Kathy Davern

Kathy Davern moved to Western Australia in 2005 to establish and manage the world-class WAIMR/UWA Monoclonal Antibody (MAb) Facility. This Facility currently employs 5 staff and provides antibody-related services to researchers, commercial and government groups throughout Australia as well as internationally. Kathy also holds a concurrent appointment as Research Manager of WAIMR, overseeing research and management related aspects of the Institute.

Prior to moving to WA, Kathy worked for over 20 years at The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in Melbourne, and at the Scripps Clinic Research Foundation, La Jolla, California.

During her time at WEHI, Kathy worked in the fields of immunology and immunoparasitology with Professors Sir Gustav Nossal, Graham Mitchell and Graham Brown. Kathy's research with Graham Mitchell on schistosomiasis involved a collaboration of over 15 years with Prof Edito Garcia, Wilfred Tiu and colleagues at the College of Public Health in Manila, Philippines. This work resulted in the identification of an important schistosome antigen, Sj26, which is now used throughout the world as the basis of the pGEX fusion protein vectors.

Since its inception in 2005, the WAIMR MAb Facility has attracted a wide range of projects and clients. Current projects include production of antibodies to molecules involved in cancer, diabetes and immune regulation, as well as development of novel approaches to detection and neutralisation of components in Australian snake venoms and cane toad toxin.

Qualifications

1981	BAppSc - Biochemistry and Immunology, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
1997	MSc by thesis - Department of Physiology, Melbourne University, Australia Thesis Title: "Analysis of candidate vaccine and immunodiagnostic antigens of schistosomiasis"

Research Interests

• Antibody production and immunoassays.
• Venoms and toxins.
• Parasite immunology.
• Vaccine development.

Positions Held

1980-1983	Research Assistant, Immunology and Parasitology, WEHI, Melbourne
1983-1985	Research Officer, Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, California
1986-1990	Laboratory Manager, Schistosomiasis Group, WEHI, Melbourne
1991-1997	Laboratory Manager, Malaria Research Group, WEHI, Melbourne
1992-2004	Member, RMIT University Faculty of Biomedical and Health Sciences Medical Laboratory Course Advisory Committee
1998-2004	Head, Monoclonal Antibody and Media Preparation, WEHI
2001-2004	Laboratory Services Manager, WEHI Biotechnology Centre
2002-2004	Member, Steering Committee, Manufacturing Learning Australia, Review of the Laboratory Operations (cross industry) Training Package
2005-2006	Member, UWA faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Senior Management Committee
2005-	Head, Monoclonal Antibody Facility and Research Manager, WAIMR

Top 10 Publications

1. Smith DB, Davern KM, Board PG, Tiu WU, Garcia EG, Mitchell GF. 1986. Mr 26,000 antigen of Schistosoma japonicum recognized by resistant WEHI 129/J mice is a parasite glutathione S-transferase. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 83(22):8703-7. [NCBI PubMed Entry]
2. Davern KM, Tiu WU, Samaras N, Gearing DP, Hall BE, Garcia EG, Mitchell GF. 1990. Schistosoma japonicum: monoclonal antibodies to the Mr 26,000 schistosome glutathione S-transferase (Sj26) in an assay for circulating antigen in infected individuals. Experimental Parasitology 70(3):293-304. [NCBI PubMed Entry]
3. Henkle KJ, Davern KM, Wright MD, Ramos AJ, Mitchell GF. 1990. Comparison of the cloned genes of the 26- and 28-kilodalton glutathione S-transferases of Schistosoma japonicum and Schistosoma mansoni. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 40(1):23-34. [NCBI PubMed Entry]
4. Davern KM, Wright MD, Herrmann VR, Mitchell GF. 1991. Further characterisation of the Schistosoma japonicum protein Sj23, a target antigen of an immunodiagnostic monoclonal antibody. Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology 48(1):67-75. [NCBI PubMed Entry]
5. Wright MD, Melder AM, Davern KM, Mitchell GF. 1991. Serologic reactivities of the 23-kDa integral membrane proteins of schistosomes. Journal of Immunology 147(12):4338-42. [NCBI PubMed Entry]
6. Biggs BA, Anders RF, Dillon HE, Davern KM, Martin M, Petersen C, Brown GV. 1992. Adherence of infected erythrocytes to venular endothelium selects for antigenic variants of Plasmodium falciparum. Journal of Immunology 149(6):2047-54. [NCBI PubMed Entry]
7. Reeder JC, Davern KM, Baird JK, Rogerson SJ, Brown GV. 1997. The age-specific prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum in migrants to Irian Jaya is not attributable to agglutinating antibody repertoire. Acta Tropica 65(3):163-73. [NCBI PubMed Entry]
8. Crabb BS, Cooke BM, Reeder JC, Waller RF, Caruana SR, Davern KM, Wickham ME, Brown GV, Coppel RL, Cowman AF. 1997. Targeted gene disruption shows that knobs enable malaria-infected red cells to cytoadhere under physiological shear stress. Cell 89(2):287-96. [NCBI PubMed Entry]
9. Reeder JC, Cowman AF, Davern KM, Beeson JG, Thompson JK, Rogerson SJ, Brown GV. 1999. The adhesion of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes to chondroitin sulfate A is mediated by P. falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 96(9):5198-202. [NCBI PubMed Entry]
10. Waterkeyn JG, Wickham ME, Davern KM, Cooke BM, Coppel RL, Reeder JC, Culvenor JG, Waller RF, Cowman AF. 1999. Targeted mutagenesis of Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 3 (PfEMP3) disrupts cytoadherence of malaria-infected red blood cells. EMBO Journal 19(12):2813-23. [NCBI PubMed Entry]