Dr Megan Penno

Biography/ Background

2007 - present: Postdoctoral Fellow (Adelaide Proteomics Centre)
2006 - 2007: Grant Funded Scientist (Hanson Institute)

 

Qualifications

2003 - 2007: PhD (University of Melbourne)
1999 - 2002: BSc Hons. (University of Melbourne)

Research Interests

I am responsible for the laboratory-based direction of the preliminary gastric cancer (GC) biomarker discovery project, maintaining a close collaboration between the Adelaide Proteomics Centre and A/Prof. Matthias Ernst at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Melbourne.

GC accounts for 10% of all diagnosed cancers with a five year survival rate of less than 20%. High occurrences of GC have been associated with Asian populations, however, GC is becoming increasingly prevalent in indigenous Australians. The mortality associated with GC would be reduced if the disease could be detected earlier. Presently, the most reliable method for accurate GC diagnosis involves an invasive and expensive endoscopic examination that is capable of detecting only intermediate to late-stage disease. The existing biomarker assays for GC based on levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 in serum are not satisfactory in their sensitivity or specificity. Thus, an effective assay for detecting early, pre-clinical disease is urgently required. We hope that proteomics will address this need.

Publications

Journal articles

Kopetz, V. A., M. A. Penno, P. Hoffmann, D. P. Wilson and J. F. Beltrame (2012). Potential mechanisms of the acute coronary syndrome presentation in patients with the coronary slow flow phenomenon - Insight from a plasma proteomic approach. Int J Cardiol 156(1): 84-91.

Penno, M. A., S. M. Colegate, W. P. Michalski and P. Hoffmann (2011). Detection and measurement of carbohydrate deficient transferrin in serum using immuno-capture mass spectrometry: Diagnostic applications for annual ryegrass toxicity and corynetoxin exposure. Res Vet Sci (Epub ahead of print)

Penno, M. A., M. Ernst and P. Hoffmann (2009). Optimal preparation methods for automated matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry profiling of low molecular weight proteins and peptides. Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom 23(17): 2656-2662.

Penno, M. A., A. Bacic, S. M. Colegate, P. Hoffmann and W. P. Michalski (2009). Identifying candidate serum biomarkers of exposure to tunicamycins in rats using two-dimensional electrophoresis. J Proteome Res 8(6): 2812-2826.

Aslani, M. R., I. Pascoe, M. Kowalski, A. Michalewicz, M. A. S. Retallick and S. M. Colegate (2006). In vitro detection of hepatocytotoxic metabolites from Drechslera biseptata: a contributing factor to acute bovine liver disease? Aust J Exp Agr 46(5): 599-604.

 

Book chapters

Penno, M., M. Ernst and P. Hoffmann (2012). Comparative 2D DIGE Analysis of the Depleted Serum Proteome for Biomarker Discovery. Methods Mol Biol. R. Cramer and R. Westermeier. 854: 207-220.

Ho, Y. Y., M. Penno, M. Perugini, I. Lewis and P. Hoffmann (2012). Evaluating the Efficacy of Subcellular Fractionation of Blast Cells Using Live Cell Labeling and 2D DIGE. Methods Mol Biol. R. Cramer and R. Westermeier. 854: 319-332.

Aslani, M. R., I. Pascoe, M. Kowalski, A. Michalewicz, M. A. S. Retallick, S. M. Colegate and C. Bi (2007). Acute bovine liver disease: hepatocytotoxicity of Cynosurus echinatus-related Drechslera biseptata. Poisonous plants: global research and solutions. K. E. Panter, T. L. Wierenga and J. A. Pfister: 107-112.

Retallick, M. A. S., S. M. Colegate, W. P. Michalski and C. Bi (2007). A toxicoproteomic approach to understanding annual ryegrass toxicity. Poisonous plants: global research and solutions. K. E. Panter, T. L. Wierenga and J. A. Pfister: 230-234.

Allen, J. G., M. A. S. Retallick, M. Kowalski, S. M. Colegate, E. J. Speijers, T. Doran and W. P. Michalski (2007). A study of the bioequivalence of corynetoxins and tunicamycins: the effect of these toxins on the viability and morphology of rat hepatocytes in tissue culture. Poisonous Plants: Global Research and Solutions. K. E. Panter, T. L. Wierenga and J. A. Pfister, Oxford University Press: 253-259.

 

Published conference proceedings

Sciacca, B., A. Francois, M. Penno, J. Brazzatti, M. Klinger-Hoffmann, P. Hoffmann and T. Monro (2012). Radiative-SPR platform for the detection of apolipoprotein E for use in medical diagnostics. Plasmonics in Biology and Medicine IX – Proceedings of SPIE BiOS.

Francois, A., J. Boehm, M. Penno, P. Hoffmann and T. M. Monro (2011). A novel optical-fiber based surface plasmon resonance sensing architecture and its application to gastric cancer diagnostics. 21st International Conference on Optical Fiber Sensors.

Kopetz, V. A., M. Penno, P. Hoffmann and J. F. Beltrame (2008). Proteomic Studies into the Human Coronary Microvasculature: Plasma Protein Profiles During Acute Coronary Syndrome Presentation. JPB S2(4th AOHOUPO-2nd PRICPS): 185-186

Entry last updated: Wednesday, 2 May 2012