Dr Jane Mullaney is a senior research scientist based in New Zealand, Palmerston North and co-director with Rory Mullaney for James Adair Ltd.
She has a PhD in Microbiology/Nutrition from Massey University in Palmerston North and is an associate research investigator for the Riddet Institute, Massey University, for the Higher Higher Value Nutrition National Science Challenge – ‘Infant Health’ and ‘Healthy Digestion’ programs
Since 2013 she has worked as a Research Scientist in food-based nutrition and interventions, type 1 diabetes, anticancer compounds found in brassica, and the microbiome in health and disease. She was the recipient of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2014-2017 and held this while at the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, Australia.
She has nine years of research experience since her PhD, Her BSc and MSc majors are in microbiology. For her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Queensland, she studied the role of the microbiome in type 1 diabetes which led to analyses with more complex data and omics integration. Her knowledge, expertise, and experience is multidisciplinary and covers biology applications including molecular biology, microscopy, immunology, the microbiome, analytical mass spectrometry, proteomics, and bioinformatics
In 2018-2020 she led a successful Vision Mātauranga (VM) Connect project that aimed to develop in collaboration with AgResearch Ltd and Tāi Pukenga Ltd commercial banana growing in the Tāirawhiti/East Coast region. Her team identified varieties of bananas using Genotype by Sequence analyses, developed tissue culturing to rapidly expand numbers of plants, and trained people for Tai Pukenga to carry out this technique. Her team also measured the starch composition of New Zealand grown bananas and shared many tissue culture plants across New Zealand for trialing. The work continues.
Other key projects she contributes to include two High Value Nutrition (HVN) priority programs; Healthy Digestion and Infant Immune Health investigating whether kumara and other starchy foods can improve gut comfort (healthy digestion) or when part of first weaning foods can improve infant immunity (infant immune health).
In October 2022, Jane was appointed adjunct senior researcher for Massey University and the Riddet Institute in Palmerston North New Zealand.
In January 2023 Jane will be working part time for HVN as their Vision Mātauranga (VM) leader. This role involves assisting companies which received contestable funding in tranche II of HVN’s programmes to continue to develop their business through identifying the best support approach to add value and demonstrate health benefits from food based products underpinned by science and research.
Her affiliations are Ngāti Porou/Ngāti Raukawa
Honours & Awards
- Adjunct Senior Researcher Massey University October 2022
- Jian Zhou UQDI Travel award October 2014
- Post Doctoral Fellowship Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) 3 year fellowship to study type I diabetes 2014
- Purehuroa Scholarship doctoral completion award 2012
- Massey Doctoral Scholarship, Massey University December 2009
Publications
Mullaney, Jane A., Roy, Nicole C., Halliday, Christine, et.al.(2022) Effects of early postnatal life nutritional interventions on immune-microbiome interactions in the gastrointestinal tract and implications for brain development and function. Frontiers in Microbiology 13. Impact Factor 6.064. Citations:0.
Lovell, Amy L, Eriksen, Hannah, McKeen, Starin, Mullaney, Jane., et.al. (2022). “Nourish to Flourish”: complementary feeding for a healthy infant gut microbiome—a non-randomised pilot feasibility study. Pilot and Feasibility Studies. 8(1). Impact Factor:1.555. Citations:1.
Jena, Ankita, Montoya, C, Young, Wayne, Mullaney, J., et.al. (2022). The effects of ruminant milk treatments on hippocampal, striatal, and prefrontal cortex gene expression in pigs as a model for the human infant. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16. Impact Factor 3.493. Citations:0
McKeen, S., Roy, N. C., Mullaney, J. A., et.al. (2022). Adaptation of the infant gut microbiome during the complementary feeding transition. PLoS One17(7). Impact Factor: 3.752. Citations:2.
Barnett, A. M., Mullaney, J. A.,** Hendriks, C., et al. (2021). Porcine colonoids and enteroids keep the memory of their origin during regeneration. American Journal of Physiology – Cell Physiology, 320(5), C794-C805. doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00420.2020. Impact Factor: 5.282, Citations:1.** equal first author.
Leite, J. A., Montoya, C. A., Loveday, S. M., Mullaney, J. A., et al. (2021). Heat-Treatments Affect Protease Activities and Peptide Profiles of Ruminants’ Milk. Frontiers in nutrition, 8, 67. H index (SJF):1.229, Impact Factor: 5.87, Citations:4.
Jena, A., Montoya, C. A., Mullaney, J. A., Dilger, R. N., Young, W., McNabb, W. C., & Roy, N. C. (2020). Gut-Brain Axis in the Early Postnatal Years of Life: A Developmental Perspective. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 14, 44. Citations:39
McKeen. S., Young. W., Mullaney. J., Fraser. K., McNabb. W., Roy. N. (2019). Infant Complementary Feeding of Prebiotics for the Microbiome and Immunity. Nutrients, 11(2), 364. H index (SJF):75, Impact Factor: 4.196, Citations:35
Michelini, S., Balakrishnan, B., Parolo, S., Matone, A., Mullaney, J., Young, W., Gasser, O., Priami, C., Lombardo, R., and Kussmann, M. (2018). A reverse metabolic approach to weaning: In silico identification of immune-beneficial infant gut bacteria, mining their metabolism for prebiotic feeds and sourcing these feeds in the natural product space. Microbiome 6:171. H index (SJR):36, Impact Factor: 10.903, Citations:13
Mullaney, J. A., Stephens, J. E., Geeling, B. E., & Hamilton-Williams, E. E. (2018). Early-life exposure to gut microbiota from disease protected mice does not impact disease outcome in type 1 diabetes susceptible NOD mice. Immunology And Cell Biology, 0(ja). doi: doi:10.1111/imcb.12201.
H index (SJR):92, Impact factor 2017:3.795: Citations:9
Mullaney Jane, Gavin Patrick; Loo, Dorothy; Le Cao, K; Gottlieb Petter, Hill Michelle, Zipris Danny, Hamilton-Williams Emily.(2018). Pathophysiology/Complications – Intestinal metaproteomics reveals host-microbiota interactions in subjects at risk for type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Care 2018 Oct; 41(10): 2178-2186. H index (SJR):319, Impact Factor:13.397, Citations:92
Mullaney J. A., Stephens JE, Costello M-E, Fong C, Geeling BE, Gavin PG, Wright CM, Spector TD, Brown MA, Hamilton-Williams EE. (2018). Type 1 diabetes susceptibility alleles are associated with distinct alterations in the gut microbiota. Microbiome 6:35. H index (SJR):36, Impact Factor:10.903, Citations:64
Hugenholtz, F., Mullaney, J. A., Kleerebezem, M., Smidt, H., Rosendale, D.I. (2013). Modulation of the microbial fermentation in the gut by fermentable carbohydrates [Review]. Bioactive Carbohydrates and Dietary Fibre 2(2), 133-142. doi: 10.1016/j.bcdf.2013.09.008. H index (SJR):16, citations:34
Mullaney, J. A., Ansell, J., Kelly, W. J., & Heyes, J. A. (2013). The biotransformation of glucosinolates from a bacterial perspective [Review]. CABI Reviews, 8(034). H index (SJR):21, Citations:6
Mullaney, J. A., Kelly, W., McGhie, T. K., Ansell, J., & Heyes, J. A. (2013). Lactic acid bacteria convert glucosinolates to nitriles efficiently yet differently to Enterobacteriaceae. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 61(12), 3039-3046. doi: 10.1021/jf305442j.
H index (SJR): 247,IF: 3.154; Citations: 85.
Mullaney, J. A., & Rehm, B. H. A. (2010). Design of a single-chain multi-enzyme fusion protein establishing the polyhydroxybutyrate biosynthesis pathway. Journal of Biotechnology 147(1), 31-36. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2010.02.021. H index (SJR):133, Impact Factor:2.667 , Citations:20
Grage, K., Jahns, A. C., Parlane, N., Palanisamy, R., Rasiah, I. A., Atwood (Mullaney), J. A., & Rehm, B. H. A. (2009). Bacterial Polyhydroxyalkanoate Granules: Biogenesis, Structure, and Potential Use as Nano-/Micro-Beads in Biotechnological and Biomedical Applications. Biomacromolecules 10(4), 660-669. doi: 10.1021/bm801394s. H index (SJR): 183, Impact Factor:5.914, Citations: 273
Atwood (Mullaney), J., & Rehm, B. (2009). Protein engineering towards biotechnological production of bifunctional polyester beads. Biotechnology Letters 31(1), 131-137.H index (SJR): 88, Impact Factor:1.846, Citations:37
Brockelbank (Mullaney), J., Backstrom, B. T., & Rehm, B. (2007). Recombinant Escherichia coli produces tailor-made biopolyester granules for applications in fluorescence activated cell sorting: functional display of the mouse interleukin-2 and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein. BMC Biotechnology 7(1), 3. H index (SJR): 65, Impact Factor:2.627, Citations:76
Brockelbank (Mullaney), J. A., Peters, V., & Rehm, B. H. A. (2006). Recombinant Escherichia coli Strain Produces a ZZ Domain Displaying Biopolyester Granules Suitable for Immunoglobulin G Purification. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72(11), 7394-7397. doi: 10.1128/aem.01014-06. H index (SJR): 281, Impact Factor:3.807, Citations:79