Dmitry Ovchinnikov PhD

Dmitry A. Ovchinnikov is currently a Research Fellow in the Stem Cell Engineering Group at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at the University of Queensland. His main research interests lie in the genetic manipulation of human pluripotent stem cells for investigations into the stem cell biology and mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, e.g. Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. He is utilizing both gene knockdown and overexpression approaches to dissect the roles of various signalling pathways and specific genes in the aetiologies of these conditions. Previously, he led the Transgenic subgroup in the laboratory of Professor David Hume at UQ’s Institute for Molecular Biosciences, where he generated a number of transgenic mouse lines, some of which are widely used for investigations into macrophage function, and other in vivo studies.

Dmitry received his Diploma in Biochemistry (Masters equivalent) from the M.V. Lomonosov’s Moscow State University in 1993. He completed his PhD studies in the laboratory of Professor Richard R. Behringer at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he was involved in the development of transgenic resources and performed some of the first conditional knockout studies in mice utilising the Cre/loxP system, addressing the roles of BMP signalling in mouse embryogenesis, from cartlage development to patterning of the developing limb.​