Dr Yijun Pan
BPharm(Hons), PhD
Senior Research Fellow
Location
Parkville Campus
30 Royal Parade
Parkville Victoria 3052
Biography
Yijun is an NHMRC EL1 Fellow at the Florey. Yijun is also an Adjunct Lecturer with Tohoku University (Japan) and affiliated with Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS).
Yijun completed his Bachelor of Pharmacy degree with Monash University and was awarded Pharmacy Gold Medal (2012) for his academic merits. His PhD was completed at MIPS in December 2016. In 2018, Dr Pan was awarded a prestigious Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) fellowship to undertake a two-year research program at Tohoku University, Japan. His progression at Tohoku University is evidenced by winning the 2019 Excellent Young Researcher Award.
Yijun is currently interested in identifying biomarkers for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease, validating novel therapeutics and therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease, and precise medication use in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Yijun has received research support (cumulatively >3 million AUD) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences (Grants for Promoting International Collaboration 2021-2025), Dementia Australia (Project Grant 2019-2022), Brain Australia (Project Grant 2023), Bethlehem Griffiths Research Foundation (Project Grant 2022 & 2023), Alzheimer’s Association USA (2023-2026), and National Health and Medical Research Council (Investigator grant 2022-2027; NHMRC-AMED collaborative dementia research 2023-2026).
Career highlights
Current roles
- Team leader, Neurodegeneration and Neuropathology Group
- Manager for neuropathology proteomics platform
Past roles
- 2022 – Treasurer of the Florey Postdoctoral Association
Research projects
- Examining the interplay of mitochondrial function and lipid metabolism in glioma pathogenesis
- Exploring novel biomarkers for non-Alzheimer’s dementia
- Identifying therapeutic and preventive targets for dementia using fatty acid nutrition in the brain
- Can we achieve precise medication use in people living with Alzheimer’s disease?
- Exploring the role of fatty acid-binding proteins in microglia immunometabolism
Awards and achievements
- 2023-2026 – NHMRC-AMED Collaborative Dementia Research Grant, AU$500K
- 2023-2026 – Alzheimer’s Association (USA) Fellowship Award, US$20K
- 2023 – Bethlehem Griffiths Research Foundation, Project Grant, AU$50K
- 2023 – Brain Australia, Project Grant, AU$20K
- 2022 – Scientifix Travel Award, AU$2.5K
- 2022 – Bethlehem Griffiths Research Foundation, Project Grant, AU$50K
- 2022 -2026 – Investigator Grant, National Health and Medical Research Council, AU$650K
- 2020-2024 – Promotion of Joint International Research Japan Society of Promotion of Science (Japan), JPY19M (20KK0225)
- 2020-2022 – Project grant, Dementia Australia Research Foundation, AU$75K
- 2020 – Talent Researcher Award, Wuxi DL developer Pty Ltd
- 2019-2020 – Grant-in-aid, Japan Society of Promotion of Science (Japan), JPY1.2M (18F18713)
- 2019 – Excellent Young Researcher, Tohoku University
- 2018-2019 – Fellowship, Japan Society of Promotion of Science (Japan)
- 2015 – Editors’ Choice Award American Chemical Society
- 2014 – Student Merit Award, FIP Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress
- 2012 – Pharmacy Gold Medallist, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
- 2011 – Neil Naismith Award, Therapeutic Guideline
