STEM CELL THERAPIES FOR ENTERIC NEUROPATHIES
Dr Lincon Stamp,
Senior Research Fellow & Group Leader,
Department of Anatomy and Physiology,
School of Biomedical Sciences,
The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Melbourne, Australia | October 2025
Dr Stamp is a Group Leader in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Dr Stamp’s PhD research (with Prof Martin Pera, Monash University) focused on the derivation of hepatopancreatic progenitors from human embryonic stem cells. He then joined the lab of Dr Don Newgreen at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute where he began working on development of the enteric nervous system (ENS), before joining Prof Heather Young’s lab at the University of Melbourne, where he focused on developing a stem cell therapy to treat gut motility disorders such as the paediatric enteric neuropathy Hirschprung disease.
His lab, which he runs together with Dr Marlene Hao, is now focused on the development, plasticity, and cell and gene therapies for the digestive system, with a particular focus on the enteric nervous system.
Dr Stamp has a strong national and international network of collaborators, including key clinical and consumer connections, and has published high impact studies in top tier journals including Gastroenterology, JCI and Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
He has had success at securing significant government (ARC, MRFF), philanthropic (NSCFA, REACH Foundation) and industry (Takeda Pharmaceuticals) funding, has strong ties within the Australian and international stem cell communities, and is the currently the President of the Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research (ASSCR).
Source: Supplied
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8925-7894
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Oral administration of insulin for Type 1 Diabetes
Huiwen Pang is a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, focusing on biomedical health research. Prior to commencing his PhD, Huiwen studied animal genetics in his Masters degree at Huazhong Agriculture University in China.
People with diabetes, especially Type 1 diabetes, largely rely on the insulin injections or insulin pumps to control their high blood glucose levels, which is painful and has a high risk of infections.
Huiwen Pang is conducting research on nano-based drug formulations for Type 1 diabetes treatment, with a focus on using nanomaterials to load insulin for oral administration and employing anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory approaches to mitigate damage to beta cells.
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Enhancing occupational therapy service provision with military veterans
Prof McKinstry was instrumental in the development of the occupational therapy course at the La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus and also the establishment of the Rural Health School.
Prof McKinstry’s research focus is on health workforce, particularly developing a sustainable rural health workforce through recruitment of rural students for health courses, innovative and flexible delivery of health courses, telehealth and emerging areas of practice for occupational therapists.
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Junior Fellowship to develop vaccine for bacteria that cause ear infections
Dr Erin Brazel has a background in molecular and translational microbiology, with a focus on developing new ways of preventing and treating bacterial diseases. Recently Dr Brazel has been awarded a Junior Fellowship by the Passe & Williams Memorial Foundation.
The fellowship enables outstanding individuals to obtain postdoctoral training under the supervision of an experienced clinical or scientific researcher, with the view to establishing a research career in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery in Australia and/or New Zealand.
