Overview
Background
I completed my PhD in Neuroscience at UQ in 2009. After this, I undertook postdoctoral training in motor neuron disease/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (MND/ALS) under the mentorship of neurologists at Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital. In 2012, I received a MND Research Australia Bill Gole Fellowship to develop a research focus to study metabolic dysfunction in MND/ALS. I started my independent research group at UQ in 2015, after receiving the Scott Sullivan MND Research Fellowship to lead a translational program to define the contribution of altered metabolic homeostasis to MND/ALS pathophysiology. In 2017, I relocated my laboratory to the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology to introduce the use of human stem cells for disease modelling into my reserach program. In 2020, I was awarded a FightMND Mid-Career Research Fellowship to transition into clinical trials.
My current research integrates studies in MND/ALS patients with studies in human-derived cell models (stem cell-derived neurons, human primary myosatellite cells, human myotubes) and mouse models of MND/ALS. I have served as lead investigator or co-investigator on several projects aimed at defining the mechanisms that drive MND/ALS and identifying therapeutic strategies for the disease. Projects have led to the expediting of clinical trials (NCT03506425; NCT04788745, NCT05959850). In 2021, I established the MND at UQ Collective to enhance national and international collaboration, and to facilitate community consultation to drive scientific and clinical discoveries in ALS and FTD (www.uq.edu.au/mnd-collective).
I have received invitations to contribute to high impact review articles (i.e., Brain, Nat Rev Neurol), and have received >20 invitations to speak at conferences including: 33rd International ALS/MND Symposium (2022, Plenary), 64th Japanese Society of Neurology Meeting (2023, Tokyo; Plenary), 3rd International Pan-Asian Consortium for Treatment and Research in ALS (PACTALS) Congress (2023, Kuala Lumpur), 18th International Congress on Neuromuscular Diseases (2024, Perth).
Availability
- Associate Professor Shyuan Ngo is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Metabolic Dysfunction in Motor Neuron Disease/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
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Biomarkers in Motor Neuron Disease/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
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Neuromuscular Junction Formation, Maintenance and Stability
Works
Search Professor Shyuan Ngo’s works on UQ eSpace
2022
Journal Article
Lower hypothalamic volume with lower BMI is associated with shorter survival in patients with ALS
Chang, Jeryn, Shaw, Thomas B., Holdom, Cory J., McCombe, Pamela A., Henderson, Robert D., Fripp, Jurgen, Barth, Markus, Guo, Christine C., Ngo, Shyuan T. and Steyn, Frederik J. (2022). Lower hypothalamic volume with lower BMI is associated with shorter survival in patients with ALS. European Journal of Neurology, 30 (1), 57-68. doi: 10.1111/ene.15589
2022
Journal Article
Open-Source Hypothalamic-ForniX (OSHy-X) Atlases and Segmentation Tool for 3T and 7T
Chang, Jeryn, Steyn, Frederik, Ngo, Shyuan, Henderson, Robert, Guo, Christine, Bollmann, Steffen, Fripp, Jurgen, Barth, Markus and Shaw, Thomas (2022). Open-Source Hypothalamic-ForniX (OSHy-X) Atlases and Segmentation Tool for 3T and 7T. Journal of Open Source Software, 7 (76), 4368. doi: 10.21105/joss.04368
2022
Journal Article
Altered TDP-43 structure and function: key insights into aberrant RNA, mitochondrial, and cellular and systemic metabolism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Jiang, Leanne and Ngo, Shyuan T. (2022). Altered TDP-43 structure and function: key insights into aberrant RNA, mitochondrial, and cellular and systemic metabolism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Metabolites, 12 (8) 709, 1-29. doi: 10.3390/metabo12080709
2022
Journal Article
Patient perspectives on digital healthcare technology in care and clinical trials for motor neuron disease: an international survey
Helleman, Jochem, Johnson, Barbara, Holdom, Cory, Hobson, Esther, Murray, Deirdre, Steyn, Frederik J., Ngo, Shyuan T., Henders, Anjali, Lokeshappa, Madhura B., Visser-Meily, Johanna M. A., van den Berg, Leonard H., Hardiman, Orla, Beelen, Anita, McDermott, Chris and van Eijk, Ruben P. A. (2022). Patient perspectives on digital healthcare technology in care and clinical trials for motor neuron disease: an international survey. Journal of Neurology, 269 (11), 1-11. doi: 10.1007/s00415-022-11273-x
2022
Journal Article
Impaired signaling for neuromuscular synaptic maintenance is a feature of Motor Neuron Disease
Ding, Qiao, Kesavan, Kaamini, Lee, Kah Meng, Wimberger, Elyse, Robertson, Thomas, Gill, Melinder, Power, Dominique, Chang, Jeryn, Fard, Atefeh T., Mar, Jessica C., Henderson, Robert D., Heggie, Susan, McCombe, Pamela A., Jeffree, Rosalind L., Colditz, Michael J., Hilliard, Massimo A., Ng, Dominic C. H., Steyn, Frederik J., Phillips, William D., Wolvetang, Ernst J., Ngo, Shyuan T. and Noakes, Peter G. (2022). Impaired signaling for neuromuscular synaptic maintenance is a feature of Motor Neuron Disease. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 10 (1) 61, 61. doi: 10.1186/s40478-022-01360-5
2022
Journal Article
Genome-wide study of DNA methylation shows alterations in metabolic, inflammatory, and cholesterol pathways in ALS
Hop, Paul J., Zwamborn, Ramona A.J., Hannon, Eilis, Shireby, Gemma L., Nabais, Marta F., Walker, Emma M., van Rheenen, Wouter, van Vugt, Joke J.F.A., Dekker, Annelot M., Westeneng, Henk-Jan, Tazelaar, Gijs H.P., van Eijk, Kristel R., Moisse, Matthieu, Baird, Denis, Al Khleifat, Ahmad, Iacoangeli, Alfredo, Ticozzi, Nicola, Ratti, Antonia, Cooper-Knock, Jonathan, Morrison, Karen E., Shaw, Pamela J., Basak, A. Nazli, Chiò, Adriano, Calvo, Andrea, Moglia, Cristina, Canosa, Antonio, Brunetti, Maura, Grassano, Maurizio, Gotkine, Marc ... Brain MEND Consortium (2022). Genome-wide study of DNA methylation shows alterations in metabolic, inflammatory, and cholesterol pathways in ALS. Science Translational Medicine, 14 (633) eabj0264, 1-15. doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abj0264
2022
Journal Article
Author Correction: Common and rare variant association analyses in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis identify 15 risk loci with distinct genetic architectures and neuron-specific biology
van Rheenen, Wouter, van der Spek, Rick A. A., Bakker, Mark K., van Vugt, Joke J. F. A., Hop, Paul J., Zwamborn, Ramona A. J., de Klein, Niek, Westra, Harm-Jan, Bakker, Olivier B., Deelen, Patrick, Shireby, Gemma, Hannon, Eilis, Moisse, Matthieu, Baird, Denis, Restuadi, Restuadi, Dolzhenko, Egor, Dekker, Annelot M., Gawor, Klara, Westeneng, Henk-Jan, Tazelaar, Gijs H. P., van Eijk, Kristel R., Kooyman, Maarten, Byrne, Ross P., Doherty, Mark, Heverin, Mark, Al Khleifat, Ahmad, Iacoangeli, Alfredo, Shatunov, Aleksey, Ticozzi, Nicola ... SLAP Consortium (2022). Author Correction: Common and rare variant association analyses in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis identify 15 risk loci with distinct genetic architectures and neuron-specific biology. Nature Genetics, 54 (3), 361-361. doi: 10.1038/s41588-022-01020-3
2022
Journal Article
Functional characterisation of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk locus GPX3/TNIP1
Restuadi, Restuadi, Steyn, Frederik J., Kabashi, Edor, Ngo, Shyuan T., Cheng, Fei-Fei, Nabais, Marta F., Thompson, Mike J., Qi, Ting, Wu, Yang, Henders, Anjali K., Wallace, Leanne, Bye, Chris R., Turner, Bradley J., Ziser, Laura, Mathers, Susan, McCombe, Pamela A., Needham, Merrilee, Schultz, David, Kiernan, Matthew C., van Rheenen, Wouter, van den Berg, Leonard H., Veldink, Jan H., Ophoff, Roel, Gusev, Alexander, Zaitlen, Noah, McRae, Allan F., Henderson, Robert D., Wray, Naomi R., Giacomotto, Jean and Garton, Fleur C. (2022). Functional characterisation of the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis risk locus GPX3/TNIP1. Genome Medicine, 14 (1) 7, 7. doi: 10.1186/s13073-021-01006-6
2022
Journal Article
Repurposing of Trimetazidine for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a study in SOD1 mice
Scaricamazza, Silvia, Salvatori, Illari, Amadio, Susanna, Nesci, Valentina, Torcinaro, Alessio, Giacovazzo, Giacomo, Primiano, Aniello, Gloriani, Michela, Candelise, Niccolò, Pieroni, Luisa, Loeffler, Jean-Philippe, Renè, Frederique, Quessada, Cyril, Tefera, Tesfaye W, Wang, Hao, Steyn, Frederik J, Ngo, Shyuan T, Dobrowolny, Gabriella, Lepore, Elisa, Urbani, Andrea, Musarò, Antonio, Volonté, Cinzia, Ferraro, Elisabetta, Coccurello, Roberto, Valle, Cristiana and Ferri, Alberto (2022). Repurposing of Trimetazidine for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a study in SOD1 mice. British Journal of Pharmacology, 179 (8), 1732-1752. doi: 10.1111/bph.15738
2022
Other Outputs
snrRNA-seq_muscle_dataset
Ngo, Shyuan, Power, Dominique, Andersen, Stacey, Taherian Fard, Atefeh, Chang, Jeryn and Steyn, Frederik (2022). snrRNA-seq_muscle_dataset. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/0106c8e
2022
Book Chapter
Biofluid biomarkers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Holdom, Cory J., Steyn, Frederik J., Henderson, Robert D., McCombe, Pamela A., Rogers, Mary-Louise and Ngo, Shyuan T. (2022). Biofluid biomarkers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurodegenerative diseases biomarkers: towards translating research to clinical practice. (pp. 263-306) edited by Philip V. Peplow, Bridget Martinez and Thomas A. Gennarelli. New York, United States: Springer . doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1712-0_11
2021
Journal Article
Common and rare variant association analyses in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis identify 15 risk loci with distinct genetic architectures and neuron-specific biology
van Rheenen, Wouter, van der Spek, Rick A. A., Bakker, Mark K., van Vugt, Joke J. F. A., Hop, Paul J., Zwamborn, Ramona A. J., de Klein, Niek, Westra, Harm-Jan, Bakker, Olivier B., Deelen, Patrick, Shireby, Gemma, Hannon, Eilis, Moisse, Matthieu, Baird, Denis, Restuadi, Restuadi, Dolzhenko, Egor, Dekker, Annelot M., Gawor, Klara, Westeneng, Henk-Jan, Tazelaar, Gijs H. P., van Eijk, Kristel R., Kooyman, Maarten, Byrne, Ross P., Doherty, Mark, Heverin, Mark, Al Khleifat, Ahmad, Iacoangeli, Alfredo, Shatunov, Aleksey, Ticozzi, Nicola ... SLAP Consortium (2021). Common and rare variant association analyses in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis identify 15 risk loci with distinct genetic architectures and neuron-specific biology. Nature Genetics, 53 (12), 1636-1648. doi: 10.1038/s41588-021-00973-1
2021
Journal Article
Venous creatinine as a biomarker for loss of fat‐free mass and disease progression in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Holdom, Cory J., Janse van Mantgem, Mark R., van Eijk, Ruben P.A., Howe, Stephanie L., van den Berg, Leonard H., McCombe, Pamela A., Henderson, Robert D., Ngo, Shyuan T. and Steyn, Frederik J. (2021). Venous creatinine as a biomarker for loss of fat‐free mass and disease progression in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. European Journal of Neurology, 28 (11) ene.15003, 3615-3625. doi: 10.1111/ene.15003
2021
Journal Article
Low plasma hyaluronan is associated with faster functional decline in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Holdom, Cory J., Ngo, Shyuan T., McCombe, Pamela A., Henderson, Robert D. and Steyn, Frederik J. (2021). Low plasma hyaluronan is associated with faster functional decline in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, 23 (1-2), 1-7. doi: 10.1080/21678421.2021.1918721
2021
Journal Article
A road map for remote digital health technology for motor neuron disease
van Eijk, Ruben P A, Beelen, Anita, Kruitwagen, Esther T, Murray, Deirdre, Radakovic, Ratko, Hobson, Esther, Knox, Liam, Helleman, Jochem, Burke, Tom, Rubio Pérez, Miguel Ángel, Reviers, Evy, Genge, Angela, Steyn, Frederik J, Ngo, Shyuan, Eaglesham, John, Roes, Kit C B, van den Berg, Leonard H, Hardiman, Orla and McDermott, Christopher J (2021). A road map for remote digital health technology for motor neuron disease. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23 (9) e28766, e28766. doi: 10.2196/28766
2021
Journal Article
Monocyte CD14 and HLA-DR expression increases with disease duration and severity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
McGill, R.B., Steyn, F.J., Ngo, S.T., Thorpe, K.A., Heggie, S., Henderson, R.D., Mccombe, P.A. and Woodruff, T.M. (2021). Monocyte CD14 and HLA-DR expression increases with disease duration and severity in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Degeneration, 23 (5-6), 1-8. doi: 10.1080/21678421.2021.1964531
2021
Journal Article
Skeletal muscle metabolism: origin or prognostic factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) development?
Quessada, Cyril, Bouscary, Alexandra, René, Frédérique, Valle, Cristiana, Ferri, Alberto, Ngo, Shyuan T. and Loeffler, Jean-Philippe (2021). Skeletal muscle metabolism: origin or prognostic factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) development?. Cells, 10 (6) 1449, 1449. doi: 10.3390/cells10061449
2021
Journal Article
Polygenic risk score analysis for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis leveraging cognitive performance, educational attainment and schizophrenia
Restuadi, Restuadi, Garton, Fleur C., Benyamin, Beben, Lin, Tian, Williams, Kelly L., Vinkhuyzen, Anna, van Rheenen, Wouter, Zhu, Zhihong, Laing, Nigel G., Mather, Karen A., Sachdev, Perminder S., Ngo, Shyuan T., Steyn, Frederik J., Wallace, Leanne, Henders, Anjali K., Visscher, Peter M., Needham, Merrilee, Mathers, Susan, Nicholson, Garth, Rowe, Dominic B., Henderson, Robert D., McCombe, Pamela A., Pamphlett, Roger, Blair, Ian P., Wray, Naomi R. and McRae, Allan F. (2021). Polygenic risk score analysis for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis leveraging cognitive performance, educational attainment and schizophrenia. European Journal of Human Genetics, 30 (5), 1-8. doi: 10.1038/s41431-021-00885-y
2021
Journal Article
Meta-analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation identifies shared associations across neurodegenerative disorders
Nabais, Marta F., Laws, Simon M., Lin, Tian, Vallerga, Costanza L., Armstrong, Nicola J., Blair, Ian P., Kwok, John B., Mather, Karen A., Mellick, George D., Sachdev, Perminder S., Wallace, Leanne, Henders, Anjali K., Zwamborn, Ramona A. J., Hop, Paul J., Lunnon, Katie, Pishva, Ehsan, Roubroeks, Janou A. Y., Soininen, Hilkka, Tsolaki, Magda, Mecocci, Patrizia, Lovestone, Simon, Kloszewska, Iwona, Vellas, Bruno, Furlong, Sarah, Garton, Fleur C., Henderson, Robert D., Mathers, Susan, McCombe, Pamela A., Needham, Merrilee ... McRae, Allan F. (2021). Meta-analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation identifies shared associations across neurodegenerative disorders. Genome Biology, 22 (1) 90, 1-30. doi: 10.1186/s13059-021-02275-5
2021
Journal Article
Lipids: Key players in central nervous system cell physiology and pathology
Ngo, Shyuan T. (2021). Lipids: Key players in central nervous system cell physiology and pathology. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology, 112, 59-60. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2021.02.003
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Shyuan Ngo is:
- Available for supervision
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Available projects
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Metabolic dysfunction in Motor Neuron Disease/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Motor Neuron Disease/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (MND/ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that is characterised by the degeneration of both upper and lower alpha motor neurons. The irreversible loss of neurons in the brain and spinal cord results in progressive skeletal muscle paralysis and death within 2-5 years of diagnosis. There is no known cure for the disease, and treatments are of limited benefit. In the absence of a cure for MND/ALS, there is a pressing need to lessen the severity of symptoms associated with, and to slow the progression of disease, whilst enhancing quality of life.
While the fundamental mechanisms that underlie the development of MND/ALS remains unknown, recent studies suggest that defective regulation of energy homeostasis may exacerbate the degenerative process throughout the course of disease. In the last 7 years, our team has made novel observations of metabolic dysfunction and altered metabolic flexibility in mouse models of MND, and paradigm-shifting discoveries that for the first time, highlight the impact of increased energy use (hypermetabolism) in patients with MND on disease progression and prognosis. In this time, our team have also successfully generated induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived motor neurons (including CRISPR-Cas9 TDP-43 iPSCs with isogenic controls), and to our knowledge the only directly reprogrammed motor neurons from MMD patients in Australia.
All PhD projects fall under a broader research program that investigates how altered glucose and fatty acid metabolism contributes to the progression of MND/ALS. Projects span the clinical and basic research settings, and involve working with patients living with MND, or mouse and human-derived models of MND. Projects focus on identifying the mechanisms that cause metabolic dysfunction in MND, and identifying treatments to alleviate metabolic perturbations.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Bio-inspired Nanoparticles for Mechano-Regulation of Stem Cell Fate
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Noakes, Dr Ruirui Qiao
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Doctor Philosophy
Targeting metabolic flexibility as a therapeutic approach for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (METALS)
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Frederik Steyn, Associate Professor Adam Walker
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Doctor Philosophy
Deciphering the spatio-temporal landscape of cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous drivers of motor neuron death in MND
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Quan Nguyen, Associate Professor Frederik Steyn
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Doctor Philosophy
Fine tuning metabolic flux: Modulating substrate oxidation as a therapeutic strategy in motor neuron disease (MND)
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Noakes, Associate Professor Frederik Steyn
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Doctor Philosophy
MINDE: A patient-centred study on Metabolism, Individualised Nutrition & Daily Eating
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Frederik Steyn
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Doctor Philosophy
Redefining digital technology to provide patient centric platform to meet the need of patients with Motor Neuron Disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rebecca Packer, Associate Professor Taylor Dick, Associate Professor Frederik Steyn
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Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the role of electrical fields on cell fates
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Justin Cooper-White
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Doctor Philosophy
Use of bioinformatics to decode disease heterogeneity in motor neuron disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson, Dr Thomas Shaw, Associate Professor Frederik Steyn
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Doctor Philosophy
NAT1 as a regulator of the metabolic response to disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Frederik Steyn
Completed supervision
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2025
Doctor Philosophy
Non-traditional biomarkers for motor neuron disease
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson, Associate Professor Frederik Steyn
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2020
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring the neurometabolic component of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis through the generation of human cell-derived in vitro models
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ernst Wolvetang
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Stem Cell Derived Models to Investigate Age-Related Diseases
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Giovanni Pietrogrande, Professor Ernst Wolvetang
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
Systems biology of motor neurone disease
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Naomi Wray, Dr Allan McRae
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Energy metabolism in epilepsy: Biochemical changes in glucose metabolism and the effects of metabolic treatments in murine seizure models
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Karin Borges
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Energy metabolism in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: characterization of metabolic impairments in the hSOD1G93A mouse model
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Karin Borges
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2018
Doctor Philosophy
Protective effects of medium-chain triglycerides in neurological disorders: epilepsy and ischemic stroke
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Karin Borges
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2017
Doctor Philosophy
The role of the Growth Hormone/Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 axis in Neuromuscular Degeneration in a mouse model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Frederik Steyn
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2017
Master Philosophy
Energy metabolism in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: Assessment of body composition and energy expenditure
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Robert Henderson, Associate Professor Frederik Steyn, Professor Pamela McCombe
Media
Enquiries
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- Motor Neuron Disease
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