Dr. Ric Devon BSc, PhD
Emeritus Professor Anatomy and Cell Biology

B.Sc. (1975) University of Western Australia
Ph.D. (1981) University of Western Australia  

Dr. Devon is interested in the process of myelination, in which glial cells wrap nerve cell fibers in layers of insulating membrane. Efforts in his laboratory examine the metabolic requirements for myelin formation,and how this process might be disrupted by oxygen free radicals. The formation of myelin is studied using both morphological and biochemical techniques.  It is hoped that a detailed understanding of the myelination process will shed light on what may go wrong in demyelinating diseases, and whether therapies using anti-oxidant compounds might be used to prevent or reverse demyelinating pathology.