Sean Millard

Associate Professor Sean Millard is affiliated with the University of Queensland as an Affiliate Associate Professor at the Queensland Brain Institute and the Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research, both under the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. He is also an Associate Professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences.

His academic journey began with a BA in Biology from Columbia University, followed by a PhD in Molecular Biology from Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences. Postdoctoral work in Larry Zipursky's lab at UCLA established his focus on Drosophila genetics and Dscam-family proteins.

Research interests center on molecular mechanisms for brain wiring specificity, exploring how Dscam2 performs neuron-specific functions despite broad expression. His work addresses synaptic dysfunction in neurological diseases, using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. Additional projects investigate mitophagy regulation via SCFFBXL4-PPTC7 and the role of WDR62 in glial growth and microcephaly.

Recent publications highlight his contributions to mitophagy receptors, neurotransmission, and venom composition evolution. He actively supervises PhD and Master’s students in projects related to neurodevelopmental mechanisms, synaptic disease models, and cell signaling.