Levon Michael Khachigian (born 6 March 1964 in
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
, Lebanon)
is an Australian medical research scientist infamous for research misconduct in vascular cell and molecular biology.
He is a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.
The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
.
Khachigian is known for his studies in the area of transcriptional control and for translating basic discoveries into potential novel therapeutics. He is the inventor of the experimental drug
Dz13, which may help treat a range of common diseases or complications including
skin cancer
Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the Human skin, skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells (biology), cells that have the ability to invade or metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. It occurs when skin cells grow ...
, post-angioplasty
restenosis
Restenosis is the recurrence of stenosis, a narrowing of a blood vessel, leading to restricted blood flow. Restenosis usually pertains to an artery or other large blood vessel that has become narrowed, received treatment to clear the blockage, and ...
,
macular degeneration
Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred vision, blurred or vision loss, no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no sym ...
and
asthma
Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...
.
Early life and education
Khachigian was born to
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
parents who served as
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
missionaries in the Middle East
and migrated to Australia at age 18 months. He was raised in
Naremburn, New South Wales
Naremburn is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Naremburn is located 6 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby.
History
The suburb ...
, Australia,
and attended Naremburn Public School and later
Crows Nest Boys' High School.
Khachigian obtained a
B.Sc.
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
with
first-class honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...
in biochemistry in 1986 and
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in growth factor biochemistry and cell biology in 1993 from the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.
The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
. He performed doctoral research at the School of Medicine,
St George Hospital (Sydney)
The St George Hospital and Community Health Service is a tertiary referral hospital, originally a district general hospital, located in Kogarah, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the South East Sydney Lo ...
, Division of Biomolecular Engineering,
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications.
CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...
and Department of Haematology,
Prince of Wales Hospital (Sydney)
The Prince of Wales Hospital is a 440-bed major public teaching hospital located in Sydney's eastern suburb of Randwick, providing a full range of hospital services to the people of New South Wales, Australia. The hospital has strong ties to th ...
. He obtained a
D.Sc.
A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world.
Africa
Algeria and Morocco
In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...
in vascular biology and transcriptional control in 2004 from the University of New South Wales.
Research
Khachigian is a vascular biologist with a strong focus on "bench to bedside"
translational research
Translational research (also called translation research, translational science, or, when the context is clear, simply translation) is research aimed at translating (converting) results in basic research into results that directly benefit humans ...
. His research has centered mainly on interrogating the roles of immediate-early genes (such as
Egr1
EGR-1 (Early growth response protein 1) or NGFI-A (nerve growth factor-induced protein A) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''EGR1'' gene.
EGR-1 is a mammalian transcription factor. It was also named Krox-24, TIS8, and ZENK. It was or ...
and
c-Jun
Transcription factor Jun is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''JUN'' gene. c-Jun, in combination with protein c-Fos, forms the AP-1 early response transcription factor. It was first identified as the Fos-binding protein p39 and only l ...
) as molecular switches in the pathogenesis of disease. He and his collaborators have uncovered regulatory networks underpinning waves of transcriptional change in cellular activation in a range of single gene and systems-based approaches. Khachigian has developed a range of interventional approaches to target key regulatory genes for the development of novel therapeutics, particularly catalytic DNA.
Khachigian invented
Dz13, a molecule that targets the transcription factor
c-Jun
Transcription factor Jun is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''JUN'' gene. c-Jun, in combination with protein c-Fos, forms the AP-1 early response transcription factor. It was first identified as the Fos-binding protein p39 and only l ...
, implicated in a range of common proliferative, occlusive and inflammatory diseases. In 1999 Khachigian reported the first use of catalytic DNA as new experimental drugs in an animal model of any kind. In 2013 he reported the first clinical use of catalytic DNA in human subjects. This was later followed by numerous other independent, some multi-center, clinical trials evaluating DNAzymes in humans, including DNAzymes targeting EBV-LMP1 in patients with nasopharyngeal cancer and DNAzymes targeting another nuclear transcription factor
GATA3
GATA3 is a transcription factor that in humans is encoded by the ''GATA3'' gene. Studies in animal models and humans indicate that it controls the expression of a wide range of biologically and clinically important genes.
The GATA3 transcription ...
in patients with allergic asthma demonstrating DNAzyme efficacy and safety. Targeted catalytic DNA-based molecular therapy may represent a novel, effective and less invasive therapeutic approach in humans.
Career
After obtaining his
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
and with the support of a CJ Martin Research Fellowship from the
National Health and Medical Research Council
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the main statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for medical research. It was the eighth largest research funding body in the world in 2016, and NHMRC-funded res ...
of Australia and
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...
, Khachigian studied vascular biology and transcriptional control with Professor Tucker Collins at
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH or The Brigham) is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two ...
,
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
, Boston, US. On returning to Australia in 1996 he established the Transcription Laboratory within the Centre for Vascular Research, Faculty of Medicine at the
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.
The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
.
[ He has been supported by an NHMRC RD Wright Fellowship, Principal Research Fellowship, Senior Principal Research Fellowship and the Australia Fellowship.] In 2004 Khachigian was appointed Professor in Medicine and in 2009 appointed Director of the Centre for Vascular Research, succeeding its Foundation Director Scientia Professor Colin Chesterman AO.
Service
Khachigian has a strong record of service to international and national scientific societies and has been at the helm of numerous international conferences in vascular biology, drug design and discovery, and interdisciplinary health and medical research, including the International Vascular Biology Meeting and Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis. He has served as president of the Australian Society for Medical Research and president of the Australian Vascular Biology Society. He is a member of the Faculty of 1000.
Awards
Khachigian has received numerous prestigious national and international awards including the Commonwealth Health Minister's Award for Excellence in Health and Medical Research, GlaxoSmithKline Award for Research Excellence, 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 commemo ...
from the 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 ...
, Khwarizmi International Award
The Khwarizmi International Award is a research award given annually by the President of Iran. The awardees, 10 senior researchers and 10 young researchers, are selected by the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST). It ...
for Science and Technology, and 3 separate Eureka Prize
The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organisations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion ...
s from the Australian Museum
The Australian Museum, originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney, William Street, Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, New South Wales. It is the oldest natural ...
for scientific research, medical research and international scientific collaboration.
Investigations
The University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949.
The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...
investigated matters involving Khachigian in accordance with the ''Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research''. Khachigian maintained there was no wrongdoing and a trial involving Dz13 was put on hold “to err on the side of caution”. Six research articles co-authored by Khachigian have been retracted and one corrected. None of the independent external expert panels of inquiry or investigations conducted under the Australian Code made any finding of research misconduct on the part of Khachigian, and they concluded that breaches arose from genuine error or honest oversight. In 2017, a fifth independent external expert panel, set up following the Australian Research Integrity Committee’s review of all previous independent investigations by external experts, came to the same conclusion that there was no finding of research misconduct. This decision was discussed in a news article by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in October 2019. Some members of the panels have expressed concerns about the handling of the investigations.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khachigian, Levon
Australian biochemists
Australian medical researchers
Lebanese people of Armenian descent
Australian people of Armenian descent
Scientists from Sydney
University of New South Wales alumni
Academic staff of the University of New South Wales
1964 births
Living people
Scientists from Beirut
Armenian biochemists