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Alaina Ammit

Associate Dean (Research)
Associate Professor in Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Qualifications

B.App.Sc (UTS) MSc PhD

Contact Details

University of Sydney
Phone: +61 2 9351 6099
Fax: +61 2 9351 4391
Email: alaina.ammit@sydney.edu.au
Room 411
Badham Building A15
The University of Sydney
NSW 2006 Australia

Career Profile

Associate Professor Alaina Ammit completed her both her MSc and PhD studies through the University of Sydney, at the Human Reproduction Unit, Royal North Shore Hospital. Associate Professor Ammit was awarded the Royal North Shore Hospital New Investigator Award for her MSc work, and during her PhD was supported by an ARC Australian Postgraduate Research Award. After completing her PhD in 1996, Associate Professor Ammit joined the Respiratory Research Group at the University of Sydney and was awarded the Martin Hardie Fellowship from the NSW Asthma Foundation. In 1997, she then went on to a post-doctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA, supported by a NH&MRC CJ Martin Fellowship. Alaina returned to Australia in 2001 to continue the Australian component of her CJ Martin Fellowship at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney, and was appointed Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Chemistry (July 2002), Senior Lecturer in 2005, Associate Dean (Research) in 2006 and Associate Professor in 2009. Associate Professor Ammit is an active member of many professional organizations. In 2002, Associate Professor Ammit was elected to the Board of Directors of the Australian Society of Medical Research (ASMR), the peak professional society representing Australian Health and Medical Research. In 2004, Associate Professor Ammit was re-relected to a further two-year term in 2004, and joined the Executive of ASMR as Honorary Secretary in 2006. Associate Professor Ammit currently co-chairs the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) Cell Biology/Immunology Special Interest Group and is a member of the TSANZ Education and Research Subcommittee. Alaina received a 2006 NSW/ACT Young Tall Poppy Science Award for outstanding achievements in the area of science. In November 2007, Associate Professor Ammit will co-convene the 6th International Young Investigators Symposium on Airway Smooth Muscle and the ASMR National Scientific Conference on Tissue Remodelling.

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Research Interests

It has become increasingly clear that inflammation is a critical component of cancer and inflammatory lung diseases such as asthma. Over the past couple of years, my lab has focused on post-transcriptional regulation of genes that promote inflammation in breast cancer cells and cells responsible for the airway remodelling phenotype in asthma. In order to aid the future design of novel and efficacious anti-inflammatory strategies, we need a greater understanding of the molecular mechanism/s underlying inflammatory pathways. Our work helps increase our understanding of how RNA binding proteins bind to the 3'-untranslated region of a number of inflammatory genes to increase their messenger RNA stability. Because increased messenger RNA stability ultimately controls the amount of protein produced, post-transcriptional regulation is a critical point in gene expression. It is our hope that by focusing on post-transcriptional regulation of genes our research may elucidate novel therapeutic targets for future pharmacological intervention in inflammatory diseases.

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Publications (Past 5 years)

  1. Osei-Kumah, A, Ammit, AJ, Smith, R, Ge, Q, and Clifton, VL. Inflammatory mediator release in normal bronchial smooth muscle cells is altered by pregnant maternal and fetal plasma independent of asthma. Placenta. 2006;27(8):847-852.
  2. Henness, S, van Thoor, E, Ge, Q, Armour, CL, Hughes, JM, and Ammit, AJ. IL-17A acts via p38 MAPK to increase stability of TNF-alpha-induced IL-8 mRNA in human ASM. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2006;290(6):L1283-1290.
  3. Ammit, AJ, Moir, LM, Oliver, B, Hughes, JM, Alkhouri, H, Ge, Q, Burgess, JK, Black, JL, and Roth, M. The effect of IL-6 trans-signaling on the pro-remodeling phenotype of airway smooth muscle. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2006.
  4. Aktan, F, Henness, S, Tran, VH, Duke, CC, Roufogalis, BD, and Ammit, AJ. Gingerol metabolite and a synthetic analogue Capsarol inhibit macrophage NF-kappaB-mediated iNOS gene expression and enzyme activity. Planta Med. 2006;72(8):727-734.
  5. Krymskaya, VP, Goncharova, EA, Ammit, AJ, Lim, PN, Goncharov, DA, Eszterhas, A, and Panettieri, RA, Jr. Src is necessary and sufficient for human airway smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration. Faseb J. 2005;19(3):428-430.
  6. Jiang, X, Williams, KM, Liauw, WS, Ammit, AJ, Roufogalis, BD, Duke, CC, Day, RO, and McLachlan, AJ. Effect of ginkgo and ginger on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin in healthy subjects. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2005;59(4):425-432.
  7. Huang, CD, Ammit, AJ, Tliba, O, Kuo, HP, Penn, RB, Panettieri, RA, Jr., and Amrani, Y. G-protein-coupled receptor agonists differentially regulate basal or tumor necrosis factor-alpha-stimulated activation of interleukin-6 and RANTES in human airway smooth muscle cells. J Biomed Sci. 2005;12(5):763-776.
  8. Brightling, CE, Ammit, AJ, Kaur, D, Black, JL, Wardlaw, AJ, Hughes, JM, and Bradding, P. The CXCL10/CXCR3 axis mediates human lung mast cell migration to asthmatic airway smooth muscle. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005;171(10):1103-1108.
  9. Ammit, AJ. The role of mRNA stability in airway remodelling. Pulm Pharmacol Ther. 2005;18(6):405-415.
  10. Lalor, DJ, Truong, B, Henness, S, Blake, AE, Ge, Q, Ammit, AJ, Armour, CL, and Hughes, JM. Mechanisms of serum potentiation of GM-CSF production by human airway smooth muscle cells. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2004;287(5):L1007-1016.
  11. Jiang, X, Williams, KM, Liauw, WS, Ammit, AJ, Roufogalis, BD, Duke, CC, Day, RO, and McLachlan, AJ. Effect of St John's wort and ginseng on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of warfarin in healthy subjects. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2004;57(5):592-599.
  12. Henness, S, Johnson, CK, Ge, Q, Armour, CL, Hughes, JM, and Ammit, AJ. IL-17A augments TNF-alpha-induced IL-6 expression in airway smooth muscle by enhancing mRNA stability. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004;114(4):958-964.
  13. Nurtjahja-Tjendraputra, E, Ammit, AJ, Roufogalis, BD, Tran, VH, and Duke, CC. Effective anti-platelet and COX-1 enzyme inhibitors from pungent constituents of ginger. Thromb Res. 2003;111(4-5):259-265.
  14. McClean, MA, Matheson, MJ, McKay, K, Johnson, PR, Rynell, AC, Ammit, AJ, Black, JL, and Berend, N. Low lung volume alters contractile properties of airway smooth muscle in sheep. Eur Respir J. 2003;22(1):50-56.
  15. Ammit, AJ, and Panettieri, RA, Jr. Airway smooth muscle cell hyperplasia: a therapeutic target in airway remodeling in asthma? Prog Cell Cycle Res. 2003;5:49-57.
  16. Aktan, F, Henness, S, Roufogalis, BD, and Ammit, AJ. Gypenosides derived from Gynostemma pentaphyllum suppress NO synthesis in murine macrophages by inhibiting iNOS enzymatic activity and attenuating NF-kappaB-mediated iNOS protein expression. Nitric Oxide. 2003;8(4):235-242.
  17. Goncharova, EA, Ammit, AJ, Irani, C, Carroll, RG, Eszterhas, AJ, Panettieri, RA, and Krymskaya, VP. PI3K is required for proliferation and migration of human pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2002;283(2):L354-363.
  18. Ammit, AJ, Lazaar, AL, Irani, C, O'Neill, GM, Gordon, ND, Amrani, Y, Penn, RB, and Panettieri, RA, Jr. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced secretion of RANTES and interleukin-6 from human airway smooth muscle cells: modulation by glucocorticoids and beta-agonists. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2002;26(4):465-474.
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