Professor George Yeoh

Professor George Yeoh received his PhD in Biochemistry from UWA in 1972. Shortly after he was awarded the CJ Martin Overseas Research Fellow (NH&MRC) and studied at the University of Pennsylvania USA and the Beatson Institute for Cancer Research, Glasgow, Scotland. He filled many roles as Visiting Scientist at a number of prestigious universities in the USA and in Europe.

Following his return to Australia he was successful in obtaining an NHMRC Fellowship and achieved successive renewals to the level of Principal Research Fellow. He is currently the Associate Dean, Research in the UWA Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, as well as a Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology.

Qualifications

1967	BSc - Biochemistry & Physiology, University of Western Australia, Australia
1968	BSc (Hons, first class) - Biochemistry, University of Western Australia, Australia
1972	PhD - Biochemistry, University of Western Australia, Australia Thesis Title: "The Effect of Glucagon on DNA Synthesis in Neonatal Rat Liver"

Research Interests

• Regulation of liver specific genes during development using a fetal hepatocyte culture model. Particular focus on factors which initiate expression of enzymes at specific stages of development.
• Liver carcinogenesis, and changes in gene expression accompanying transformation to cancer.
• Liver stem cells and their relation to formation of hepatoma in rodent models of liver cancer.

Awards and Honours

1967	The Lady James Prize for the best student completing a BSc in Biological Sciences in The Faculty of Science at the University of Western Australia
1967	Swan Brewery Prize for the best student completing a Biochemistry major in The Faculty of Science at the University of Western Australia
1968	The Heart Foundation of Australia Vacation Scholarship
1969	Research Studentship of the Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of Western Australia
1974	The CJ Martin Overseas Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded by The National Health & Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC)

Top 10 Publications

1. Holtzer H, Biehl J, Yeoh G, Meganathan R, Kaji A. 1975. Effect of oncogenic virus on muscle differentiation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 72:4051-4055.
2. Newman SA, Birnbaum J, Yeoh GC. 1976. Loss of a non-histone chromatin protein parallels in vitro differentiation of cartilage. Nature 259:417-418.
3. Yeoh GC, Bennett FA, Oliver IT. 1979. Hepatocyte differentiation in culture. Appearance of tyrosine aminotransferase. Biochem J 180:153-160.
4. Lowes KN, Brennan BA, Yeoh GC, Olynyk JK. 1999. Oval cell numbers in human chronic liver diseases are directly related to disease severity. Am J Pathol 154:537-41.
5. Knight B, Yeoh GC, Husk KL, Ly T, Abraham LJ, Yu C, Rhim JA, Fausto N. 2000. Impaired preneoplastic changes and liver tumor formation in tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1 knockout mice. J Exp Med 192:1809-18.
6. Shelly LL, Tynan W, Schmid W, Schutz G, Yeoh GC. 1989. Hepatocyte differentiation in vitro: initiation of tyrosine aminotransferase expression in cultured fetal rat hepatocytes. J Cell Biol 109:3403-3410.
7. Akhurst B, Croager EJ, Farley-Roche CA, Ong JK, Dumble ML, Knight B, Yeoh GC. 2001. A modified choline-deficient, ethionine-supplemented diet protocol effectively induces oval cells in mouse liver. Hepatology 34:519-22.
8. Dumble ML, Croager EJ, Yeoh GCT, Quail EA. 2002. Generation and characterisation of p53 null transformed hepatic progenitor cells: oval cells give rise to hepatocellular carcinoma. Carcinogenesis 23:435-45.
9. Olynyk JK, Yeoh GC, Ramm GA, Clarke SL, Hall PM, Britton RS, Bacon BR, Tracy TF. 1998. Gadolinium chloride suppresses hepatic oval cell proliferation in rats with biliary obstruction. Am J Pathol 152:347-52.
10. Smith PG, Tee LB, Yeoh GC. 1996. Appearance of oval cells in the liver of rats after long-term exposure to ethanol. Hepatology 23:145-54.