Gawain McColl

Gawain McColl is Associate Professor of Neurodegeneration in the Florey Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne, where he also heads the Molecular Gerontology Group at the Florey Institute. He obtained his PhD in Genetics from Monash University in 1999. His postdoctoral training included positions at the University of Manchester (1999–2001) and the Buck Institute for Age Research in the United States (2001), during which he was awarded the Glenn Foundation/AFAR Fellowship in 2003 for his work on the genetics of ageing in Caenorhabditis elegans. Returning to Australia in late 2007, McColl served as a research fellow at the Mental Health Research Institute before joining the Florey Institute in 2013.

McColl's research program employs the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate the molecular mechanisms of biological ageing, with particular emphasis on iron homeostasis, ferroptosis, and models of neurodegeneration relevant to diseases such as Alzheimer's. His group develops rapid animal models for drug screening and explores the roles of support cells and dopaminergic neurons in ageing processes. Notable publications include the highly cited paper "Amyloid-β peptide protects against microbial infection in mouse and worm models of Alzheimer’s disease" published in Science Translational Medicine in 2016, "Utility of an improved model of amyloid-beta (Aβ1-42) toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans for drug screening for Alzheimer’s disease" in Molecular Neurodegeneration in 2012, "Evolution of lifespan in C. elegans" in Nature in 2000, "Pharmacogenetic analysis of lithium-induced delayed aging in Caenorhabditis elegans" in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 2008, and "Fitness cost of extended lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans" in Proceedings of the Royal Society B in 2004. Additional contributions encompass biochemical characterization of C. elegans ferritins, nonmonotonic superparamagnetic behavior of ferritin iron cores, and therapeutic potential of iron-modulating drugs in models of tauopathies and synucleinopathies. McColl's work has significantly advanced the understanding of metal dyshomeostasis in ageing and neurodegenerative diseases.

Professional Email: gmccoll@florey.edu.au