Dr Colin Dunstan
Senior Research Scientist
Bone Biology

Email to Dr Colin Dunstan

Bio-sketch

Dr Colin Dunstan is a respected authority on bone metabolism with over 25 years of experience in both clinical and basic research. He was part of the team that identified osteoprotegerin, RANK ligand and RANK as central regulators of bone resorption. He has extensive experience in both academic and industry (Amgen) settings. He currently serves on the editorial boards of Endocrinology and the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. Current research interests are in the local regulation of bone remodelling and in interactions between bone cell activity and cancer cells.

Education:

• BSc(Hons) in Biochemistry, University of Sydney, 1977
• MSc in Biomedical Engineering, University of New South Wales, 1980
• PhD in Medicine, University of Sydney, 1991

Research Interests:

My primary current interest in the process of cancer metastasis to bone. Research activities cover establishment of animal models of breast cancer metastasis to bone, evaluating targeting to bone, lytic processes, and tumor growth in the bone environment, and the interactions of bones cells and cancer cells that promote metastasis. I am interested in the interactions between cancer cells and the regulation of bone resorption through the cytokines RANK ligand and osteoprotegerin.

Another area of interest is the evaluation of transgenic and knockout mice to define skeletal phenotypes. I have extensively studies mice genetically modified to alter expression of osteocalcin, RANK ligand, its associated receptor RANK, and its decoy receptor osteoprotegerin.

Another area of interest is the clinical application and commercial translation of discoveries in bone biology. I have experience in regulatory requirements for preclinical and early clinical studies of new therapeutics having taken osteoprotegerin from initial in vivo studies through to successful IND filing and completion of a phase 1 trial. I have broad experience in clinical research of metabolic bone diseases as assessed by bone histomorphometry.

Publications:

For details, navigate to the individual Bone Biology Research - Publications pages (link here) and search the pages for "Dunstan".