Rate My Professor Diana Stojanovski

Professor Diana Stojanovski is a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Melbourne's School of Biomedical Sciences, where she heads the Stojanovski Laboratory on mitochondrial biology and disease. Her research specializes in the mechanisms and machinery for the synthesis, import, and assembly of mitochondrial proteins; defects in mitochondrial protein biogenesis pathways that cause disease; and host-pathogen interactions involving effector proteins from intracellular bacterial pathogens that target mitochondria. Stojanovski, a first-generation Australian of Macedonian heritage and the first in her family to graduate from university, obtained her PhD in Biochemistry from La Trobe University in 2006 and her Bachelor's Degree with Honours from the same institution.

Following her PhD under the supervision of Prof. Michael Ryan at La Trobe University, Stojanovski conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Freiburg in Germany as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow mentored by Prof. Nikolaus Pfanner. In 2009, she returned to La Trobe University as an Australian Postdoctoral Fellow before joining the University of Melbourne. Recently promoted to full Professor (Level E) in 2025, she also serves as Director of Undergraduate Research Training in the School of Biomedical Sciences and chairs the Women of Bio21 committee. In 2025, she received the MDHS Staff Excellence Discovery Award for Graduate Researcher Supervision. Stojanovski's contributions to mitochondrial biogenesis and disease have earned over 5,400 citations. Notable senior-authored publications include: Crameri et al. (2024), 'Reduced Protein Import via TIM23 SORT Drives Disease Pathology in TIMM50-Associated Mitochondrial Disease' (Molecular and Cellular Biology); Baker et al. (2024), 'CLPB disaggregase dysfunction impacts the functional integrity of the proteolytic SPY complex' (Journal of Cell Biology); Anderson et al. (2023), 'Human Tim8a, Tim8b and Tim13 are auxiliary assembly factors of mature Complex IV' (EMBO Reports); Loterio et al. (2023), 'Coxiella co-opts the Glutathione Peroxidase 4 to protect the host cell from oxidative stress–induced cell death' (PNAS); Jackson et al. (2022), 'Sideroflexin 4 is a complex I assembly factor that interacts with the MCIA complex and is required for the assembly of the ND2 module' (PNAS); and book chapter Stojanovski et al. (2012), 'Mechanisms of Protein Sorting in Mitochondria' (Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology). Her laboratory has secured funding from the Citrin Foundation for research on citrin deficiency.