Inaugural Freemasons Foundation
Research Fellows and Scholars Appointed!

Dr Grant Buchanan
Freemasons Foundation Research Fellow

Dr Buchanan received his PhD in 2002 from the Flinders University of South Australia in prostate cancer research. He undertook postdoctoral training at the University of Adelaide and the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Centre at the University of Southern California, and has received mentoring from internationally renowned leaders in the prostate cancer field. During this training, he has held a postdoctoral fellowship from the Cancer Council of South Australia, a Young Investigator Award from the United States Department of Defense, and the prestigious CJ Martin Biomedical Fellowship (awarded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia. In addition, he was a recipient of a Proof of Commercial Concept grant from Bio Innovation SA, and in 2008 was awarded a Young Investigator Award from the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Dr Buchanan has published 26 research papers and review articles in prestigious international journals including Cancer Research, PNAS, Human Molecular Genetics, Clinical Cancer Research, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, has presented his research at local, national and international meetings, and acts as an Expert Assessor of NHMRC project grants. In 2008, Dr Buchanan returned to Adelaide to take up the position of Freemasons Foundation Research Fellow within the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Mens Health. Combining molecular, preclinical and clinical research with contemporary genomic technology and drug discovery, Dr Buchanan’s current research is aimed at: (i) defining how testosterone acts to promote and control prostate cancer, and how we might better treat or prevent this disease; and (ii) identifying and testing new drugs with the potential to mitigate or repair the decline of muscle mass and cognitive function associated with ageing.

Dr Eleanor Need
Freemasons Foundation Post-doctoral Research Fellow

Dr Need recently completed her PhD at the University of Adelaide which examined the role and actions of testosterone in prostate cancer and male ageing. She received her Bachelor of Science with Honours also from the University of Adelaide in genetics. In 2001-2003, while working as a research assistant in the USA, including Columbia University in New York, she investigated the evolution of the proteins responsible for the actions of the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen which resulted in a publication in the prestigious journal, Science.

During her PhD studies, Dr Need was the recipient of two prizes for presentations of her research - one at an international meeting and another at a local meeting. In January 2008, Dr Need was appointed as Freemasons Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Mens Health. Her current scientific interests focus on how the actions of testosterone may be disturbed during male ageing or in the development and progression of prostate cancer. This research is essential to developing new strategies to treat prostate cancer and to determine the consequences of testosterone decline in males during ageing.

Mr Sean Martin
Freemasons Foundation PhD Scholar

Mr Sean Martin completed his Bachelor of Science with Honours in physiology and pharmacology in 2003. He then joined the University of Adelaide’s Discipline of Medicine to work with Professor Gary Wittert’s clinical trials team working with a novel obesity compound. Shortly thereafter, he took up the role of Co-ordinator of the newly formed Florey Adelaide Male Ageing Study (FAMAS), a role he maintains to this date. As part of this position, he oversaw the expansion of the cohort into 1195 participants, making it one of the largest studies of its type.

Sean’s particular focus for his PhD project will be to investigate the changes in male hormonal status (particularly testosterone) that occur through age. Whilst it is generally accepted that plasma testosterone levels decline gradually with ageing, there nevertheless remains significant variability in plasma T levels in men. Indeed, many elderly men possess concentrations well within normal ranges. The precise interaction between androgen status and related biological, physical and behavioural confounders will be examined in the FAMAS cohort.

Mr Andrew Trotta
Freemasons Foundation PhD Scholar

Mr Andrew Trotta completed his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Adelaide in 2004, and in 2005 was awarded First Class Honours in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. For the past two years Andrew has worked as a Research Assistant in the Department of Gastroenterology at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital investigating genes involved in the growth of the small intestine from infancy to adulthood. In March 2008, Andrew began his PhD with Dr. Grant Buchanan in the Freemasons Foundation Centre for Mens Health. His project will be focused on defining how male androgens (i.e. testosterone) impact on ageing prostate and muscle, and investigating how we might develop ways to prevent prostate cancer and muscle decline in ageing men.