Computational and molecular biology

To understand the roles played by retrotransposons in early mammalian embryogenesis, and in neurons

Professor Faulkner’s research seeks to understand the role of retrotransposons, a type of “mobile DNA”, in causing genetic mosaicism in early mammalian embryogenesis, and in neurons.

This variation may be a fundamental aspect of healthy brain function, and appears to change in neurological diseases, including Rett syndrome, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.

Professor Faulkner published a landmark work in Nature describing somatic retrotransposition in the human brain that was selected by the US National Institute of Mental Health as the 'joint No. 1 research advance of 2011' and has followed this work with four breakthrough articles in Cell and Molecular Cell. He is the recipient of the ASMR Queensland Premier’s Award (2009), the FEBS Anniversary Prize (2011), the Lorne Genome Millennium Science Award (2014), the Centenary Institute Lawrence Creative Prize (2014) and the Australian Academy of Science Ruth Stephens Gani Medal (2016).

Group leader

Professor Geoff Faulkner

Professor Geoff Faulkner

Group Leader, Computational and molecular biology

Professor, Neuroscience Queensland Brain Institute

  +61 7 334 66300
  g.faulkner@uq.edu.au
  UQ Researcher Profile

Better understand how the genome - our “book of life” - changes in normal and diseased brain cells.

QBI Professor awarded $1.25 million CSL Centenary Fellowship

Nanopore sequencing enables comprehensive transposable element epigenomic profiling

Ewing, Adam D., Smits, Nathan, Sanchez-Luque, Francisco J., Faivre, Jamila, Brennan, Paul M., Richardson, Sandra R., Cheetham, Seth W. and Faulkner, Geoffrey J. (2020). Nanopore sequencing enables comprehensive transposable element epigenomic profiling. Molecular Cell, 80 (5), 915-928.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.10.024
LINE-1 Evasion of epigenetic repression in humans

Sanchez-Luque, Francisco J., Kempen, Marie-Jeanne H.C., Gerdes, Patricia, Vargas-Landin, Dulce B., Richardson, Sandra R., Troskie, Robin-Lee, Jesuadian, J. Samuel, Cheetham, Seth W., Carreira, Patricia E., Salvador-Palomeque, Carmen, García-Cañadas, Marta, Muñoz-Lopez, Martin, Sanchez, Laura, Lundberg, Mischa, Macia, Angela, Heras, Sara R., Brennan, Paul M., Lister, Ryan, Garcia-Perez, Jose L., Ewing, Adam D. and Faulkner, Geoffrey J. (2019). LINE-1 Evasion of epigenetic repression in humans. Molecular Cell, 75 (3), 590-604.e12. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2019.05.024
L1 mosaicism in mammals: extent, effects, and evolution

Faulkner, Geoffrey J. and Garcia-Perez, Jose L. (2017). L1 mosaicism in mammals: extent, effects, and evolution. Trends in Genetics, 33 (11), 802-816. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2017.07.004
Reprogramming triggers endogenous L1 and Alu retrotransposition in human induced pluripotent stem cells

Klawitter, Sabine, Fuchs,Nina V., Upton, Kyle R., Munoz-Lopez, Martin, Shukla, Ruchi, Wang, Jichang, Garcia-Canadas, Marta, Lopez-Ruiz, Cesar, Gerhardt, Daniel J., Sebe, Attila, Grabundzija, Ivana, Merkert, Sylvia, Gerdes, Patricia, Pulgarin, J. Andres, Bock, Anja, Held, Ulrike, Witthuhn, Anett, Haase, Alexandra, Sarkadi, Balazs, Lower, Johannes, Wolvetang, Ernst J., Martin, Ulrich, Ivics, Zoltan, Izsvak, Zsuzsanna, Garcia-Perez, Jose L., Faulkner, Geoffrey J. and Schumann, Gerald G. (2016) Reprogramming triggers endogenous L1 and Alu retrotransposition in human induced pluripotent stem cells. Nature Communications, 7 1-14. doi:10.1038/ncomms10286
Ubiquitous L1 mosaicism in hippocampal neurons

Upton, Kyle R., Gerhardt, Daniel J., Jesuadian, J. Samuel, Richardson, Sandra R., Sanchez-Luque, Francisco J., Bodea, Gabriela O., Ewing, Adam D., Salvador-Palomeque, Carmen, van der Knaap, Mario S., Brennan, Paul M., Vanderver, Adeline and Faulkner, Geoffrey J. (2015) Ubiquitous L1 mosaicism in hippocampal neurons. Cell, 161 2: 228-239. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2015.03.026
L1 retrotransposons and somatic mosaicism in the brain

Richardson, Sandra R., Morell, Santiago and Faulkner, Geoffrey J. (2014) L1 retrotransposons and somatic mosaicism in the brain. Annual Review of Genetics, 48 1-27. doi:10.1146/annurev-genet-120213-092412
Endogenous retrotransposition activates oncogenic pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma

Shukla, Ruchi, Upton, Kyle R., Muñoz-Lopez, Martin, Gerhardt, Daniel J., Fisher, Malcolm E., Thu Nguyen, Brennan, Paul M., Baillie, J. Kenneth, Collino, Agnese, Ghisletti, Serena, Sinha, Shruti, Iannelli, Fabio, Radaelli, Enrico, Dos Santos, Alexandre, Rapoud, Delphine, Guettier, Catherine, Samuel, Didier, Natoli, Gioacchino, Carninci, Piero, Ciccarelli, Francesca D., Luis Garcia-Perez, Jose, Faivre, Jamila and Faulkner, Geoffrey J. (2013) Endogenous retrotransposition activates oncogenic pathways in hepatocellular carcinoma. Cell, 153 1: 101-111. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2013.02.032
Somatic retrotransposition alters the genetic landscape of the human brain

Baillie, J. Kenneth, Barnett, Mark W., Upton, Kyle R., Gerhardt, Daniel J., Richmond, Todd A., De Sapio, Fioravante, Brennan. Paul M., Rizzu, Patrizia, Smith, Sarah, Fell, Mark, Talbot, Richard T., Gustincich, Stefano, Freeman, Thomas C., Mattick, John S., Hume, David A., Heutink, Peter, Carninci, Piero, Jeddeloh, Jeffrey A. and Faulkner, Geoffrey J. (2011) Somatic retrotransposition alters the genetic landscape of the human brain. Nature, 479 7374: 534-537. doi:10.1038/nature10531
The regulated retrotransposon transcriptome of mammalian cells

Faulkner, Geoffrey J., Kimura, Yasumasa, Daub, Carsten O., Wani, Shivangi, Plessy, Charles, Irvine, Katharine M., Schroder, Kate, Cloonan, Nicole, Steptoe, Anita L., Lassmann, Timo, Waki, Kazunori, Hornig, Nadine, Arakawa, Takahiro, Takahashi, Hazuki, Kawai, Jun, Forrest, Alistair R. R., Suzuki, Harukazu, Hayashizaki, Yoshihide, Hume, David A., Orlando, Valerio, Grimmond, Sean M. and Carninci, Piero (2009) The regulated retrotransposon transcriptome of mammalian cells. Nature genetics, 41 5: 563-571. doi:10.1038/ng.368