Prince Henry’s Institute

 

David Robertson

 

Appointments

• NHMRC Principal Research Fellow

• Honorary Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Monash University

• Deputy Director, Education Program of Reproductive Development, Monash University

 

Profile

Associate Professor Robertson's research centres on reproductive endocrinology. He has had a long standing career researching reproductive hormones and their role in normal and disease states in both males and females.

 

Research Interests

Associate Professor Robertson's contributions have included key discoveries in the isolation, characterisation and measurement of hormones (eg inhibin, follistatin, gonadotrophins) and in the elucidation of their roles in reproduction and cancer.

He has developed assay systems to measure various hormones and formed strategic collaborations to apply these assays to a variety of clinical situations, such as in menopausal women, women with ovarian cancer, and in men undergoing new forms of hormonal contraception.

He is particularly well known for his role in the discovery of inhibin, the development of specific assays for the different inhibin forms and for the subsequent characterisation of the roles of inhibins in reproduction. His work resulted in the development of a clinical test for the detection of ovarian cancer in the serum of postmenopausal women. This test is now being adapted for use in commercial diagnostic laboratories by a US diagnostic company.

A current focus of his work is to develop cancer markers which are useful at the earliest stages of the disease for all ovarian cancers in both pre- and post-menopausal women. Recent technological advances in the science of proteomics offers enormous scope for developing new diagnostics.

Associate Professor Robertson's team launched a major new initiative in 2005 by establishing a proteomic facility to explore new avenues to improve the diagnosis and management of various reproductive diseases and disorders, such as reproductive cancers and male and female infertility.

 

Expertise

reproductive endocrinology, hormone assays, biomolecular separation, inhibin, menopause transition, proteomics, ovarian cancer, endometriosis

 

Recent Achievements

• Optimised an ovarian cancer test which is currently under development as a diagnostic test by a US company

• In a collaborative study, described hormonal regulation of the menopause transition in women

• Explored biological activities of reproductive hormones, inhibin A and B

• 2003 - Awarded the Egon Diczfalusy Medal Lecturer in Stockholm, Sweden

 

Current Research

• Understanding Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome

• Endocrinology of menopausal transition

   

 Service to the Scientific Community

• Editor, Women's Health

 

Selected Publications

Makanji Y, Temple-Smith PD, Walton KL, Harrison CA, Robertson DM. Inhibin B is a more potent suppressor of rat FSH release than inhibin A in vitro and in vivo. Endocrinology. 2009 Jul 9. [Epub ahead of print]

Robertson DM. Screening for the early detection of ovarian cancer. Womens Health (Lond Engl). 2009 Jul;5(4):347-9.

Bell RJ, Healy DL, Robertson DM, Jobling T, Oehler MK, Edwards A, Shekleton P, Oldham J, Piessens S, Teoh M, Mamers P, Taylor N, Walker F. Ovarian status in healthy postmenopausal women: follow-up 12 months after transvaginal ultrasound. Menopause. 2009 Jul 1. [Epub ahead of print]

Walton KL, Makanji Y, Wilce MC, Chan KL, Robertson DM, Harrison CA. A common biosynthetic pathway governs the dimerization and secretion of inhibin and related transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) ligands. J Biol Chem. 2009 Apr 3;284(14):9311-20. Epub 2009 Feb 3.

Robertson DM. Anti-Müllerian hormone as a marker of ovarian reserve: an update. Womens Health (Lond Engl). 2008 Mar;4(2):137-41. Review.

Hale GE, Hughes CL, Burger HG, Robertson DM, Fraser IS. Atypical estradiol secretion and ovulation patterns caused by luteal out-of-phase (LOOP) events underlying irregular ovulatory menstrual cycles in the menopausal transition. Menopause. 2009 Jan-Feb;16(1):50-9.

Robertson DM, Hale GE, Jolley D, Fraser IS, Hughes CL, Burger HG. Interrelationships between ovarian and pituitary hormones in ovulatory menstrual cycles across reproductive age. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Jan;94(1):138-44.

Robertson DM, Hale GE, Fraser IS, Hughes CL, Burger HG. A proposed classification system for menstrual cycles in the menopause transition based on changes in serum hormone profiles. Menopause. 2008 Nov-Dec;15(6):1139-44.

Burger HG, Hale GE, Dennerstein L, Robertson DM. Cycle and hormone changes during perimenopause: the key role of ovarian function. Menopause. 2008 Jul-Aug;15(4 Pt 1):603-12.

Healy DL, Bell R, Robertson DM, Jobling T, Oehler MK, Edwards A, Shekleton P, Oldham J, Piessens S, Teoh M, Mamers P, Taylor N, Walker F. Ovarian status in healthy postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2008 Nov-Dec;15(6):1109-14

Makanji Y, Walton KL, Wilce MC, Chan KL, Robertson DM, Harrison CA. Suppression of inhibin A biological activity by alterations in the binding site for betaglycan. J Biol Chem. 2008 Jun 13;283(24):16743-51.

Burger HG, Hale GE, Robertson DM, Dennerstein L. A review of hormonal changes during the menopausal transition: focus on findings from the Melbourne Women's Midlife Health Project. Hum Reprod Update. 2007 Nov-Dec;13(6):559-65. Epub 2007 Jul 14. Review.

Hale GE, Zhao X, Hughes CL, Burger HG, Robertson DM, Fraser IS. Endocrine features of menstrual cycles in middle and late reproductive age and the menopausal transition classified according to the Staging of Reproductive Aging Workshop (STRAW) staging system. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 Aug;92(8):3060-7.

Robertson DM, Pruysers E, Jobling T. Inhibin as a diagnostic marker for ovarian cancer. Cancer Lett. 2007 Apr 28;249(1):14-7. Epub 2007 Feb 22. Review.

Makanji Y, Harrison CA, Stanton PG, Krishna R, Robertson DM. Inhibin A and B in vitro bioactivities are modified by their degree of glycosylation and their affinities to betaglycan. Endocrinology. 2007 May;148(5):2309-16