PhD in Germany and postdoctoral at Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry. 11 years ago Professor Mehta moved to Australia.
Her focus is research is understanding how genes and lifestyle factors interact to drive our response to stress, particularly in emergency responders, veterans, and elite athletes, with a focus on epigenetics.
Epigenetics are the dynamic part of our DNA, that change across our lifetime in response to stress, exercise, social support, and nutrition, impacting our overall health.
Social support can reduce and reverse negative impacts of stress on genes, leading to potential therapeutic interventions for stress-related disorders.
Research at the intersection of statistics, genomics, and mental health can provide valuable insights into the devastating impact of mental health disorders on individuals, families, and communities.
Professor Mehta has recently commenced research into elite athlete physical and mental health impact performance, with research at the intersection of statistics, genomics, and mental health. This research is ahead of, and in anticipation of, the Summer Olympics in Brisbane in 2032.
Understanding the drivers of health and well-being is crucial for ensuring a happy and healthy life, which is Professor Mehta’s passion. Outside of the work environment, she also enjoys sports, volunteering for animal rescue, and spending time with family.
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Stem cells used for age-related macular degeneration
Dr. Jenna Hall is a passionate and accomplished biologist with expertise in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) culture, disease modelling, and high-throughput automated systems. She recently earned her PhD from the University of Melbourne, where her research focused on using iPSC-derived retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells to study age-related macular degeneration. Dr Hall’s technical skillset spans manual and automated cell reprogramming and differentiation, quantitative microscopy-based phenotyping, and large scale -omics analysis.
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World-first clinical trial improves patient outcomes for kidney transplants (2023)
A world-first clinical trial conducted at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) and at hospitals across Australia and New Zealand has identified the best fluid treatment to reduce the risk of patients requiring dialysis after a kidney transplant.
Around one in three people who receive a kidney transplant suffer delayed graft function, which means the transplant doesn’t work immediately and they require dialysis.
The lead-author of the study, was Royal Adelaide Hospital Nephrologist and University of Adelaide researcher, Dr Michael Collins.
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Using Gut Microbes to Reduce Blood Pressure
Professor Francine Marques is an National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leader, Viertel Charitable Foundation, and National Heart Foundation Fellow.
She leads the Hypertension Research Laboratory at Monash University and has published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers in journals such as Nature Reviews Cardiology, Nature Medicine, Nature Cardiovascular Research, and Circulation.
