Rate My Professor Revecca Kakavanos-Plew

Dr. Revecca Plew is a Lecturer in the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, College of Health, at Adelaide University. She completed her PhD in 2006 at the Lysosomal Diseases Research Unit, Child, Youth and Women’s Health Service. After her doctorate, she worked as a production biochemist at Neubody Pty. Ltd. before joining the University of South Australia in 2009. Following the merger forming Adelaide University, she continues in a teaching-focused role, coordinating key undergraduate courses and contributing to biomedical education.

Plew's research centers on cell biology, particularly the endosome-lysosome system in healthy and diseased states including cancer and lysosomal storage disorders. Her expertise spans lysosomal biology, immunochemistry, cancer biology, biomarker identification, neuronal gene delivery, and endosome-lysosome cell biology. She received an Australian Postdoctoral Industry fellowship via a 2009 ARC Linkage Grant for 'The development of a neuronal gene delivery system' and a 2013 National Breast Cancer Foundation Novel Concept Grant for 'Identifying novel protein biomarkers in breast cancer'. Key publications include Parkinson-Lawrence, E., Shandala, T., Prodoehl, M., Plew, R., Borlace, G., & Brooks, D. (2010). Lysosomal storage disease: revealing lysosomal function and physiology. Physiology, 25(2), 102-115; Shandala, T., Plew, R. K., Ng, Y. S., Bader, C., Sorvina, A., Parkinson-Lawrence, E. J., et al. (2012). Molecular machinery regulating exocytosis. In Crosstalk and integration of membrane trafficking pathways; Kakavanos, R., Turner, C. T., Hopwood, J. J., & Brooks, D. A. (2003). Immune tolerance after long-term enzyme-replacement therapy among patients who have mucopolysaccharidosis I. The Lancet; and Kakavanos, R., et al. (2006). Common antigenicity for two glycosidases. FEBS Letters. She coordinates BIOL 1007, BIOL 3033, BIOL 1052, and is eligible to co-supervise Masters and PhD students.