BSc, PGDipSci(Cant) PhD(Otago)
Email aaron.stevens@otago.ac.nz
Research interests
Aaron leads the Epigenetic and Genetic Research Unit at UOW . His laboratory investigates how environmental factors including diet and immune derived oxidants (produced during inflammation and infection) can impact on human disease progression.
Methylated cytosine is an important epigenetic regulator of gene activity and plays a dynamic process in cell growth, differentiation, migration, and overall tissue architecture. Changing the methylation patterns during DNA replication may alter gene activity and redirect cell fate, which could be an important process in understanding how genes respond to their environmental conditions and is a central question for managing health and disease. Reactive oxygen species can act as key drivers in epigenetic change. This could affect how specific proteins bind and recognise DNA and may contribute to the link between inflammation and cancer.
He also investigates how diet can alter the composition of the human gut microbiome, and the implications of this for perinatal depression.