Dr Tamara Jacoby-Alner
Phone: +61 8 6304 2118
Email: t.jacoby@ecu.edu.au
Dr Tammy Jacoby-Alner was awarded her PhD for her work investigating the immunogenicity and cross-reactivity of Australian snake venoms and developing various immunoassays to detect crude venom and individual venom components in clinically envenomed patients. Her work was conducted under the supervision of Ms Kathleen Davern of the Monoclonal Antibody Facility and Professor Simon Brown at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research. She has also completed a Masters in Forensic Science in 2009 at UWA. During the completion of her degrees, Tammy managed the Monoclonal Antibody Facility generating both monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies for researchers throughout Australia as well as for international clients. Tammy has recently been appointed a lecturer in Forensic Investigations and Biochemistry at Edith Cowan University.
Her current projects include:
- Envenoming and Antivenom Studies including the Australian Snakebite Project (ASP) - this project investigates the nature of Australian clinical envenomings. This work, using developed immunoassays, measures the concentration of circulating venom in clinical patients before and after the administration of antivenom. The work also aims to assess the efficacy of current antivenom treatments to bind and neutralize venom toxins (main focus is procoagulants) in various Australian snake venoms.
Qualifications
| 2004 | BSc - Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology/Biochemistry) with 1st Class Honours, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia |
| 2009 | MForSc - Master of Forensic Science, University of Western Australia, Australia |
| 2010 | PhD - University of Western Australia, Australia |
Research Interests
- Antibody production
- Immunoassay development
- Snake venom toxins (immunogenicity/toxicity)
- Antivenom efficacy
Top Publications
- Winter KL, Isbister GK, Jacoby T, Seymour JE, Hodgson WC. 2009. An in vivo comparison of the efficacy of CSL box jellyfish antivenom with antibodies raised against nematocyst-derived Chironex fleckeri venom. Toxicology Letters 187(2):94-98.
[NCBI PubMed Entry]
- Gan M, O'Leary MA, Brown SGA, Jacoby T, Spain D, Tankel A, Gavanagh C, Garret P, Isbister GK for the ASP Investigators. 2009. Envenoming by the rough-scaled snake (Tropidechis carinatus): a series of confirmed cases. Medical Journal of Australia 191(3):183-186.
[NCBI PubMed Entry]
- Isbister GK, O'Leary MO, Hagan J, Nichols K, Jacoby T, Davern K, Hodgson WC, Schneider JJ. 2009. Cross neutralisation of Australian brown snake, taipan and death adder venoms by monovalent antibodies. Vaccine In press.
[NCBI PubMed Entry]
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