Wayne Iwan Lee Davies

Wayne I. L. Davies received his PhD from the University of Cambridge (King’s College), UK. Professionally linked to many internationally renowned research institutions (e.g. University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and University College London in the UK, and the University of Queensland in Australia), Wayne Davies is currently an Adjunct Research Fellow at the School of Biological Sciences and the Ocean's Institute, University of Western Australia, Australia. His main research interests broadly encompass the molecular evolution and functional characterisation of gene families, and the mechanisms that regulate gene expression. Specifically, A/Prof. Davies investigates the evolutionary origins, molecular ecology, function and spectral tuning of photopigments that mediate visual and non-visual light detection and phototransduction in chordates (i.e. from lampreys to mammals). His work also extends to determining the genotype/phenotype correlations of genetic mutations in retinal disease. Other interests include tissue-specific regulation of ABC transporters, in particular the CFTR gene, novel mechanisms of gene regulation (e.g. post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA stability and translation efficiency, and non-coding RNA networks of gene expression), and the phylogenetic relationships that exist between and across large protein superfamilies (e.g. GPCRs, ABC transporters, ion channels).