kenneth pang
Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholar
“The sequencing of the human genome was completed in 2001 amid much fanfare. However, even today, scientists remain a long way from unravelling its mysteries. One of the greatest puzzles we face is that the vast majority of the genome seems to have no function. Could all this so-called ‘junk DNA’ really be useless?”
Dr Ken Pang has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship to conduct research at Harvard University’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
Ken graduated in medicine from the University of Melbourne as Valedictorian at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, and subsequently trained as a paediatrician. In 2007, he completed his PhD at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, where he currently works as a postdoctoral research fellow.
As a PhD student, Ken made significant discoveries in the fields of genetics and immunology, published 14 articles (including in Genome Research, Trends in Genetics, Journal of Immunology, and Science), and received multiple awards, including the 2006 Victorian Premier’s Commendation for Medical Research.
“From my work and that of others, it is now apparent that the majority of ‘junk DNA’ does in fact serve a role - that role is to make a molecule called ribonucleic acid (RNA). The challenge now is to figure out what all this RNA is doing in our bodies.”
In August, Ken will head to Harvard where he will work with Professor Craig Hunter on the project, Intercellular RNA transport in mammals: function and significance.
“Professor Hunter’s team has recently discovered and characterised genes that are involved in transporting RNA between cells. The existence of these genes strongly suggests that our cells are sending signals to one another in the form of RNA, and I will be exploring this possibility in greater detail.”
“I am excited to be working on this project for several reasons. First, it might help to explain what some of the RNA we’ve previously found is actually doing. Secondly, it stands to demonstrate that our bodies are utilising a system of cell-to-cell communication that has been completely overlooked up until now. Finally, these RNA signals might very well be important in health and disease, so research in this area is likely to have direct medical relevance.”