Fiona Scorgie (BAppSci (Medical & Applied Biotechnology), BBiomed (Hons)) Hospital Scientist

Fiona Scorgie has been conducting laboratory based research in the Hunter Haematology Research Group at Calvary Mater Newcastle under the direction of Dr Lisa Lincz, since 2001. Her main focus in research is the measurement of telomere length by southern blotting technique in various patient cohorts including leukaemia and glioblastoma. Telomeres are the protective cap at the ends of chromosomes and are important for chromosome stability and genomic integrity. Consisting of a highly variable number of repetitive TTAGGG sequences which shorten with each cell replication, telomeres are considered a robust biomarker of cellular aging. Strongly associated with stress, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other age-related morbidities, telomere length has become an important prognostic factor.