Staff profile

Dr Danuta Z Loesch-Mdzewska

Honorary Senior Research Fellow

Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering

School of Psychological Science
Department of Psychology

Biological Sciences Building 2, room 116., Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

B Med Surg, MD, PhD Warsaw.

Membership of professional Associations

Australasian Human Genetics Society, Human Biology Society, Croatian Anthropol Society, Am Assoc Advanc Sci.

Area of study

Psychology

Brief Profile

 Before joining La Trobe University Dr Loesch worked as a clinical neurologist and, subsequently, as a clinician and researcher (Associate Professor) in the Department of Genetics, Institute of Neurology and Psychiatry, Warsaw, Poland, with several periods spent at the Galton Laboratory, University College London conducting research into human genetics supported by MRC, Lalor Foundation, and other grants.

In 1980 she was invited by the Australian Department of Education under the Australian-European Awards Programme to work at the RSBS, Australian National University. She joined the School of Genetics, and then Psychology, at La Trobe University in 1984, and has since been supported by the NHMRC (including the Fellowship), ARC, NIH (US), and other minor research grants.

Research interests:

- genetic and neural determinants of neuropsychological and physical manifestations in fragile X associated disorders, with emphasis on autistic behaviours in affected children, and neurodegenerative process in aged prematation carriers.

Recent Publications

Loesch DZ, Stokes, K & Huggins RM (2000). Secular trend in body height and weight of Australian children and adolescents. Am J Phys Anthrop 111:545-556.

Huggins RM, Hoang NH & Loesch DZ (2000). On the analysis of longitudinal data from twins. Genetic Epidemiol 19:345-353.

Tassone F, Hagerman RJ, Loesch DZ, Lachiewicz A, Taylor AK & Hagerman PJ (2000). Fragile X males with unmethylated full mutation trinucleotide repeat expansions have elevated levels of FMR1 messenger RNA. Am J Med Genet 94(3):232-236.

Gould EL, Loesch DZ, Martin MJ, Hagerman RJ, Armstrong SM & Huggins RM (2000). Melatonin profiles and sleep characteristics in boys with fragile X syndrome: A preliminary study. Am J Med Genet 95:307-315.

Huggins RM, Hoang NH & Loesch DZ (2000). On the analysis of longitudinal data from twins. Genet Epidemiol 19:345-353.

Huggins RM, Qian G & Loesch DZ (2001). Inference on random coefficient models for haplotype effects in dynamic mutations using MCMC. Proceedings of the Symposium on Inference for Stochastic Processes (Eds: IV Basawa, CCHeyde & RL Taylor). Springer Verlag, New York (pp.185-202).

Loesch DZ, Huggins RM & Bui MM (2002). Application of robust pedigree analysis in studies of complex genotype-phenotype relationships in fragile X syndrome. Am J Med Genet 107:136-142.

Loesch DZ, Huggins RM, Bui MM, Taylor AK & Hagerman RJ (2002). Effect of the deficits of FMRP on cognitive status of fragile X males and females assessed by robust pedigree analysis. Dev Behav Pediat 23(6) : 416-423.

Loesch DZ, Huggins RM, Bui QM, Taylor AK, Hagerman RJ (2003). Relationship of deficits of FMR1 gene specific protein with physical phenotype of fragile X males and females in pedigrees: A new perspective. Am J Med Genet 118A:127-134.

Loesch DZ, Bui QM, Grigsby J, Butler E, Epstein J, Huggins RM, Taylor AK, Hagerman RJ (2003). Effect of the fragile X status categories and the FMRP levels on executive functioning in fragile X males and females. Neuropsychology 17(4): 646-57.fragile X status categories on 1

Loesch DZ, Huggins RM, Bui QM, Taylor AK, Pratt C, Epstein J, Hagerman RJ (2003). Effect of the fragile X status categories and FMRP deficits on cognitive profiles estimated by robust pedigree analysis. Am J Med Genet 122A(1): 13-23.

Saha S, Loesch DZ, Chant D, Welham J, El-Saadi O, Fananas L, Mowry B, McGrath J (2003). Directional and fluctuating asymmetry in finger and a-b ridge counts in psychosis: a case-control study. BMC Psychiatry, 3:3-10.

Loesch DZ, Huggins RM, Hagerman RJ (2004). Phenotypic variation and FMRP levels in fragile X. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev 10(1):31-41.

Huggins RM, Loesch DZ, Qian GQ, Bui QM, Mitchell RJ, Dobson M, Taylor AK (2004). Hierarchical Bayes model for random haplotype and family effects in the transmission of fragile X. Genet Epidemiol 26(4):294-304.

Huggins RM, Loesch DZ (2004). Robust nonparametric estimation of genotype-phenotype relationships in human pedigrees. Aust N Z J Stat 46(4):601-613.

Qian G, Huggins RM, Loesch DZ (2004). Application of the Rasch model in categorical pedigree analysis using MCEM: I Binary data. Discussiones Mathematicae, Probability and Statistics 24:255-280.

Mitchell RJ, Holden JA, Cuiling Z, Curlis Y, Slater HR, Burgess T, Kirkby KC, Carmichael A, Heading KD, Loesch DZ (2005). FMR1 (fragile X) alleles in Tasmania: a screening study of the special educational needs (SEN) population. Clin Genet, 67:38-46.

Curlis Y, Cuiling Z, Holden JA, Kirkby K, Loesch DZ, Mitchell J (2005). Haplotype study of intermediate-length alleles at the fragile X (FMRI) gene: ATL1, FMRb, and microsatellite haplotypes differ from those found in common-size FMRI alleles. Hum Biol, 77:137-151.

Loesch DZ, Churchyard A, Brotchie P, Marot M, Tassone F. (2005). Evidence for, and aspectrum of, neurological involvement in fragile X premutation: FXTAS and beyond. Clin Genet 67: 412-417.

Bui QM, Huggins RM, Qian GQ, Loesch DZ (2005). Random effects models for the transmission of dynamic mutations. 2004 Proceedings of the American Statistical Association, Statistical Computing Section (CD-ROM), Alexandria, VA: American Statistical Association (in press).

Loesch DZ, Bui QM, Kelso W, Huggins RM, Slater H, Warne G, Bergman P, Rodda C, Mitchell RJ, Prior M. (2005). Effect of Turner’s syndrome and X-linked imprinting on cognitive status: analysis based on pedigree data. Brain and Development (in press).

Loesch DZ, Litewka L, Brotchie P, Huggins RM, Tassone F, Cook M. (2005). A MRI volumetric study in older carriers of a premutation in the FMR1 gene. Ann Neurol (in press).