Epigenetics researcher Emma Whitelaw awarded IUBMB Jubilee Medal

One of Australia's leading epigenetics researchers has now been recognised as one of the world's leaders in the field.

Professor Emma Whitelaw from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research has received the Jubilee Medal from the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology during a meeting in Miami, US.

Whitelaw has been a strong advocate for epigenetics research for decades, even before it was acknowledged as being a field significant to understanding how genotypes become phenotypes.

Read more about Emma Whitelaw's epigenetics research.

“It is a great pleasure to stand up, as an Australian, to receive an award like this at an international meeting. It reaffirms to all present Australia’s level of excellence in scientific pursuits,” said Whitelaw.

The medal for awarded for Whitelaw’s research on the inheritance of epigenetic marks. Her laboratory at QIMR developed a model of fetal alcohol syndrome, which is helping inform the community of the effects of maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.

Epigenetics is the study of changes in phenotype or gene expression in the absence of changes to the underlying DNA sequence itself.

Her research has also uncovered many of the factors that influence our development and our physical traits, such as environmental and stochastic factors.

ALS would like to congratulate Professor Whitelaw for her receipt of the IUBMB Jubilee Award.