Dr Rachel Okolicsanyi
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Biography
Dr Okolicsanyi undertook her studies at the University of Queensland completing a Bachelor of Science (2001) and a Master of Molecular Biology (2003). She undertook a reseach project at the Australian Genome Research Facility (2003-2005) investigating aspects of single cell prenatal diagnostics employing forensic DNA fingerprinting techniques. Moving to the UK, Dr Okolicsanyi joined a research project into the genetic basis of childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research, University of Newcastle, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (2005-2008). Returning home, she joined an investigation into the genetics of Alcoholism in the School of Biomedical Sciences, Griffith University (2008-2010). Her PhD project instigated a field change, switching from genetics to cell biology. The project (2011-2015) examined Mesenchymal Stem Cells as Mediators of the Neuronal Cell Niche. Dr Okolicsanyi was awarded a prestegious NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowship (2016) which investigated The Role of Proteoglycans in Neurodegeneration. Following the completion of this Fellowship in 2023, Dr Okolicsanyi continues to work for the Centre of Genomics and Personalised Health and is an Associate Investigator with the Centre for Biomedical Technologies. She has been awarded over $830 000 in competitive funding and is currently co/supervising 5 PhD students and 1 MPhil student.Personal details
Positions
- Visiting Fellow
Faculty of Health,
School of Biomedical Sciences
Keywords
Heparin Sulfate Proteoglycans, Adult human neurogenesis, Alzheimer's disease, Neurodegeneration, Human stem cells
Research field
Biochemistry and cell biology, Genetics, Neurosciences
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- PhD (Queensland University of Technology)
Professional memberships and associations
Matrix Biology Society for Australia and New Zealand
Australian and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology
Publications
- Gyimesi, M., Okolicsanyi, R. & Haupt, L. (2024). Beyond amyloid and tau: rethinking Alzheimer's disease through less explored avenues. Open Biology, 14(6), Article 240035. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/250425
- Petersen, S., Okolicsanyi, R. & Haupt, L. (2024). Exploring Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans as Mediators of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Neurogenesis. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, 44, Article 30. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/247908
- Nguyen, D., Okolicsanyi, R. & Haupt, L. (2024). Heparan sulfate proteoglycans: Mediators of cellular and molecular Alzheimer's disease pathogenic factors via tunnelling nanotubes? Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, 129, Article 103936. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/250410
- Okolicsanyi, R., Oikari, L., Yu, C. & Haupt, L. (2021). Proteoglycans, Neurogenesis and Stem Cell Differentiation. In M. Gotte & K. Forsberg-Nilsson (Eds.), Proteoglycans in Stem Cells: From Development to Cancer (pp. 111–152). Springer. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/250374
- Peall, I., Okolicsanyi, R., Griffiths, L. & Haupt, L. (2021). Three-Dimensional Human Neural Stem Cell Models to Mimic Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans and the Neural Niche. Seminars in Thrombosis and Hemostasis, 47(3), 308–315. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/210403
- Oikari, L., Yu, C., Okolicsanyi, R., Avgan, N., Peall, I., Griffiths, L. & Haupt, L. (2020). HSPGs glypican-1 and glypican-4 are human neuronal proteins characteristic of different neural phenotypes. Journal of Neuroscience Research, 98(8), 1619–1645. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202174
- Okolicsanyi, R., Oikari, L., Yu, C., Griffiths, L. & Haupt, L. (2018). Heparan sulfate proteoglycans as drivers of neural progenitors derived from human mesenchymal stem cells. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 11, 1–16. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/120127
- Okolicsanyi, R., Camilleri, E., Oikari, L., Yu, C., Cool, S., van Wijnen, A., Griffiths, L. & Haupt, L. (2015). Human mesenchymal stem cells retain multilineage differentiation capacity including neural marker expression after extended in vitro expansion. PLoS One, 10(9), 1–29. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/94366
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Rachel, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Filter publications:
A complete list of publications is available at: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/r.okolicsanyi
Selected research projects
- Title
- The Role of Proteoglycans in Neurodegeneration
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 1110041
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Stem Cell Biology; Adult Stem Cells; Neural Stem Cell; Neurodegeneration; Neural Regeneration
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
HDR current supervisions
- Exploiting proteoglycans to develop targets for the repair of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Larisa Haupt - Heparan sulfate proteoglycans in 3D human mesenchymal stem cell models of neurogenesis
PhD, External Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Larisa Haupt, Distinguished Professor Lyn Griffiths - Wnt Signalling, BDNF, and PDGF in 3D Human Neural Stem Cell Models
PhD, External Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Larisa Haupt, Associate Professor Emma Bolderson
HDR completed supervisions (Research Doctorates)
- Developing 3D in vitro models of human neurogenesis to investigate heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) in neural lineage specification (2026)
- Epigenetic Regulation of Neural Progenitors: Linking Impaired Neurogenesis to Alzheimer's Disease (2026)
- Nanotubes: Bridges for Pathological Factor(s) Transport and Communication to Develop Treatment-Responsive Models of Neurodegeneration (2026)
- Functional Association of Micrornas with Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer (2021)
HDR completed supervisions (Research Masters)
Supervision topics
The supervisions listed above are only a selection.