Professor Steven Petrou
PhD
Group Head
Location
Parkville Campus
30 Royal Parade
Parkville Victoria 3052
Research group
Ion Channels and Human Diseases Group
Biography
Steve is a PhD trained neuroscientist who focuses on disease biology and therapeutics of neurogenetic disorders. His interdisciplinary research includes ion channel biophysics, neurophysiology, animal models of neurogenetic disorders, molecular and cellular biology, computational biology, and instrumentation. He is a globally recognised leader in the field of ion channel disease, with a particular focus on rare and devastating neurodevelopmental disorders affecting infants and young children.
In 2015 he was admitted to the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS). Steve is passionate about consumer engagement and public outreach and regularly participates in genetic epilepsy family forums and public lectures.
Career highlights
Past roles
- Director of The Florey
Other highlights
- Steve has attracted over $50 million in research support, including $14 million as Chief Investigator on an NHMRC Program Grant
- Steve holds over 10 patents
- Steve has published extensively and has an h-index of 55
- Steve is the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of US based biotechs, RogCon Inc and Praxis Precision Medicines, companies pioneering breakthroughs in epileptic and neurological as well as psychiatric disorders
Research projects
- Intracellular modulation of sodium channels in severe epilepsy: molecular mechanisms and therapeutic implications
- Elucidating the calcium control of maxi-K potassium channels in neurodevelopmental disorders
- Structure-function relationships of pathogenic sodium channel variants and their correlations with clinical phenotypes
- In-vivo optical characterisation of epileptic microcircuits
- Functional characterisation of epilepsy-causing mutations
