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Dr Ross Graham

Senior Lecturer
Diagnostic and Therapeutic Sciences

Iron Metabolism

Dr Ross Graham is a distinguished researcher with a strong foundation in Biochemistry and Physiology, having completed his undergraduate degree with Honours in Physiology at the University of Western Australia. He began his scientific career as a research assistant at Royal Perth Hospital, working under the mentorship of Professor Roger Taylor. During this time, he contributed to pioneering investigations into the role of platelet-activating factor in heart disease and septic shock. Driven by a keen interest in iron metabolism, Dr Graham returned to UWA to undertake his PhD, guided by Professors Erica Baker and Evan Morgan. Before commencing his postdoctoral journey, he collaborated with Professor Fiona Wood at Princess Margaret Hospital, playing a supporting role in the early development of the now-renowned spray-on skin technology.    

About

Dr Graham’s postdoctoral research took him to the UK, where he investigated the biochemistry and genetics of the cobalt containing vitamin B12. He later returned to Perth to take up a research fellowship at Fremantle Hospital, where his work on iron metabolism established the foundations for his long standing interest in the complex relationship between iron and lipid pathways. This area has remained central to his scientific career.

In 2012, Dr Graham joined Curtin University as a teaching and research academic. He now teaches genetics and leads a vibrant research group examining the roles of iron, other essential metals, and lipids in metabolic health. Much of his team is made up of students he first supervised as undergraduates, reflecting his commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists. Together, they continue to advance understanding of iron metabolism, lipid biology, haemochromatosis, and liver disease.

Dr Graham is an active member of several professional societies, including the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR), the Australian Collaborative Universities Biomedical Education Network (CUBEnet), the Biochemical Society in the UK, the International Bioiron Society (IBIS), and the Society of Biology in the UK.

 
  • Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR)
  • Australian Collaborative Universities Biomedical Education network (CUBEnet)
  • The Biochemical Society (UK)
  • The International Bioiron Society (IBIS)
  • The Society of Biology (UK)

Email: Ross.Graham@curtin.edu.au
Tel: +61 (08) 92667521
Curtin Staff Profile

Research Focus

The Iron Metabolism Group conducts research into the roles of iron and other metals in the function of the liver and pancreas. Our work places particular emphasis on how iron influences lipid metabolism and how these interactions contribute to conditions such as fatty liver disease and fatty pancreas disease. We also examine the involvement of iron, other metals and lipids in haemochromatosis, which is the most common genetic disorder in Australia.

Our research combines traditional biochemical, histochemical and molecular techniques with advanced spectroscopic approaches. These include X ray fluorescence microspectroscopy and infrared microspectroscopy, which we access through the Australian Synchrotron and partner facilities overseas. This combination of methods allows us to explore metal and lipid biology with precision and depth, supporting new insights into metabolic health and disease.

 

Research Team

Keea Inder-Smith

PhD Student

Gorcin Kurejsepi

PhD Student

Harrison Kewley

Student

Alex Boccardo

Student

Publications

abstract

Brain metal homeostasis is essential for healthy neurological function, and disturbed brain metal homeostasis has deleterious consequences for neurodevelopment or cognitive outcome following injury or during disease. Specific regions of the brain (e.g. the hippocampus and subregions within) are known to be enriched with transition metals (i.e. ions of iron, copper, and zinc). Neither the physiological need for localized enrichment, nor the mechanisms driving the enrichment, however, are well understood. In this study we have applied a multimodal template, incorporating elemental mapping using X-ray fluorescence microscopy with spatial transcriptomics, to help reveal a molecular basis for metallomic heterogeneity across key subregions of the hippocampus. Our results reveal that significant differences in iron, zinc, and copper enrichment are associated with regional enrichment of specific transcripts related to metal transport, metal storage, and metal regulatory proteins. In addition to providing novel biological insight into the neurometallomic profile of the hippocampus, this study also provides an important template for others to integrate transcriptomics into multimodal workflows investigating the neurometallome.

Mamsa, S. S. A., G. Ellison, J. Koehn, K. Inder-Smith, C. W. Evans, R. M. Graham, D. L. Howard, and M. J. Hackett. 2025. Correlative analysis of metallomic gene expression and metal ion content within the mouse hippocampus.Metallomics 17 (4)
ABSTRACT

Acidihalobacter aeolianus is an acidophilic, halo-tolerant organism isolated from a marine environment near a hydrothermal vent, an ecosystem whereby levels of salinity and total dissolved salts are constantly fluctuating creating ongoing cellular stresses. In order to survive these continuing changes, the synthesis of compatible solutes—also known as organic osmolytes—is suspected to occur, aiding in minimising the overall impact of environmental instability. Previous studies on A. aeolianus identified genes necessary for the accumulation of proline, betaine and ectoine, which are known to act as compatible solutes in other halophilic species. In this study, the impact of increasing the osmotic stress as well as the toxic ion effect was investigated by subjecting A. aeolianus to concentrations of NaCl and MgSO4 up to 1.27 M. Exposure to high concentrations of Cl− resulted in the increase of ectC expression in log-phase cells with a corresponding accumulation of ectoine at stationary phase. Osmotic stress via MgSO4 exposure did not trigger the same up-regulation of ectC or accumulation of ectoine, indicating the transcriptionally regulated response against osmotic stress was induced by chloride toxicity. These findings have highlighted how the adaptive properties of halo-tolerant organisms in acidic environments are likely to differ and are dependent on the initial stressor.

Corbett, M. K., L. Anstiss, A. Gifford, R. M. Graham, and E. L. J. Watkin. 2022.Examining the osmotic response of acidihalobacter aeolianus after exposure to salt stress.Microorganisms 10 (1)

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