Associate Professor Ross Young

BSc (UNE), PhD (Murdoch)

Associate Professor - Department of Physiology

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Background

After completing a B.Sc. majoring in zoology at The University of New England, Ross became interested in reproductive endocrinology and traveled to Perth to undertake his PhD studies in that discipline at Murdoch University where a new veterinary school was being established.  Interacting with a dynamic group of early-career and distinguished senior academics in this stimulating environment, he further developed the unique set of research skills he had started to assemble.  It was then a natural step to move into fetal physiology where most of his research effort has been directed.

He has had continuous research support from national competitive grant schemes throughout his career and for most of this time held a research-based position.  In 1998 he transferred from the research staff to the academic stream to further develop his interests in teaching and student learning.  He has been active in research training and postgraduate education, supervising 14 BSc Honours and 11 PhD students to completion.

Current Research Interests

The Physiology of Birth

Despite several decades of research in many countries, the initiation of birth remains mysterious.  Although premature birth is common, affecting one in seven pregnancies and its results are often serious, we cannot predict with any certainty which women will deliver preterm and, once preterm labour has started, we can do little to delay or prevent it.  Research conducted in Dr Young’s laboratory has been at the forefront of a concerted international effort to overcome these problems, and is focused in several key areas:-

1. The physiology of normal labour at full term.  Before we can devise rational treatments for abnormal labour, we need to understand the normal process that initiates birth.  We have shown how the fetal brain communicates with the placenta to start labour contractions in the sheep, and continue to investigate the regulation of this system in sheep and humans.

2. The early detection of preterm labour.  Preterm labour usually isn’t identified until labour contractions have already started, and this is often too late to initiate effective treatments.  If we can identify the earliest stages of the process and intervene before the uterus starts contracting, we can improve the results for the baby and its family by starting treatments to slow the progress of labour and reduce the problems the baby experiences once it is born.  We are currently developing methods to diagnose the earliest stages of labour to allow more effective use of existing treatments, and to allow new treatments to be developed.

3. The Inhibition of Preterm Labour.  Once preterm labour is diagnosed, it may be in the best interest of the baby to turn off the labour process and let it continue to develop inside the mother, at least for a while.  To do this, we need treatments that slow or stop uterine contractions.  Current treatments can delay delivery for a day or so, but not prevent it.  The development of new, more effective treatments relies heavily on improved understanding of the birth process as described above.  We are exploiting the new knowledge we have discovered to devise more effective therapeutic strategies and have made important progress towards this end, in association with our international colleagues and drug development companies.

Key Publications

Palliser HK, Ooi GT, Hirst JJ, Rice GE, Dellios N, Escalona R, Young IR.  (2004)  Changes in the expression of prostaglandin E and F synthases at induced and spontaneous labour onset in the sheep.  Journal of Endocrinololgy, 180, 469-477.

Young IR, Chan EC, Smith R, Chrousos GP, Veldhuis JD, Canny BJ.  (2002)  Effect of antalarmin, a novel corticotropin-releasing hormone antagonist, on the dynamic function of the preterm ovine fetal hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis.  Neuroendocrinology, 76, 47-54.

Young IR.  (2001)  The comparative physiology of parturition in mammals.  Frontiers of Hormone Research, 27, 10-30.

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