Associate Professor Mathias Francois
Phone: +612 95656100
Email: m.francois@centenary.org.au
Associate Professor Francois, heads the David Richmond Laboratory for Cardiovascular Development: Gene Regulation and Editing at the Centenary Institute. He leads a research team with a focus on identifying new and innovative therapeutic approaches targeting vascular disease.
Having obtained his PhD from University Paris VI in 2004, he then moved to Australia to gain postdoctoral experience with Professor P. Koopman, an expert in the field of sex determination and SOX transcription factors (2005-2011).
His research focuses on the transcriptional control of endothelial cell specification with a major discovery identified a role for Sox18 transcription factor as a molecular switch that controls lymphatic vessel development (lymphangiogenesis) in the embryo and also during cancer metastasis.
Based on this finding, he has developed a novel approach combining developmental genetics, tumour biology and drug discovery to target transcription factors with small molecule inhibitors, peptide mimetic and antibodies with the aim of discovering a new class of anti-angiogenic drugs.
In recognition of his pioneering role in exploring lymphangiogenesis in health and disease he has been awarded 2 NHMRC Career Development Awards to progress his career as a leading scientist in the field of developmental biology.
64 publications, 11 first-author including 1 in Nature and 5 invited and 1 sole-author review, 1 invited commentary in PNAS and 13 last-author including 1 in Science and in top ranked journals in the field of cancer, vascular biology and gene regulation.