Dr Dean Southwood is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Genomics and Bioinformatics Team within the Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research at Macquarie University. He completed his PhD in 2020 at Macquarie University, with a focus on developing and applying high performance computing pipelines to genomic analysis, in particular reconstructing genomes of other animals. Following his PhD, he applied his work in DNA sequencing analysis to studying neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) and Parkinson's Disease (PD). Using novel biomarkers such as cell-free DNA, and cutting-edge methods such as spatial transcriptomics, his research has been driven by trying to better understand the causes of these diseases, why patient outcomes differ even given the same diagnosis, and how to better detect these diseases earlier and with less invasive methods.

Since joining the Centre in 2023, Dr Southwood's current research has focussed on understanding the genetic basis of Motor Neuron Disease (MND), including using high-throughput data analysis and high performance computing methods to better utilise large genomic datasets in the search for novel gene mutations and candidate genes for screening.

• BMOL2201 - Biochemistry and Cell Biology
• CHEM1001/02 - Foundations of Chemical and Biomolecular Sciences 1 & 2
• MATH1010/20 - Calculus and Linear Algebra I & II
• MATH2010 - Calculus and Linear Algebra III
• MATH2020 - Vector Calculus and Complex Analysis
• PHYS1010 - Modern Mechanics
• PHYS1020 - Electric and Magnetic Interactions
• PHYS2010 - Classical and Quantum Oscillations and Waves