Rate My Professor Joanne Harrison

Dr. Joanne Harrison is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, within the Faculty of Health Professional Programmes at the University of Otago. She holds a BSc and a DPhil from the University of York, UK. As a key member of the Cardio-Renal Protection Group led by Dr. Ivan Sammut, her research is supported by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology. Harrison's academic interests center on developing therapeutic compounds to safeguard cardiac and renal tissues from ischaemic injury. Her investigations utilize advanced models such as coronary artery ligation, isolated perfused heart and kidney systems, renal transplantation procedures, and primary cardiomyocyte cultures. Core areas include the protective roles of heme oxygenase metabolites like bilirubin and carbon monoxide, alongside modulation of inflammation, apoptosis, and stress signaling pathways. She frequently combines these with pharmacological agents such as Losartan and Pentoxifylline to enhance cardioprotective and renoprotective outcomes. Additional research encompasses ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, renal transplant preservation, and cardiorenal syndrome.

Harrison also engages in collaborative projects on novel pesticide development, prioritizing increased species targeting and reduced environmental impacts. Partners include Lincoln and Auckland Universities, the Department of Conservation, Connovation Ltd, Professor Robin Smith from the University of Otago's Department of Chemistry, Professor Michael Murphy from the Dunn Institute in the UK, Dr. Ian Appleton, and Dr. Steve Kerr from Otago's Department of Pharmacology. Notable publications include Yao, Y., Fomison-Nurse, I. C., Harrison, J. C., Walker, R. J., Davis, G., & Sammut, I. A. (2014). Chronic bilateral renal denervation attenuates renal injury in a transgenic rat model of diabetic nephropathy. American Journal of Physiology: Renal Physiology, 307, F251-F262; Read, M. I., Andreianova, A. A., Harrison, J. C., Goulton, C. S., Sammut, I. A., & Kerr, D. S. (2014). Cardiac electrographic and morphological changes following status epilepticus: Effect of clonidine. Seizure, 23(1), 55-61; Sutherland, B. A., Harrison, J. C., Nair, S. M., & Sammut, I. A. (2013). Inhalation gases or gaseous mediators as neuroprotectants for cerebral ischaemia. Current Drug Targets, 14(1), 56-73; and Winburn, I. C., Gunatunga, K., McKernan, R. D., Walker, R. J., Sammut, I. A., & Harrison, J. C. (2012). Cell damage following carbon monoxide releasing molecule exposure: Implications for therapeutic applications. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology, 111(1), 31-41. Recent contributions feature studies on carbon monoxide prodrugs like oCOm-21 for enhancing cardiac myofilament calcium sensitivity and inhibitors of NLRP3 inflammasome formation with cardioprotective potential involving gasotransmitters.