Dr Gavin Knott
Monash University
Dr Gavin Knott is a Laboratory Head in the Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash University. Gavin has a long-standing interest in RNA. At Monash, his research program is focused on harnessing nature’s toolbox to discover innovative solutions that empower RNA biomedicine.
Gavin completed a Bachelor of Science with first-class Honours in Biochemistry at the University of Western Australia where he received the Faculty of Life of Physical Sciences Medal. With a prestigious Hackett postgraduate scholarship, he completed a Ph.D. at the University of Western Australia under the supervision of Prof. Charlie Bond and A/Prof. Archa Fox. In 2016, Gavin relocated to the University of California, Berkeley to work with Nobel Laureate Prof. Jennifer Doudna as a postdoctoral research fellow supported by an American Australian Association Fellowship. During a prolific 5-year postdoctoral fellowship, he made fundamental contributions to the understanding of CRISPR tools that are now used for RNA detection, DNA editing, and the control of gene editors. His work has been recognized with the Australian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Boomerang Award and the Robin Anders Young Investigator Award in 2019.
In 2021, Gavin was awarded an NHMRC Early Leadership Investigator Grant and returned to Australia to establish the Nucleic Acid Sensors lab in the Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University. With the critically enabling support of a Snow Fellowship, Gavin and his team are working to uncover the next generation of innovative molecular tools to power the global RNA biomedicine revolution.