Rate My Professor John Haynes

Dr. John Haynes serves as Senior Lecturer in Drug Discovery Biology within the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University. He leads the Stem Cell Biology group at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Haynes' research specializes in using human pluripotent stem cell-derived models, including those from human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), to investigate neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. His key areas include neurodegeneration, disease model development, inflammation, optimization of microglial progenitors, control of cell fate in neurogenesis, and in vitro models for Alport syndrome. These efforts contribute to identifying therapeutic targets and advancing treatments aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal 3.

Haynes has led or co-led multiple research projects, notably NHMRC-funded "Optimizing the differentiation and expansion of microglial progenitors from human pluripotent stem cells for the study and treatment of neurological disease" (2015-2018), "Use of hESC-derived models to identify new therapeutic targets for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases" (2018-2019), and others on Alport syndrome and neurogenesis. With 89 peer-reviewed articles among 106 research outputs, standout publications include "TGFβ3, dibutyryl cAMP and a notch inhibitor modulate phenotype late in stem cell-derived dopaminergic neuron maturation" (2023, Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology), "Nuclear Transporter IPO13 Is Central to Efficient Neuronal Differentiation" (2022, Cells), "Chronic stress and Alzheimer’s disease: the interplay between the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, genetics and microglia" (2021, Biological Reviews), and "Compartmentalized microfluidic chambers enable long-term maintenance and communication between human pluripotent stem cell-derived forebrain and midbrain neurons" (2021, Lab on a Chip). He delivers lectures on renal physiology, pharmacology, second messenger signalling, and neurodegeneration in the Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Bachelor of Pharmacy programs and supervises PhD students in neurodegeneration research.