Degrees

B.Adv.Sc (Honours Class I) in Molecular and Cell Biology (UNSW Sydney)

PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics (UNSW Sydney)

Research interests

My current research seeks to understand how normal rates of protein degradation are perturbed during hypoxia (low oxygen levels), and its consequences for cell function and survival under these conditions. Prior to joining the University, my PhD work investigated the molecular mechanisms underpinning metabolic feedback regulation of cholesterol synthesis proteins.

Teaching Interests

I currently supervise IB Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. During my PhD at UNSW Sydney, I developed and delivered lipid biology lectures for third-year undergraduate students and created teaching resources for laboratory, tutorial, and online workshop classes.

Awards and prizes

UNSW Sydney Dean’s Award for Outstanding PhD Theses (2023)

IUBMB-FEBS-PABMB Young Scientists’ Forum travel grant (2022)

UNSW Sydney University Medal in Molecular and Cell Biology (2019)

Publications

Coates, H.W., Capell-Hattam, I.M., Olzomer, E.M., Du, X., Farrell, R., Yang, H., Byrne, F.L., and Brown, A.J. (2023) Hypoxia truncates and constitutively activates the key cholesterol synthesis enzyme squalene monooxygenase. eLife. 11, e82843. doi: 10.7554/eLife.82843.

Coates, H.W. and Brown, A.J. (2023) Asters: rising stars in the cholesterol universe. Nat. Metab. 5, 16–18. doi: 10.1038/s42255-022-00717-3.

Coates, H.W., Capell-Hattam, I.M., and Brown, A.J. (2021) The mammalian cholesterol synthesis enzyme squalene monooxygenase is proteasomally truncated to a constitutively active form. J. Biol. Chem. 296, 100731. doi: 10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100731.

Yoshioka, H., Coates, H. W., Chua, N. K., Hashimoto, Y., Brown, A. J., and Ohgane, K. (2020) A key mammalian cholesterol synthesis enzyme, squalene monooxygenase, is allosterically stabilized by its substrate. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 117, 7150–7158. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1915923117.

Sharpe, L. J., Coates, H.W., and Brown, A.J. (2020) Post-translational control of the long and winding road to cholesterol. J. Biol. Chem. 295, 17549–17559. doi: 10.1074/jbc.REV120.010723.

Coates, H.W., Chua, N.K., and Brown, A.J. (2019) Consulting prostate cancer cohort data uncovers transcriptional control: regulation of the MARCH6 gene. Biochim. Biophys. Acta. Mol. Cell. Biol. Lipids. 1864, 1656–1668. doi: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2019.08.006.

For a full list of publications, please see ORCID.

Other interests

History, travelling, tap dancing.