Vincent Kuek
Senior Research Officer
BSc(Hons), PhD
vincent.kuek@thekids.org.au
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vincent-kuek/Vincent Kuek is a passionate childhood leukaemia researcher at The Kids Research Institute Australia. He completed his PhD study in the area of skeletal biology at the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia (UWA), where he investigated the role of bone-derived proteins that control healthy skeletal development and bone diseases.
Following the completion of his PhD, he continued working on industry-funded projects at UWA where he evaluated novel therapeutics in osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
He is currently a post-doctoral research officer within the Leukaemia Translation Research laboratory at The Kids Research Institute Australia and a visiting collaborative researcher at the School of Biomedical Sciences, UWA. His research interests include using mouse models to understand how the environment of leukaemia cells influence disease development, and assess new treatment strategies for children with leukaemia.
Published research
Murine bone-derived mesenchymal stem cells undergo molecular changes after a single passage in culture
The rarity of the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) population poses a significant challenge for MSC research. Therefore, these cells are often expanded in vitro, prior to use. However, long-term culture has been shown to alter primary MSC properties.
ADR3, a next generation i-body to human RANKL, inhibits osteoclast formation and bone resorption
Osteoporosis is a chronic skeletal condition characterized by low bone mass and deteriorated microarchitecture of bone tissue and puts tens of millions of people at high risk of fractures. New therapeutic agents like i-bodies, a class of next-generation single-domain antibodies, are needed to overcome some limitations of conventional treatments.
Education and Qualifications
- 2016 Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Western Australia.
- Thesis title: ‘The role of EGFL protein family members in angiogenesis and bone homeostasis’
- 2011 Bachelor of Science (Hons), University of Western Australia
- 2010 Bachelor of Science (Biomedical Science), University of Western Australia
Awards/Honours
- 2017 - Best Paper Award, Western Australia Chinese Scientists Association
- 2014 - Travel Award, Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society
- 2012 - Australian Postgraduate Award/University Postgraduate Award (APA/UPA), Australian Government and University of Western Australia
- 2012 - Ana Africh Faculty Medical Research Top-up Scholarship
- 2010 - Best Poster Presentation in Immunology, Combined Biological Sciences Meeting in WA