Senior Lecturer
Dr Shafagh Waters
PhD, Australian National University
MSc (Distinction), University of Otago, New Zealand
BSc, The University of Auckland, New Zealand
Medicine & Health
Discipline of Paediatrics
Dr Water’s (nee Al Nadaf) PhD was completed in comparative genomics and epigenetics from the Australian National University in 2012 under the supervision of one of Australia’s most successful and high-profile scientist, Professor Jenny Graves (the 2017 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science winner). Dr Waters recently established (and runs) the molecular integrative Cystic Fibrosis (miCF) Research Lab at UNSW Sydney, Australia. The lab is the molecular node of the miCF Research Centre (Sydney Children’s Hospital), which was established as a collaborative effort between researchers, and clinicians. Dr Waters’ research aims to understand epithelial developmental and the role aberrant epigenetic processes play in progression and pathophysiology of disease. She has created the first Australian biobank (miCF AVATAR biobank) of stem cell derived airway and gut organoids. To date, her team have created primary stem cell models from over 200 CF patients from 11 CF clinics around Australia and Healthy donors. She has created a multi-analyte platform of in silico molecular dynamics simulations, in vitro CFTR functional assays and an array of ‘omics technologies’. Her group are applying this platform to provide personalized molecular phenotyping, drug screening, cell therapy and host-pathogen interactions for CF patients. In 2020, the latter (co-culture airway organoid with pathogens) was pivoted to COVID-19 to delineate the innate immune response to SARS-CoV2 infection.
Phone
+61 (2)93856961
E-mail
Location
The School of Medical Sciences is located in the Wallace Wurth Building (upper campus of UNSW) which is accessible via Gate 9, High Street, Randwick.
- Publications
- Awards
- Grants
- Media
- Research Activities
- Engagement
Publications
Awards
Triple I Secondment Grant Award, 2019
Triple I Secondment Grant Award, 2018
Centre for Gene Therapy, City of Hope, USA visiting scientist fellowship 2018
Genetics Society of AustralAsia 57th Annual Conference 2010, Best PhD Student Talk Award
Australian National University Vice-Chancello's HDR Travel Grant, 2010
Australian National University PhD Scholarship, 2008
Australian National University PhD Top Up Scholarship, 2008
Australian National University Summer 2006-2007 Research Scholarship
University of Otago Summer 2005-2006 Research Scholarship
Molecular Basis of Cancer and Development Satellites Meeting 2007 Best Poster Award
Grants
Scheme: Ideas Grants
Funding agency: National Health & Medical Research Council
Grant name: Towards Personalised Cystic Fibrosis Medicine: Functional characterisation and targeted therapies for rare CF Transmembrane Regulator (CFTR) mutations using patient-derived organoids
Role: CIA, UNSW Grant number: RG191611 Start date: 1 January 2020
Scheme: 2019 Gene Therapy Innovation Grant
Funding agency: Cystic Fibrosis Community Care
Grant name: Nanoparticle nanoparticle gene addition therapy in primary differentiated CF airway cell models.
Role: Sole CI, UNSW Grant number: RG194254 Start date: 1 January 2020
Scheme: Orphan Disease Center Million Dollar Bike Ride Grant Program
Funding agency: Penn Medicine Orphan Disease Centre | University of Adelaide
Grant name: Airway Cell Therapy for Cystic Fibrosis Nonsense Mutations
Role: co-CI, UNSW Grant number: RG192792 Start date: 1 June 2019
Scheme: DAVID MILLAR GILES INNOVATION GRANT
Funding agency: CYSTIC FIBROSIS AUSTRALIA
Grant name: an australian alliance of personalised lab grown mini-organs to save the rarest of them all
Role: Sole CI, UNSW Grant number: RG191126 Start date: 1 August 2019
Scheme: TSANZ VERTEX PAEDIATRIC CYSTIC FIBROSIS AWARD
Funding agency: THORACIC SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (TSANZ)
Grant name: a novel compound for cystic fibrosis therapy, targeting proteostasis network.
Role: Sole CI, UNSW Grant number: RG192793 Start date: 17 July 2019
Scheme: NSW HEALTH PAEDIATRIC PRECISION MEDICINE SHARED GRANT
Funding agency: PAEDIATRIO LIMITED
Grant name: ppm 1: centralized capacity to develop functional genomics for paediatric precision medicine
Role: CIB, UNSW Grant number: RG192369, Start date: 1 June 2019
Scheme: REBECCA L. COOPER MEDICAL PROJECT GRANTS
Funding agency: REBECCA L. COOPER MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Grant name: personalised lab grown mini-lungs to predict effect of therapies in patients with cystic fibrosis
Role: Sole CI, UNSW Grant number: RG182229, Start date: 1 January 2019
Scheme: CONTRACT RESEARCH
Funding agency: PAEDIATRIO LIMITED
Grant name: microscope funding for drug discovery and efficacy testing
Role: CIB, UNSW Grant number: RG182726, Start date: 24 October 2018
Scheme: VERTEX INNOVATION AWARDS
Funding agency: VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS (CH)
Grant name: exo-cf; exosomal biomarkers for early prediction of cystic fibrosis related diabetes (cfrd)
Role: CIA, UNSW Grant number: RG181847, Start date: 22 March 2019
Scheme: ACFRT INNOVATION GRANT
Funding agency: CYSTIC FIBROSIS RESEARCH LIMITED QLD
Grant name: Rna therapeutics: novel paradigm in mutation independent cf therapy
Role: CIA, UNSW Grant number: RG173352, Start date: 5 March 2018
Scheme: BOOSTING BUSINESS INNOVATION PROGRAM
Funding agency: NSW DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY
Grant name: in vitro investigation of the potential efficacy of thiols to treat cystic fibrosis - techvoucher
Role: CIA, UNSW Grant number: RG161881-T Start date: 23 June 2018
Scheme: CONTRACT RESEARCH
Funding agency: BIOSPECIALTIES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD
Grant name: in vitro investigation of the potential efficacy of thiols to treat cystic fibrosis
Role: CIA, UNSW Grant number: RG181150, Start date: 4 June 2018
Media
My current research has a strong translational focus in three key areas of
(i) stem cell biology involving disease modeling
(ii) prognostic and diagnostic exosomal biomarker discovery for CF related diabetes,
(iii) CFTR restoring therapeutics in patient derived organoids using a variety of delivery approaches including viral and nanoformulations.
(iv) host-pathogen interactions for viral and bacterial infections.
Memberships