Tuesday, 24 May 2011
The Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) congratulates Professor Patrick Tam, Chair of the ASCC’s Scientific Advisory Board and leading developmental biologist for his election to the Royal Society.
Professor Tam is Deputy Director and Senior Principal Research Fellow,
Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) and Professor, Discipline of Medicine,
Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney.
Professor Tam's research focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of body patterning during mouse development. He pioneered the application of micromanipulation and embryo culture for analysing mouse embryos and examining the development of the head and embryonic gut. The embryological analysis undertaken by his team at CMRI has enabled the construction of a series of fate-maps revealing the organisation of the basic body plan of the early embryo. His other current research is on X-linked diseases and the genetics of eye development. These studies, and his many other contributions, have been fundamentally important for understanding early embryonic development and origins of congenital malformations. In recognition of his research achievement, Professor Tam was awarded the President’s Medal of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Cell and Developmental Biology in 2007.