Curriculum Vitae
Current Roles
NHMRC Emerging Leadership Investigator (EL2)
Head, Epigenetics | Indigenous Genomics
The Kids Research Institute Australia
Senior Lecturer
ANU College of Health and Medicine, Australian National University
Education
Doctor of Philosophy
2012–2015The University of Adelaide
Thesis: An integrative analysis of the human placental transcriptome.
Awarded the Dean's commendation for doctoral thesis excellence.
Bachelor of Health Science — Honours
2011The University of Adelaide
Awarded first class honours
Bachelor of Science
2008–2010Flinders University — Extended Major in Biological Sciences
Awarded the Chancellor's Commendation
Postdoctoral Work History
The Kids Research Institute Australia | Australian National University
2022–presentHead, Epigenetics | Indigenous Genomics — Black Ochre Data Labs
- • Project lead: Whole genome DNA methylation profiling of Type-2 diabetes in the prospective longitudinal PROPHECY cohort (n=1,400) for precision medicine
- • Project lead: MRFF Genomics Health Futures Mission Grant (2022-2024) Establishing epigenetic biomarkers in Indigenous Australians for precision health
- • Architect and developer: Computational systems for Indigenous data sovereignty
- • Contributor: Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics (ALIGN)
The University of Western Australia
2015–2021Postdoctoral Research Fellow — Lister Lab | Epigenetics and Genomics
View details
Project lead for stem cell epigenetics program
- • Project lead for correcting epigenetic memory in human iPS cells. See Buckberry et al. (2023) Nature
- • Developed a patent for improving human iPS cell reprogramming. See Methods of Reprogramming a Cell (2019)
- • Project lead for multi-omics time-course profiling of iPS cell reprogramming. See Knaupp & Buckberry et al. (2017) Cell Stem Cell
- • Contributor to epigenetic profiling of iPSC reprogramming published in Nature and Cell Reports
Contributor to epigenetics of brain development and function program
- • Key contributions to work on Alzheimer's disease, epigenetics of brain development, evolution of neuron-specific DNA methylation published in Cell, Nature Neuroscience, Nature Communications, Nature Ecology & Evolution, Cell Reports
- • Developer: Custom analysis pipelines for MethylC-seq, ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq, RNA-seq and data integration
- • Lecturer: Master of Biotechnology, Masters of Bioinformatics
- • Supervision: 1 Honours, 2 Masters, 1 PhD
Research Funding
NHMRC Investigator Grant, Emerging Leadership 2
Precision Medicine for Indigenous Australians: Epigenetic biomarkers to improve cardiometabolic disease prediction, management and prevention
$1,603,775
2025–2029 (CIA)
WA Child Research Fund
Kids Easy Breathing Study
$600,000
2023–2026
MRFF Early to Mid-Career Researchers
The missing heritability of human disease: discovery to implementation
$4,877,532
2022–2027
MRFF Genomics Health Futures Mission Grant
Establishing epigenetic biomarkers in Indigenous Australians for precision health
$991,506
2022–2024
WA Department of Health Merit Award
$95,000
2020 (CIA)
NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowship Grant
The Role of the neuronal methylome in natural brain ageing and the progression of Alzheimer's Disease
$584,644
2016–2019 (CIA)
Earlier funding
Robinson Research Institute Seed Funding
A multi-faceted approach to understanding the consequences of diabetes in early pregnancy
$25,000
2015–2016
Robinson Research Institute Seed Funding
Investigating new mechanisms regulating transcription in the pre-implantation embryo
$25,000
2014–2015
Awards & Recognition
Outstanding Mid-Career Researcher Award — Australian Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Society (ABACBS)
2023Finalist (1 of 4): Woodside Early Career Scientist of the Year, WA Premier's Science Awards
2020Raine Research Prize — Raine Medical Research Foundation
2019People's Choice Award — Epigenetics Consortium of South Australia
2019Ana Africh Stem Cell Research Travel Scholarship
2019Earlier awards
Best Oral Presentation by Early Career Researcher — AGTA Conference
2016NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Fellowship
2016–2019NHMRC Peter Doherty Biomedical Early Career Fellowship (relinquished)
2016–2019Y.W Loke Young Investigator Award — IFPA Conference
2015Dean's Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence
2015Promega PhD Student Award — Lorne Genome Conference
2014Healthy Development Adelaide & Channel 7 Children's Research Foundation PhD Scholarship
2012–2015The Robinson Research Institute Petrucco Honours Scholarship
2011AR Riddle Honours Grant — The University of Adelaide
2011Flinders University Chancellor's Commendation
2010, 2011Flinders University Summer Research Scholarship
2010Commonwealth of Australia Education Scholarship
2008–2010Patents
Methods of Reprogramming a Cell
Buckberry S, Liu X, Polo JM & Lister R
International patent PCT/AU2019/051296
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)Service
Australasian Genomics Technology Association (AGTA) — Executive Committee (2017–)
WA Department of Health Human Research Ethics Committee (2020–)
Grant reviewer: NHMRC, New Zealand Heart Foundation, WA Department of Health
Journal reviewer: BMC Genomics, Genome Research, Clinical Epigenetics, Molecular Therapy, Oncogenesis, Placenta, F1000 Research, Scientific Reports, among others
STEM mentor: School of Indigenous Studies, The University of Western Australia (2018)
Media & Public Engagement
A 'memory wipe' for stem cells may be the key to better therapies
The Conversation, August 2023
Re-published in 25+ outlets; translated and published in Newsweek Japan
Using Big Data to Understand the Human Brain
Pint of Science Festival, 2018
Why are males more at risk in the womb?
Australasian Science, November 2014 (cover story)
Teaching
Lecturer, Masters of Biotechnology, School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia (2019, 2020, 2021)
Lecturer, The Objectives and Applications of Genomics (SCIE4001), The University of Western Australia (2017)
Teaching Assistant, RNA-Seq analysis workshops at BioInfoSummer Conference 2013, Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute and the University of Adelaide
Teaching Assistant, Bioinformatics Workshops 2013, The University of Adelaide
Tutor and Coordinator, undergraduate biology Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS), Flinders University (2010–2011)