Ryan Lister

Professor Ryan Lister is a leading epigenetics and genomics researcher at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and head of the Epigenetics and Genomics laboratory at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. Elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2020 and a joint Scientist of the Year in the Premier’s Science Awards, his work focuses on understanding the epigenome's role in gene regulation, cellular reprogramming, and disease. He holds the Sylvia and Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship and has pioneered techniques like whole-genome bisulfite sequencing.

• BSc in Biochemistry and Genetics (UWA, 2000)
• PhD in Plant Mitochondrial Biogenesis (UWA, 2005)
• Postdoctoral Fellow (Salk Institute, 2006-2012)

His research explores the epigenome's role in mammalian brain development, stem cell reprogramming, and plant biology. Techniques he developed, such as RNA-seq and ATAC-seq, enable high-resolution methylome mapping. Key findings include the first human DNA methylomes and epigenetic memory in iPSCs.

Recent publications focus on synthetic gene circuits in plants, CRISPRi-based DNA methylation manipulation, and comparative methylome studies. His work spans both plant and human epigenetics, with implications for agriculture and medicine.

• Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (2020)
• Joint Scientist of the Year (2020 Premier’s Science Awards)
• Sylvia and Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship

His lab collaborates on epigenome editing technologies and developmental biology. Current projects investigate DNA methylation readers, brain epigenomic diversity, and programmable gene expression systems.