معرفی
Professor Damien Keating serves as Deputy Director of the Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI) and Head of the Molecular and Cellular Physiology research group at Flinders University's College of Medicine and Public Health. With over 2000 research outputs and an h-index of 42 with 5949 citations, his work has significantly impacted the fields of cell signaling, gut physiology, and metabolic disorders.
Dr. Keating earned his PhD on July 6, 2003, following a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree. His academic journey included a postdoctoral fellowship with Prof. Thomas Jentsch at ZMNH in Hamburg, Germany, and an independent research fellowship at the Hudson Institute in Melbourne before joining Flinders University in 2006 through a BioInnovation SA Research Fellowship. In 2010, he received dual prestigious fellowships - an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (Level 1) and an ARC Future Fellowship.
Professor Keating's research focuses on the molecular mechanisms controlling cell signaling, particularly in enteroendocrine cells lining the gut wall. His work investigates how these specialized cells respond to the gut environment by releasing hormones and neurotransmitters that regulate physiological processes. This research has important implications for understanding and treating metabolic disorders (including diabetes and obesity), gut motility disorders, and mental illness. His laboratory employs transgenic mouse models, human tissue analysis, disease models, and microbiome manipulation, combined with cutting-edge techniques for measuring neurotransmitter and hormone release from single cells.
Analysis of Professor Keating's recent publications reveals a strong focus on gut microbiome interactions with hormone secretion, particularly regarding serotonin, GLP-1, and PYY. His work increasingly explores the connections between gut microbiota, metabolic health, and neurological function, with several 2023-2025 publications examining how microbial communities influence gut hormone release and metabolic regulation.
Professor Keating has received prestigious funding including:
- NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (Level 1, 2010)
- ARC Future Fellowship (2010)
- NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (Level 2, 2015)
Professor Keating has successfully supervised multiple students, including Kimberley Mackenzie (who received the Kathleen V. Russell Prize in Neurobiology), Heshan Peiris (who won the People's Choice Award at Flinders University), and Minh-Son To (who received an Australian Postgraduate Scholarship). His supervisory interests include enteroendocrine cells, cell signaling, neurotransmitters, gut-brain axis, gut hormones, mental health, and microbiome research.
As Head of the Molecular and Cellular Physiology research group and Deputy Director of FHMRI, Professor Keating leads a team investigating the fundamental mechanisms of cell signaling with applications to human health. His current Flinders Microbiome Transdisciplinary Research Initiative brings together experts in microbiome research, translational medicine, and planetary health to explore the gut microbiome's role in metabolic and neurological conditions.
