Katharina Gaus Explained

Katharina Gaus
Birth Date:12 July 1972
Birth Place:Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany
Death Place:Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Fields:Cell receptors and membrane biology, signal transduction and medical biochemistry
Awards:Elizabeth Blackburn Fellowship, 2013; Gottschalk Medal, 2012

Katharina Gaus (12 July 1972 – 3 March 2021)[1] was a German-Australian immunologist and molecular microscopist. She was an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow and founding head of the Cellular Membrane Biology Lab, part of the Centre for Vascular Research at the University of New South Wales.[2] Gaus used new super-resolution fluorescence microscopes[3] [4] to examine the plasma membrane within intact living cells, and study cell signalling at the level of single molecules to better understand how cells "make decisions". A key discovery of Gaus and her team was how T-cells decide to switch on the body's immune system to attack diseases.[5] [6] Her work is of importance to the development of drugs that can work with T-cells in support of the immune system.

Education

Gaus studied physics and mathematics at the University of Heidelberg, Germany and a MPhil (1996) and PhD (1999) from the Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge.[7] While there she created a biosensor to detect protein-protein interactions and a ligand library, useful as a diagnostic tool.

Career

Following her studies at the University of Cambridge, Katharina joined the Cell Biology Group at the Heart Research Institute in Sydney, Australia, led by Roger Dean and Wendy Jessup. Around 2002, she moved with Wendy Jessup's group to the Centre for Vascular Research at the University of New South Wales.

She received several fellowships, spending three months of 2001 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, working with Enrico Gratton before returning to Australia to take up an Australian Research Council postdoctoral fellowship. In 2005 Gaus was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship and spent six months at the Max Planck Institute for Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany,[8] working in the laboratory of Kai Simons.[9]

As of 2005, Gaus founded the Cellular Membrane Biology Lab, part of the Centre for Vascular Research at the University of New South Wales.[9] As of 2009 she became a senior research fellow and associate professor of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in Australia.[9]

Gaus was a member of the Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, founded in 2011, which is based at the University of New South Wales.[10] She was also deputy director and a chief investigator of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging.[11]

Gaus was active in encouraging girls to enter scientific fields.[12]

Gaus was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS) in 2015.[13]

She died on 3 March 2021 aged 48.[14] [15]

Awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Prof. Dr. Katharina Gaus . Traueranzeigen Deutschland . 23 March 2021 . de.
  2. Web site: Cellular Membrane Biology Lab. University of New South Wales. 4 August 2014.
  3. Web site: Katharina Gaus. Single Molecule Science. UNSW Australia. 21 October 2015.
  4. Web site: Working with Industry – July news from the Imaging Centre of Excellence. Science in Public. ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular. 21 October 2015. 20 July 2014.
  5. News: Cave. Peter. Super microscope discovers the secrets of immune cells. 14 August 2014. ABC Radio - AM program. June 6, 2011.
  6. News: Supermicroscope pins immune 'switch'. 21 October 2015. Australasian Science. Control Publications Pty Ltd.. June 2011. 2011.
  7. Web site: Professor Katharina Gaus. University of New South Wales. 4 August 2014.
  8. Web site: Dr. Katharina Gaus. Australian Institute of Policy and Science (AIPS). 21 October 2015.
  9. Web site: Professor Katharina Gaus. UNSW Medicine.
  10. Web site: ACN Members and Associate Members. Australian Centre for NanoMedicine (ACN). 21 October 2015.
  11. Web site: Chief Investigators. Centre for Advanced Molecular Imaging. 4 August 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140808041933/http://www.imagingcoe.org/people.html. 8 August 2014. dead.
  12. Web site: Inspiring the next generation of female scientists. Single Molecule Science. UNSW Australia. 22 May 2015.
  13. Web site: Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences - October 2015. Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences. https://web.archive.org/web/20161128134830/http://www.aahms.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/AAHMS_Fellowship_October-2015.pdf. 28 November 2016. 12 October 2018. dead.
  14. Web site: Vale Scientia Professor Katharina Gaus. 2021-03-10. NSSN. en-AU.
  15. Web site: Katharina GAUS Death Notice - Sydney, New South Wales. 2021-03-23. The Sydney Morning Herald.
  16. Web site: Katharina Gaus: Elizabeth Blackburn Fellowship – Biomedical 2013. National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Government. 4 August 2014.
  17. Web site: Gough. Myles. UNSW shines at science and engineering awards. 21 October 2015. UNSW Media Office. 4 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082607/https://connectedwaters.unsw.edu.au/news/science-technology/unsw-shines-science-and-engineering-awards. 4 March 2016. dead.
  18. Web site: Awards. NSW Government Department of Industry. 21 October 2015.
  19. Web site: Career research awards. Australian Academy of Science Awardees for 2012 . Australian Academy of Science. 14 August 2014.
  20. Web site: Cooper. Alexis. Top researchers recognised with NHMRC Excellence Awards. National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian Government. 21 October 2015. 11 June 2014.
  21. News: Wylie. Fiona. ANZSCDB Young Investigator Award : Kat Gaus, Pushing the boundaries is all in a day's work. 21 October 2015. Newsletter. Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology. June 2010. 7–8. 2010.
  22. Web site: 2005 New South Wales Award Winners. Tall Poppies. 21 October 2015.

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