Dr Hannah Vanyai is a researcher at WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Research Institute) and specialises in the regulation of chromatin – the combination of DNA and the proteins that package it neatly within cells – by chromatin modifying proteins. She is particularly captivated by how chromatin is regulated during embryonic development, when a baby progresses from a fertilised egg to a complex individual. Dr Vanyai completed her PhD at WEHI in 2014, studying the role of the chromatin modifier KAT6A in heart and face development. She then spent two years at the Perkins’ Research Institute in Perth modelling human mutations affecting brain development and function. Dr Vanyai moved to the UK to undertake post-doctoral training at the Francis Crick Research Institute in London, studying embryonic growth of the skeleton.
In 2020, Dr Vanyai returned to WEHI, where she is using various models of neurodevelopmental disorders of chromatin modifier dysfunction to identify potential therapeutic interventions.
Research
Traditionally, intellectual disability (ID) has been viewed as untreatable – a devastating prognosis for families of the 2-3% of all children who are diagnosed with ID. Recently, this view is shifting, with the increased understanding that there is a potential window for intervention in the first few years of life, whilst the brain continues to undergo important developmental processes.
Around 7.5% of all ID cases are caused by mutations in chromatin modifiers, which pack or unpack chromatin to switch genes on or off as the cell requires. The Al & Val Rosenstrauss Fellowship will support the study of lab models to assess the potential benefit of a range of early dietary and medicinal interventions on disorders of chromatin modifiers. Collaborating closely with clinicians at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital and neuroscientists at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Dr Vanyai’s work will be informed by consultation with clinicians and patient families.
The impact of this unique research program may result in previously intractable ID becoming treatable. This will lead to significantly improved developmental outcomes and quality of life for children and their families, with the improvement of a patient’s ID from moderate to mild expected to increase their chance of inclusion in mainstream schooling and workplaces.