Frederik Steyn

Dr Steyn relocated to Brisbane following confirmation and award of his Doctorate at the University of Otago (NZ), and is currently employed as a University of Queensland Postdoctoral Research Fellow and an Associate Lecturer at the School of Biomedical Sciences. Dr Steyn has pioneered innovative techniques and introduced new and exciting opportunities within the field of growth hormone (GH) research. This includes a method to measure the pulsatile secretion of GH in mice. This method will significantly contribute to the characterisation of the mechanisms that regulate GH secretion relative to normal physiology, during periods of altered energy homeostasis and the progression of disease. Dr Steyn is currently extending observations to show the critical involvement of GH in the development of obesity, the role of the melanocortin system in modulating GH secretion, the role of GH in modulating the breakdown and use of fat for energy, the impact of stress on the secretion of GH, the impact of GH on ageing, the role of GH in disease progression (specifically related to Motor Neurone Disease), and the importance of GH in timing and inducing pubertal onset.