2001 ASBMB Fellowship: David Regan

Regan David Regan studied for his Bachelor of Science in the Department of Biology at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, and graduated cum laude in 1996. Shortly after his arrival in Australia in 1997, he joined the laboratory of Professor Philip Kuchel in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Sydney, with a plan to study the use of artificial neural networks in the analysis of q-space data from PGSE NMR diffusion experiments on erythrocyte suspensions. Inspired by this introduction to physical biochemistry, he spent 1998 carrying out an Honours project entitled "NMR Diffusion-Coherence in Cellular Systems: a Study involving Monte Carlo Simulations and Neural Network Analysis" culminating in the award of 1st Class Honours and the University Medal.

His fascination with the world of diffusion kindled, David began his PhD in 1999, again under the guidance of Philip Kuchel; he is currently in the third year of that endeavour, supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award. David's research interests encompass: investigation of diffusion processes and diffusion-coherence phenomena in cellular systems using high-field NMR spectroscopy; artificial neural network analysis of NMR diffusion-coherence data; development of computer-based models of molecular diffusion in cell suspensions and in solution, and their implementation in a "High Performance Computing" (HPC; parallel processing or supercomputing) environment; and NMR diffusion studies of self-associating systems including tropoelastin and N-methyl acetamide. The aim of this work is to develop methods for analysing and interpreting PGSE NMR diffusion data from cell suspensions and heterogeneous molecular systems, and to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying physical phenomena. The results of David's research, to date, can be found in a number of papers that have been published in internationally refereed scientific journals such as Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Magnetic Resonance, and European Biophysics Journal.

As one of the recipients of an ASBMB Fellowship this year, David plans to attend the 14th Conference of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance, ISMAR 2001, to be held in Rhodes, Greece in August. Following the conference, he will be travelling to Tel Aviv to attend a workshop entitled "Diffusion, NMR, and MRI: From the Single Molecule to the Entire Human Brain" to be hosted by the Department of Chemistry of Tel Aviv University.

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