Metals community celebrates a brilliant career

A symposium has been held in honour of Emeritus Professor Julian Mercer, who has retired from Deakin after 15 years with the university. The symposium was hosted by the Melbourne Biometals Group and attended by a number of Australia’s leading metal biologists.

Emeritus Professor Mercer is a recognised world leader in the molecular and cellular biology of copper, who has achieved breakthroughs in our understanding of the role of copper in a number of human diseases.

“I would like to pay tribute to Professor Mercer on a career that has provided a major contribution to Deakin University and to the field of metals biology,” said Deakin’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Lee Astheimer.

“In particular, the outstanding support he has provided to many research students and the role he has played in shaping the research culture here at Deakin will be felt for a long time.”

Professor Mercer was the former Director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology within Deakin’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences, and, with his research group, focussed on investigating how copper is regulated in the body. 

Current Director of the Centre, Professor Leigh Ackland, said that Professor Mercer had devoted virtually his whole career to the study of copper.

“While copper is essential for biological function, it is potentially highly toxic,” said Professor Ackland. “Effective homeostasis of copper is critical to the survival of all organisms. Professor Mercer’s findings are being used by researchers seeking to improve understanding and treatment of common disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, which appear to involve an imbalance of copper in the brain.”

Professor Mercer undertook many years of research on the genetically inherited disorders, Menkes and Wilson diseases, where the balance of copper is severely disrupted. A significant achievement in his career was his discovery of a way to isolate the affected gene in Menkes disease, which is a fatal genetic copper deficiency disorder. This breakthrough contributed to scientific understanding of the function of the Menkes protein in copper metabolism.

In collaboration with colleagues from the USA and Professor Ackland, Professor Mercer also investigated the physiological mechanisms involved in the uptake of copper from the diet and delivery of copper to fetuses (across the placenta) and newborns (in breast milk).

The following speakers paid tribute to Professor Mercer at the recent symposium:

• Professor Jim Camakaris, from the University of Melbourne, who paid tribute to Professor Mercer in "A life of copper exploration;"
• Professor John Bateman, from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, who spoke on "Inherited skeletal dysplasias: mutation surveillance mechanisms;"
• Professor Ashley Bush, from The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, who spoke on "Copper in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease;" and
• Professor Des Richardson, from the University of Sydney, who spoke on "Altered metal metabolism in Friedreichs ataxia and its potential influence on oxidative stress in this disorder."