Merlin Crossley is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

molecular biologist, university teacher and administrator. In 2016, he was appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

Early life and career

Crossley attended Mount View Primary School,

Glen Waverley, Victoria Glen Waverley is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Monash local government area. Glen Waverley recorded a population of 42,642 at the 2021 census. History T ...

, then was awarded an entrance scholarship to

Melbourne Grammar School (Pray and Work) , established = 1849 (on present site since 1858 - the celebrated date of foundation) , type = Independent, co-educational primary, single-sex boys secondary, day and boarding , denominatio ...

, where he was dux. He undertook a Bachelor of Science at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, as a resident of

Queen's College (University of Melbourne) Queen's College is a residential college affiliated with the University of Melbourne providing accommodation to more than 300 students who attend the University of Melbourne, the Victorian College of the Arts, RMIT University and Monash Universi ...

, then a doctorate at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

supported by a

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. He worked at Oxford,

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, before moving to UNSW as Dean of Science. In recognition of his service on the Trust of the

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

a new species of butterfly

bobtail squid Bobtail squid (order Sepiolida) are a group of cephalopods closely related to cuttlefish. Bobtail squid tend to have a rounder mantle than cuttlefish and have no cuttlebone. They have eight suckered arms and two tentacles and are generally qui ...

was named in his honour - '' Iridoteuthis merlini'' - Merlin's bobtail squid.

Research

Crossley is interested in

gene regulation Regulation of gene expression, or gene regulation, includes a wide range of mechanisms that are used by cells to increase or decrease the production of specific gene products (protein or RNA). Sophisticated programs of gene expression are wi ...

. He studied an unusual genetic disorder termed Haemophilia B Leyden where patients recover after puberty. The condition results from mutations that disrupt the control region of the clotting

factor IX Factor IX (or Christmas factor) () is one of the serine proteases of the coagulation system; it belongs to peptidase family S1. Deficiency of this protein causes haemophilia B. It was discovered in 1952 after a young boy named Stephen Christmas ...

gene. A

testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondar ...

-responsive element accounts for post-pubertal recovery. He has also investigated abnormal patterns of

globin The globins are a superfamily of heme-containing globular proteins, involved in binding and/or transporting oxygen. These proteins all incorporate the globin fold, a series of eight alpha helical segments. Two prominent members include myogl ...

gene expression Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product that enables it to produce end products, protein or non-coding RNA, and ultimately affect a phenotype, as the final effect. The ...

and his work on mutations associated with the lifelong expression of the foetal haemoglobin gene may help in the treatment of

thalassemia Thalassemias are inherited blood disorders characterized by decreased hemoglobin production. Symptoms depend on the type and can vary from none to severe. Often there is mild to severe anemia (low red blood cells or hemoglobin). Anemia can result ...

and

sickle cell anaemia Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of blood disorders typically inherited from a person's parents. The most common type is known as sickle cell anaemia. It results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin found in red blo ...

. He is using

CRISPR CRISPR () (an acronym for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) is a family of DNA sequences found in the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea. These sequences are derived from DNA fragments of bacte ...

-mediated gene editing to introduce beneficial mutations in cell lines as models for treating genetic diseases. He is also known for the initial identification and cloning of a significant number of genes encoding

DNA-binding proteins DNA-binding proteins are proteins that have DNA-binding domains and thus have a specific or general affinity for DNA#Base pairing, single- or double-stranded DNA. Sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins generally interact with the major groove ...

and their associated co-regulators,

KLF3 Krüppel-like factor 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KLF3'' gene. Structure KLF3, originally termed Basic Krüppel-like Factor (BKLF), was the third member of the Krüppel-like factor family of zinc finger transcription fact ...

KLF8 Krueppel-like factor 8 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KLF8'' gene. KLF8 belongs to the family of KLF protein. KLF8 is activated by KLF1 along with KLF3 while KLF3 represses KLF8. Interactions KLF8 has been shown to interact wi ...

KLF17 Krueppel-like factor 17 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''KLF17'' gene. Model organisms Model organisms have been used in the study of KLF17 function. A conditional knockout mouse line called ''Klf17tm1b(KOMP)Wtsi'' was generated ...

, EOS

IKZF4 Zinc finger protein Eos is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''IKZF4'' gene. Members of the Ikaros (ZNFN1A1; MIM 603023) family of transcription factors, which includes Eos, are expressed in lymphocytes and are implicated in the control o ...

, PEGASUS, FOG1

ZFPM1 Zinc finger protein ZFPM1 (FOG-1) also known as friend of GATA protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ZFPM1'' gene. It is a cofactor of the GATA1 transcription factor In molecular biology, a transcription factor (TF) (or s ...

, FOG2

ZFPM2 Zinc finger protein ZFPM2, i.e. zinc finger protein, FOG family member 2, but also termed ''Friend of GATA2, Friend of GATA-2, FOG2'', or ''FOG-2'', is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ZFPM2'' and in mice by the ''Zfpm2'' gene. The zi ...

, and

CTBP2 C-terminal-binding protein 2 also known as CtBP2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''CTBP2'' gene. Function The CtBPs - CtBP1 and CtBP2 in mammals - are among the best characterized transcriptional corepressors. They typically turn ...

Other activities

He has contributed numerous articles on molecular genetics and education to newspapers and media outlets such as

The Conversation (website) ''The Conversation'' is a network of not-for-profit media outlets publishing news stories and research reports online, with accompanying expert opinion and analysis. Articles are written by academics and researchers under a free Creative Co ...

and has promoted

science communication Science communication is the practice of informing, educating, raising awareness of science-related topics, and increasing the sense of wonder about scientific discoveries and arguments. Science communicators and audiences are ambiguously def ...

, for instance as a member of the judging panel for the annual anthology, ''Best Australian Science Writing''. He is Deputy Director of the

Australian Science Media Centre The Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) is an independent, not-for-profit service for the news media, giving journalists direct access to evidence-based science and expertise. The Centre's aim is to better inform public debate on the major ...

(AusSMC), has served on the Trust of the

2012-20 and the Board of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science 2010-15, and is on the Board of, and Chair of the Editorial Board of

Honours and awards

* Lemberg Medal, Australian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology - 2021 * NSW Premier's Prize for Excellence in Medical Biological Sciences - 2020 * Fellow of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

- 2014 * Fellow of

- 2013 * Julian Wells Medal, Lorne Genome Conference - 2010 *

Australian Academy of Science The Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The academy is modelled after the Royal Soci ...

Gottschalk Medal The Gottschalk Medal is awarded every year by the Australian Academy of Science to recognize outstanding research by Australian scientists under 40 years of age for research in the medical sciences conducted mainly in Australia. This medal commemor ...

- 2002 *

Sir

Edgeworth David Medal The Edgeworth David Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Society of New South Wales for distinguished contributions by a young scientist under the age of 35 years for work done predominantly in Australia or which contributed to the advancement ...

- 2000 * Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Roche Medal - 1999 *

1987 -1990

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crossley, Merlin Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Scientists from Melbourne Molecular biologists University of New South Wales faculty University of Melbourne alumni Australian molecular biologists Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Australian Rhodes Scholars Harvard University faculty University of Sydney faculty People educated at Melbourne Grammar School