Bio21 Molecular Science & Biotechnology Institute blogs https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/blog en Bio21 Director’s Message - The Importance of Events @Bio21 - 2 July 2021 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bio21-director%E2%80%99s-message-importance-events-bio21-2-july-2021 <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="" height="150" src="/images/19103_0946_Michael%20Parker.jpg" style="float:left" width="100" />Over the past year, we have received public health messages as we entered into and then emerged from one ‘lockdown’ after the other. We’ve been told to avoid gathering in groups, in our homes and neighbourhoods, at the Institute and at the university. Social and work gatherings have become burdened with the risk of being potential ‘super-spreading’ events. Coronavirus is the party-pooper in the room and best avoided. We are to keep distance (1.5m), elbow-bump, remain at home and wear masks. We have been told to care for each other by staying apart. It’s been such a difficult message and yet this is what we’ve had to do to contain the spread of the virus.</p> <p>Fortunately, technology such as Zoom and Teams has allowed us to meet each other online. Yet, despite all the innovative online alternatives, we’ve retained the desire for in-person meetings, gatherings and events and given the ‘all-clear’ we rush to see our friends, family and colleagues. It’s only human! Some things are hard to recreate online. <br /> This year has seen a slow and cautious approach to events at Bio21. Though few, they’ve been significant: </p> <p>And so, on 16th March, the <em><strong>Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology held its launch </strong></em>event at Bio21 to celebrate the merging of the departments of Biochemistry and Molecular biology and Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Careful to adhere to university and government COVIDSafe rules, guests received individually boxed cupcakes. The excitement at the ability to gather again was palpable. Everyone seemed so glad to meet and to celebrate together as a new department. It’s hard to experience this sense of celebration and belonging online.</p> <table border="0.5" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" height="113" src="/images/2021-03-16%20Bio21%20Events_Launch%20of%20Department%20of%20Biochemistry%20and%20Pharmacology_cupcakes.jpg" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="113" src="/images/2021-03-16%20Bio21%20Events_Launch%20of%20Department%20of%20Biochemistry%20and%20Pharmacology_cupcake2.jpg" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="113" src="/images/2021-03-16%20Bio21%20Events_Launch%20of%20Department%20of%20Biochemistry%20and%20Pharmacology_Asmini.jpg" width="150" /></td> </tr></tbody></table><p><em>Launch of Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology.</em></p> <p>A month later, 16th April, we held our <em><strong>Bio21 ‘welcome back’ morning tea</strong></em>. We welcomed the O’Bryan and Leung groups to the Institute; congratulated and clapped Andrew Holmes, on receiving the Matthew Flinders Medal from the Australian Academy of Sciences and Justine Mintern on her ARC Linkage grant; caught up on Institute news and struck up a conversation as we queued for Avist café coffee and more boxed cupcakes with our Institute peers and colleagues. It was almost like old times. Our Institute is international and incredibly diverse, with staff and students from university and industry groups. When we come together in this way, it helps us to feel that we belong to Bio21. We get to know each other better and start an informal conversation that can open up a myriad of possibilities, from shared insights, to shared grants and projects. It’s what Bio21 has always been about. It’s harder to connect as an Institute community like this online. <br />  </p> <table border="0.5" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" height="100" src="/images/2021-04-16%20Bio21_MT_Avist%20Cafe.JPG" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="100" src="/images/2021-04-16%20Bio21_MT_Hamish%20Brown_Thu%20Nguyen_Prue%20Johnson.JPG" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="100" src="/images/2021-04-16%20Bio21_MT_Spencer%20Williams_Robert%20Piccoli.JPG" width="150" /></td> </tr><tr><td><img alt="" height="100" src="/images/2021-04-16%20Bio21_MT_CSL.JPG" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="100" src="/images/2021-04-16%20Bio21%20MT_O'Bryan%20Group%20enjoying%20cupcakes.JPG" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="100" src="/images/2021-04-16%20Bio21_MT_Crowd%20Shot.JPG" width="150" /></td> </tr><tr><td><img alt="" height="100" src="/images/2021-04-16%20Bio21_MT_Mike%20Duffy_Kathryn%20Tiedje_other.JPG" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="100" src="/images/2021-04-16%20Bio21_MT_Larissa%20Douhgty_Steffi%20Cheung_Craig%20Morton_Claire%20Weekely.JPG" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="100" src="/images/2021-04-16%20Bio21_MT_Intro%20O'Bryan%20Group.JPG" width="150" /></td> </tr></tbody></table><p><em>Bio21 ‘welcome back’ morning tea.</em></p> <p><em><strong>On the 13th May, forty year 10 students from Loreto Mandeville Hall visited Bio21</strong></em> to hear about what it’s like to be a scientist and the possibilities that arise from pursuing a STEM career. In our auditorium, Claire Weekly, Veronique Paris, Stefanie Portelli and Sepideh Valimehr shared their own career stories and research with the students, before showing them the Institute. During 2020 Bio21 also hosted online school engagement events, but with a few exceptions, it was challenging to engage with the high school students, who switched off their cameras during presentations and asked few questions. In person events have a different feel; there is the thrill of actually meeting ‘real’ scientists and walking into ‘real’ laboratories and facilities, rather than having a virtual experience on a screen. This could be what it takes to plant the first seeds of curiosity and spark excitement for science in a young person’s heart and mind. As amazing as virtual tours can be nowadays, somehow it only feels real, when you are actually there. </p> <table border="0.5" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" height="113" src="/images/2021-05-13%20Bio21%20School%20Visit_Loreto%20Mandeville%20Hall_Claire%20Weekly.jpg" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="113" src="/images/2021-05-13%20Bio21%20School%20Visit_Loreto%20Mandeville%20Hall_Stefanie%20Portelli.jpg" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="113" src="/images/2021-05-13%20Bio21%20School%20Visit_Loreto%20Mandeville%20Hall_Veronique%20Paris.jpg" width="150" /></td> </tr></tbody></table><p><em>Loreto Mandeville Hall year 10 students visit Bio21.</em><br />     <br /><em><strong>The French Attaché Dr Thierry Corrège visited Bio21</strong></em> on the 29th April with a particular interest in Bio21 members’ collaboration on the Grenoble Apicolipid project. I took the Attaché on a tour of Bio21’s platform facilities, where we met Marc Sani at the Magnetic Resonance Facility; Stuart Ralph (who’d spent time with the collaborators in Grenoble) and Nick Williamson in the Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility; Eric Hanssen and Isabelle Rouiller at the Ian Holmes Imaging Centre and Kathryn Tiedje and Cecelia Rios over lunch in the boardroom. Meeting Thierry Corrège in person meant we could start a conversation, share our excitement for the research and facilities at the Institute and talk about how to continue to nurture the relationship between the French science community and Bio21 and the University of Melbourne. Relationships are so important, not less so at the diplomatic level and I’m sure we left a lasting impression. </p> <table border="0.5" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" height="107" src="/images/2021-04-29%20Bio21%20Int%20Visit_French%20Attache_Krios_Landscape_Thierry%20Carrege.jpg" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="107" src="/images/2021-04-29%20Bio21%20Int%20Visit_French%20Attache_Krios_Landscape_Thierry%20Carrege_Eric%20Hanssen_Ruth%20Bishop_EM.jpg" width="150" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="107" src="/images/2021-04-29%20Bio21%20Int%20Visit_French%20Attache_Outside%20Ruth%20Bishop_Landscape_Thierry%20Carrege_Isabelle%20Rouiller_Michael%20Parker_Stuart%20Ralph_Cassie%20Gardiner.jpg" width="150" /></td> </tr></tbody></table><p><em>The French Attaché Thierry Corrège visits Bio21</em></p> <p><img alt="" height="416" src="/images/2021-05-03%20Bio21_International%20Delegations_2017%20-%202021_400x277mm.jpg" width="600" /></p> <p>As you can see from the image above, Bio21 has always been a popular destination for international academic and government delegations visiting the University. In past years we’ve hosted the Ambassador to Mexico; the Ambassador and President of Croatia (for the signing of an MOU with the University); the President of Rice University, Houston Texas, USA the Rector of the University of Padua, Portugal as well as students from the Phule Pune University’s affiliated Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, India. Closed international borders have meant few delegations are able to visit Bio21 nowadays. This has certainly been detrimental to international relations, without mentioning our vitally important international students. It’s hard to truly connect across cultures without the opportunity to meet and share experiences and knowledge in person.</p> <p>We are so fortunate to be able to use technology to keep connected with colleagues locally and globally, despite the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Also, there have been some great innovations in the event space, that make it possible to host engaging and memorable events both in person and online, such as MDHS’s incredible Dungala Kaiela Oration. Also, take a look at Eric Hanssen’s virtual tour of the Ian Holmes Imaging Centre captured using CloudPano. However, it is a reminder that the human connection that we all yearn for and that we experience at meaningful events is challenging to recreate online. </p> <p>In a ‘typical’ pre-covid year such as 2018, Bio21 hosted <em><strong>288 internal events; 168 external events; four international delegations; 10 school tours, with over 213 school students and ~650 members of the public</strong></em>, who attended Bio21’s Big Picture Seminars and the Open House weekend.</p> <p>Things have certainly changed and more often than not our atrium lies empty. Although, I am encouraged at the return of our departmental seminars and PhD orations in the auditorium. With a little help and some good planning, Bio21 may yet celebrate the opening launch of the Ruth Bishop building and the Ian Holmes Imaging Centre; the launch of the ACRF Centre for Innovative Cancer Drug Discovery and welcome the new Melbourne Medical School’s Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health in 2021, as well as some more Institute morning teas. </p> <p>As our recent lockdown in Melbourne and now in other parts of the country have shown us, the pandemic is not over and we will continue to be cautious when we gather. I yearn for a post-pandemic world where we can freely gather again, to nurture our Bio21 scientific community, in a culture where we all feel we can belong, connect and collaborate. <br />  <br /> Professor Michael Parker<br /> Director, Bio21 Institute</p> </div></div></div> Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 510 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au Director’s Message – The Chemistry of Partnerships - 19 May 2021 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/director%E2%80%99s-message-%E2%80%93-chemistry-partnerships-19-may-2021 <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><img alt="" height="375" src="/images/19103_0946_Michael%20Parker.jpg" style="float:left" width="250" /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">When we lack know-how, funds, networks, tools and space, it’s a good idea to find ways to band together, collaborate and form a partnership. A shared need and common goal brings people, labs and organisations together to form strategic partnerships. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">In the past week, I attended the launch of the Victorian State Government’s Report: “</span><a href="https://djpr.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/1988532/Creating-a-Healthy-Future-Report.pdf" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Creating A Healthy Future</a><span style="color:#3b3b3b">”. It demonstrated the impact of strategic investment in the health and biomedical sector. The Bio21 story featured as its first case study and clearly shows how Bio21 owes its existence to partnerships. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><b><i><span style="color:#3b3b3b">Firstly, the impressive ‘Bio21 Australia Limited’ and ‘Bio21 Cluster’ partnership</span></i></b><span style="color:#3b3b3b">: </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">“Leaders from the University of Melbourne, Melbourne Health and WEHI identified the need for greater linkages between biotechnology research, translation and commercialisation activities within Victoria.”</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">“These entities partnered with the Victorian Government to establish Bio21 Australia Limited, which expanded to become the Bio21 Cluster representing more than 21 hospitals and medical research institutions. The overall aim of the Project was to create a medically focused hub of research, development and commercialisation that would attract talent and investment from around the world.” [Source: <a href="https://djpr.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/1988532/Creating-a-Healthy-Future-Report.pdf">Creating a Healthy Future Report</a></span><a href="https://djpr.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/1988532/Creating-a-Healthy-Future-Report.pdf"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">]</span></a></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><b><i><span style="color:#3b3b3b">Secondly, in the funding of the David Penington building, which was to house the Bio21 Institute:  </span></i></b></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></i></b></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">“Victorian Government funding for the Bio21 Institute ($15 million) derived from the STI initiative* was supplemented by additional funding from the University of Melbourne ($50 million), the Atlantic Philanthropic Foundation ($30 million), the Australian Government ($9.5 million) and industry.”</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">[*The $620 million Victorian State Government’s Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) represents one of the largest investment programs in science and research capability by an Australian state government]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">Apart from Bio21, there are 10 other case studies in Lead Scientist’s, Amanda Caples, “Creating A Healthy Future” report including investment in our neighbouring institutes including WEHI, MCRI, MIPS and MCRI, as well as in research platforms and in infrastructure and pathways to translation. </span></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><b><u><span style="color:#3b3b3b">Partnering for facilities and instruments: </span></u></b></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><u><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></u></b></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">In fact, we continue to partner with researchers and medical research institutes </span><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; color:#201f1e; padding:0cm">to acquire shared facilities and instruments. In recent times, Bio21 has signed off on an agreement with WEHI to establish a joint crystallisation facility in MPC:</span> </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><b><i><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; color:#201f1e; padding:0cm">CSIRO Collaborative Crystallisation Centre (C3): </span></i></b></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; color:#201f1e; padding:0cm"><p></p></span></i></b></span></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; color:#201f1e; padding:0cm">“WEHI and Bio21 have been using the CSIRO Collaborative Crystallisation Centre (<b>C3</b>) for protein crystallisation screening services. CSIRO have indicated that C3 is moving its centre away from the Parkville Biomedical Precinct in 2021 and consequently there will no longer be a crystallisation facility located in the precinct for WEHI and the University to use. WEHI and Bio21 have agreed to partner in the establishment of a crystallisation facility to be housed in MPC for use including new drug discovery”.</span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color:#201f1e">Indeed, the C3 Facility itself was borne out of a partnership with</span></span><span style="color:black"> successful $1.9M application in 2007 via the Bio21 Cluster to the Victorian Strategic Technology Innovation Fund. The partnering organisations were WEHI (Peter Colman, Tom Garrett), Monash-MIPS (Ossama El-Kabbani), SVI (myself), Austin Research Institute (Paul Ramsland) and CSIRO (Mike Lawrence, Jose Varghese, Colin Ward). The grant was used to establish the Bio21 Nanolitre Protein Crystallisation Facility for Rational Drug Design and Therapeutic Development (subsequently named “Collaborative Crystallisation Centre” or C3 for short). So, we have come full circle with Bio21 (the Institute, not the Cluster) again establishing a crystallisation facility in the precinct in partnership with WEHI.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><b><i><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; color:#201f1e; padding:0cm">CryoEM, NMR and more…</span></i></b></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; color:#201f1e; padding:0cm"><p></p></span></i></b></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; color:#201f1e; padding:0cm">In terms of instruments, the new Titan Krios cryoEM housed in Bio21’s Ian Holmes Imaging Centre, is a joint acquisition with WEHI, MIPS and CSL; the</span><span style="color:#201f1e"> <span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0cm">Glacios cryoEM is a MIPS instrument; the ACRF has funded our newly installed 19F NMR in the Magnetic Resonance platform and there are numerous examples of partnerships that have resulted in ARC LIEF funding, UoM RIF funding across faculties and NCRIS funding for Metabolomics Australia.</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#201f1e"><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; padding:0cm"><p></p></span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"> <span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><b><u>Collaboration needs ‘chemistry’: </u></b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><b><u><p></p></u></b></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">But behind many of these strategic unions, it is the collaborative culture that provides these opportunities, that may be a less tangible, but no less valuable. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">Serendipity can play a role. The opportunity to get to know people, build ‘rapport’ and connect through a different kind of ‘chemistry’.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">We bump into someone in the tearoom, on the corridor, share an office, or chat over drinks after a seminar. We find out about their research and share some challenges we’ve been facing in the lab; we talk about the kids, the dog, the cricket and build a rapport and find out, perchance, that we share skills, knowledge, interests and networks that can help each other out in our science. That’s sometimes how things happen as well. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><b><i><span style="color:#3b3b3b">Collaboration led to Cu(ATSM):</span></i></b></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></i></b></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">“You can’t force collaboration. It’s about rapport; give and take; feedback based on trust,” says Professor Paul Donnelly, from the School of Chemistry and Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, talking about the collaboration with Kevin Barnham (formerly Bio21, now Florey) and Anthony White (Honorary, Department of Pathology, MDHS), that led to their discovery and development of the drug Cu-ATSM that is showing promise in trials as treatment against Motor Neuron Disease and Parkinson’s Disease. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">“We’ve shared ideas, resources, chemicals and compounds,” says Paul. </span><a href="https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/breakthrough-in-motor-neurone-disease-research-gives-hope" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">The seeds of this remarkable collaboration between this group of chemists, neuroscientists and clinicians were sown back in 2004</a><span style="color:#3b3b3b">, when Paul was finishing his postdoc at Oxford University and figuring out what to do next. After reading about the work of Melbourne chemist Tony Wedd on metal biology, and Kevin Barnham and Frances Separovic’s work on brain plaques and copper in Alzheimer’s Disease, he decided: “I need to go to Melbourne to work on metallobiology”.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">That same year Kevin Barnham and Tony White, who shared an office, were discussing their scientific frustrations at a lack of progress in Alzheimer’s disease.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">“This is when Tony Wedd introduced me to Paul,” recalls Kevin.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">“Within six months of arriving in Melbourne, Kevin briefed me on his work and MND, and I introduced him to a family of compounds and we haven’t looked back since,” recalls Paul.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><b><i><span style="color:#3b3b3b">A ‘CRP’ protein, a partnership and a new department:</span></i></b></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></i></b></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">Also, late last year, you may have read that </span><a href="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/directors-message-protein-project-and-new-department-21-october-2020" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">a new Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health in the Melbourne Medical School at the University of Melbourne was formed</a><span style="color:#3b3b3b">. It brings together research groups from the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and the University of Melbourne (they will have small presence at Bio21 with ~five people, where we expect them to be enthusiastic users of Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility and Melbourne Protein Characterisation). The Head of the new department is Baker Deputy Director Professor Karlheinz Peter.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">My interactions with Karlheinz started back in 2008, when he contacted me after reading a media release about my work. He was interested in my expertise as a structural biologist and as we got to know each other we soon realised that we shared a common interest: we were both fascinated by the protein ‘C-Reactive Protein’ or CRP.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">As Karlheinz Peter aptly points out, the ingredients for this partnership come down to the mutual benefits derived from shared expertise, facilities and infrastructure but also to something less tangible, but no less important: ‘chemistry’. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">At Bio21, the </span><a href="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/ascher-group" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><span style="text-decoration:none">Ascher</span></span></a><span style="color:#3b3b3b">, </span><a href="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/donnelly-group" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><span style="text-decoration:none">Donnell</span></span></a><span style="color:#3b3b3b">y and </span><a href="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/michael-parker" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><span style="text-decoration:none">Parker</span></span></a><span style="color:#3b3b3b"> groups are members of the new department. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:19px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">“Combining the expertise at the Baker Institute and the University of Melbourne through the new Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, allows us to harness all the unique talent and expertise available at both institutions. It works when the human ‘chemistry’ is right, but it also provides the environment to foster interdisciplinary collaborations, which often deliver the most disruptive scientific advances,” says Prof Karlheinz Peter.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:#3b3b3b"><p></p></span></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="color:#3b3b3b">Partnership is a theme that threads itself through all these stories. We are prepared to form partnerships when we trust and respect each other; when we can rely on each other’s commitment, goodwill and integrity. These are the building blocks of a good culture. </span><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; color:#201f1e; padding:0cm">Bio21 was founded on partnership and is aptly denoted </span><span style="color:#3b3b3b">by the three overlapping rings in our logo</span><span style="border:none windowtext 1.0pt; color:#201f1e; padding:0cm">. </span><span style="color:#3b3b3b">As an interdisciplinary research institute, collaboration is written into Bio21’s DNA. </span></span></span></span></p> <p class="css-38z03z" style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-family:Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="background:white"><span style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="color:#121212">Michael Parker<br /> Director, Bio21 Institute</span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:12pt"><span style="background:white"><span style="vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,sans-serif"><span style="color:#121212"><p></p></span></span></span></span></span></span></p> </div></div></div> Mon, 24 May 2021 04:46:46 +0000 Anonymous 507 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au Bio21 Director’s Message – What can Bio21 do for you? - 8 April 2021 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bio21-director%E2%80%99s-message-%E2%80%93-what-can-bio21-do-you-8-april-2021 <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="" height="225" src="/images/19103_0946_Michael%20Parker.jpg" width="150" /></p> <p>Six years ago, in 2015, at the Bio21 10 Year Anniversary celebration dinner, Dr Andi Horvath, University of Melbourne Media Advisor, science podcaster and former comedian moderated the evening.</p> <table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" height="133" src="/images/15232_0808.jpg" width="200" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="133" src="/images/15232_0321.jpg" width="200" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="133" src="/images/15232_0137.jpg" width="200" /></td> </tr></tbody></table><p>In a light-hearted and entertaining way, Andi mused about what the three rings in the Bio21 logo could possibly stand for and it was great fun to see her add an array of odd items into an oversized beaker, symbolising the experiment that is Bio21.</p> <p><img alt="" height="207" src="/images/Bio21-CoBRand_Primary_A4_RGB-Horizontal.png" width="400" /></p> <p>The three intersecting red rings of the Bio21 logo overlap, like a Venn diagram, and could symbolise any number of elements that make up Bio21; what it is, could be, and do for its members, the University of Melbourne and wider community. I’d like to add my own thoughts to the mix. How about:</p> <h3>Precinct – Platforms – People:</h3> <h4>Precinct:</h4> <p>With its complex of buildings within the old horse market walls, Bio21 is its own small precinct within the greater University Parkville campus, with the connected David Penington, Nancy Millis, Business Incubator, Ruth Bishop and Elizabeth Blackburn (University High School) buildings.</p> <p>The ‘Western Precinct’ (or colloquially the ‘Bio21 precinct’) sits in the heart of a vibrant Parkville ‘biomedical precinct’, surrounded by the University of Melbourne and associated research institutes and teaching hospitals:</p> <ul><li>To the East: The University of Melbourne Parkville main campus, the WEHI, Florey and Doherty institutes, the Royal Melbourne and Royal Women’s Hospitals;</li> <li>To the South: the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute within the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre;</li> <li>To the West: the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Royal Children’s Hospital</li> <li>And to the North: University High School and Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS).</li> </ul><p>Most importantly to our East and North are our neighbours – the South Parkville residents who we are regularly in contact with and who take a strong interest in our activities. It is an important role of Bio21 to maintain this valuable relationship with our residential community.</p> <p><img alt="" height="267" src="/images/8041-661.jpg" width="400" /></p> <h4>Platforms:</h4> <p>Bio21 houses a suite of powerful and complementary University research instruments in platform technology facilities dedicated to interrogating the molecular structures within biological materials and living cells.</p> <table border="0.5" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" height="300" src="/images/19081_0747_Marg%20Sheil%20Labs_Dave%20de%20Souza_portrait_Casamento_2019.jpg" width="200" /></td> <td>Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility and the University of Melbourne node of the Metabolomics Australia, Margaret Sheil Laboratories in the Nancy Millis Building:<br /> In total there are 30 mass spectrometers in the MSPF and MA facilities with capabilities including the analysis of proteins, peptides, lipids, metabolites and metals.</td> </tr><tr><td><img alt="" height="300" src="/images/19103_0332_Isabelle%20Rouiller_portrait_Casamento_2019.jpg" width="200" /></td> <td>The Ian Holmes Imaging Centre, Ruth Bishop Building:<br /> In total there are 10 transmission and scanning electron microscopes including our flagship Titan Krios.</td> </tr><tr><td><img alt="" height="300" src="/images/19081_0278_NMR%20800%20MHz_portrait_Casamento_2019.jpg" width="200" /></td> <td>Melbourne Magnetic Resonance, David Penington Building:<br /> By mid-year we will be back to 8 NMR spectrometers including our flagship 800 MHz Bruker instrument. We also have Mössbauer and EPR spectrometers.</td> </tr><tr><td><img alt="" height="300" src="/images/19103_1219_Xray%20Diffractometer_portrait_Casamento_2019.jpg" width="200" /></td> <td> <p>Melbourne Protein Characterisation, David Penington Building:<br /> Includes state-of-the-art protein interaction instruments and X-ray crystallography.</p> </td> </tr><tr><td><img alt="" height="300" src="/images/19094_1346_Jim%20Dang_landscape_Casamento_2019.jpg" width="200" /></td> <td>Systems and Computational Biology, David Penington and Nancy Millis Buildings:<br /> Including a high-performance computer cluster for analysing “big” data generated by our other platforms.</td> </tr></tbody></table><p> These platform technology facilities are highly used by Bio21 groups as well as researchers from University of Melbourne’s main campus and academic and industry research groups in the precinct and beyond.</p> <h4>People:</h4> <p>We are a passionate, diverse and international community, with ~800 members, that include Honours, Masters and PhD students; industry and academic scientists at various stages of their career; platform technology managers and their teams, with specialist knowledge of our instruments and experimental design, as well as professional support staff.</p> <p>It may come as a surprise, that together with David Keizer, Scientific Research Manager and myself, Bio21’s community is supported by a very small team of professional staff members:</p> <table border="0.5" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" height="144" src="/images/19094_0902_Michelle%20Abbott_portrait_Casamento_2019.jpg" width="96" /></td> <td>Michelle Abbott at reception, knows all the members of the community that walk through our front doors each day, providing friendly advice, assistance and access to the building, as well as providing administrative support to Bio21 leaders.</td> </tr><tr><td><img alt="" height="134" src="/images/2020-01-21-Bio21_Portrait_NM-Building_OHS-Advisor_Prue-Johnson1.jpg" width="96" /></td> <td>Prue Johnson, our OHS Advisor, works together with OHS managers in the various departments, schools and industry partners to create a safe environment for all Bio21 members across the industry and academic laboratories.</td> </tr><tr><td><img alt="" height="130" src="/images/Robert%20Piccoli.jpg" width="94" /></td> <td>Robert Piccoli, Compliance Officer, who manages our platform financial transactions. Robert is multi-skilled and ready to provide support to all areas of the Institute.</td> </tr><tr><td><img alt="" height="135" src="/images/Florienne%20Loder.jpg" width="96" /></td> <td>Florienne (Flo) Loder, our External Relations Advisor provides strategic support, in external and internal communications across a range of channels reaching diverse audiences and stakeholders. She works with other university teams, to promote our research and researchers. On the ground, she brings together the Bio21 community to celebrate Big Picture and Morning tea events and coordinates the Work Experience and City of Melbourne Open House events to engage school students and the public with our science.</td> </tr></tbody></table><p>The three intersecting rings of the Bio21 logo, could alternatively signify:</p> <p>‘Interdisciplinary – Industry – Innovation’</p> <p>or, perhaps:</p> <p>‘Collaboration – Convergence – Community’</p> <h3>Interdisciplinary – Industry – Innovation:</h3> <p>From the very outset, Bio21 was conceptualised as a truly multi- and inter-disciplinary research institute.</p> <p>The Bio21 community comprises research groups from three of the University’s STEM Faculties (Science, Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences, and Engineering) as well as industry research groups and platform technology facilities.</p> <p>Industry is a key ingredient in the mix of Bio21 community, providing expertise in the translation of research, opportunities to collaborate and pathways to scientific industry jobs:</p> <ul><li>CSL’s Global Hub for Translational Medicine is the largest group with 150 scientists and growing and is a key partner with Bio21.</li> </ul><p>To help nurture Victoria’s promising talent in the biotechnology sector, Bio21 also supports start-up companies in the incubator building:</p> <ul><li>Alterity Pharmaceuticals, developing drugs against neurodegenerative diseases;</li> <li>Circa Group, developing sustainable solvents from forestry woodchip waste;</li> <li>Gertrude Biomedical, developing drug candidates to treat cancers by regulating blood vessel growth;</li> <li>SYNthesis Research and Med Chem, developing and producing drugs using medicinal chemistry;</li> <li>Rhythm Biosciences, developing a new colorectal cancer testing kit.</li> </ul><p>It is no surprise, that this co-location of diverse groups across academia and industry fosters new ideas, or ‘Innovation’.</p> <h3>Community - Collaboration - Convergence</h3> <p>Co-location is not enough to ensure a vibrant interdisciplinary/multi-disciplinary environment. Silo walls and administrative boundaries often appear, even as we attempt to pursue a common goal.</p> <p>The antidote? Community. Community and a strong institute culture can work ‘magic’ for multi-disciplinarity.</p> <p>As we return to the Institute after the 2020 COVID-year, we relish the in-person encounters with each other. Bio21’s seminars and Institute-wide morning teas, Big Picture public lectures and involvement in the work experience programs and the City of Melbourne Open House weekend, provide opportunities to come together again. What sort of ‘magic’ am I referring to?</p> <p>‘Magic’ happens when: </p> <ul><li>a biochemist can meet a chemist (e.g. Malcolm McConville and Spencer Williams) and write a paper together;</li> <li>a geneticist speaks with a structural biologist (e.g. Phil Batterham and Michael Parker) and they collaborate on a project and co-supervise a student together;</li> <li>when chemists and biochemists team up on a grant and acquire instruments together (e.g. Gavin Reid and David Stroud)</li> <li>and an academic’s research findings lead to an industry collaboration (e.g. Paul Gleeson and CSL; Eric Reynolds and CSL).</li> </ul><p>More than a fad, ‘multi-disciplinarity’ or ‘convergence’ is a practical philosophy. Inherent in this idea is teamwork, collaboration and embracing diversity.  </p> <p>The US National Science Foundation, defines ‘Convergence’ in the following way: <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/convergence/index.jsp">https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/convergence/index.jsp</a></p> <p>“… integrating knowledge, methods, and expertise from different disciplines and forming novel frameworks to catalyze scientific discovery and innovation.”</p> <p>I have been part of the Institute community since 2006 and director since early 2017. I value the sense of belonging I experience here, as well as the connections and collaborations I’ve had across schools and departments that have led to grants, discoveries, publications and patents and I feel proud to be part of a community committed to the pursuit of science. You can read similar experiences from Andrew Holmes, Eric Reynolds and Phil Batterham in their contributions to the Director’s blog.</p> <p>I am also proud of what the Bio21 Institute community of researchers and consecutive directors have created, since the institute building was formally opened in 2005:</p> <p>Directors Dick Wettenhall, Tony Bacic, Malcolm McConville and myself have continued the ‘Bio21 Vision’ and have created whole new buildings, to house facilities, such as the Ruth Bishop’s Ian Holmes Imaging Centre, the Nancy Millis’s Margaret Sheil Laboratories and Melbourne Protein Characterisation.</p> <table border="0.5" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:500px;"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" height="89" src="/images/Wettenhall.jpg" width="133" /></td> <td><img alt="" height="89" src="/images/Bacic.jpg" width="118" /></td> <td style="width: 154px;"><img alt="" height="79" src="/images/15112_2496.jpg" width="118" /></td> <td style="width: 1px;"><img alt="" height="79" src="/images/Parker.jpg" width="118" /></td> </tr><tr><td class="rtecenter"><strong>Dick Wettenhall</strong></td> <td class="rtecenter"><strong>Tony Bacic</strong></td> <td class="rtecenter" style="width: 154px;"><strong>Malcolm McConville</strong></td> <td class="rtecenter" style="width: 1px;"><strong>Michael Parker</strong></td> </tr></tbody></table><p>Whether it be…</p> <ul><li>Precinct – Platforms – People</li> <li>Interdisciplinary – Industry – Innovation</li> <li>Collaboration – Convergence – Community</li> </ul><p>… Bio21’s Mission and Vision still rings strong:</p> <p>“The Bio21 Institute seeks to improve human health and the environment through innovation in molecular life sciences and biotechnology, driven by collaborative research and dynamic interactions with industry.”</p> <p>(P.S. in case you’re wondering, the Bio21 rings stand for: ‘University – Industry – Community’)</p> <p>  </p> </div></div></div> Tue, 04 May 2021 11:59:02 +0000 floder 505 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au Bio21 Director's Message - Dismayed on International Women's Day - 10 March 2021 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bio21-directors-message-dismayed-international-womens-day-10-march-2021 <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="" height="300" src="/images/19103_0946_Michael%20Parker.jpg" style="float:left" width="200" />On Monday we celebrated International Women’s Day. In past years Bio21 has hosted some amazing events such as the Bio21 International Women’s Day Forum, celebrating and showcasing the work of women across the Institute and last year, an event where we heard from <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/directors-blog-27-march-2020-womens-lot-improving-lets-be-more-inclusive" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bronwyn Kingwell, Senior Director, Research Therapeutic Lead, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, CSL and ARC Georgina Sweet Laureate and group leader, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Bio21, Leann Tilley</a>. These events gave us cause for optimism, providing a voice for our women, celebrating our female leaders and showing us that despite the way to go, we’d made some significant gains. We heard that in the course of people’s careers, significant change had occurred and that women in science today are increasing in number, accepted, welcomed and expected in the lab, in the lecture theatre, as lead authors and co-authors on publications and as attendees and speakers at conferences (with babies in tow).</p> <p>But the past year and even the past week have left me doubting this progress and feeling dismayed.</p> <p>Although as an Australian society we lauded Grace Tame as Australian of the year for her advocacy for women who have been sexually abused, in the following weeks, we’ve seen an avalanche of claims from young women who experienced abuse, despite being part of organisations tasked with empowering them. It’s not enough if the rest of society fosters misogynistic attitudes in young men.</p> <p>In addition, it has been extremely disappointing and enraging to see that amongst our political leaders and lawmakers, women are still silenced and experience stigma when they become victims of sexual and gendered crime.</p> <p>In the past year, in the field of science, COVID-19 has illuminated the inequalities and challenges faced by women.</p> <p>All of sudden, the worlds of home, work and school collided. Women, who predominantly carry the caring and household responsibilities have struggled, without the extra supports in place.<br /> Some of our members of the Bio21 Institute have kindly shared their personal experiences of the past year, responding to my questions as to the challenges they faced; the opportunities that have arisen for them and their thoughts on how to prevent losing hard-won gains.</p> <p><b><i>What has been the greatest challenge for you during the pandemic?</i></b></p> <p><img alt="" height="186" src="/images/image-20210311113313-1.png" style="float:left" width="124" /><b><i>A/ Professor Megan Maher, group leader, School of Chemistry:</i></b></p> <p>Like many others, I found the lock-down periods during the pandemic challenging. My youngest son has special needs and was in Year 6 in 2020. Combining home-schooling, for which he needed constant support, with work was difficult. I supported him during the school periods and then did my own work after school ended for the day. This, combined with running my laboratory remotely and converting to virtual teaching delivery meant I felt like I was working constantly (I probably was!).</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" height="189" src="/images/image-20210311113313-2.png" style="float:left" width="126" /><b><i>Professor Uta Wille, group leader, School of Chemistry:</i></b><br /><u>Personal</u>: Hoping that my daughter (the ‘girl’) would be able to adapt to an environment without social contacts with her friends from school, being able to learn online without suffering too much and being able to cope with the fact that she could not do her favourite thing for the major part of the year: horse-riding. It will be interesting to see in a couple of years how this one year (which is still ongoing in a way) has shaped the youth of the 2020s.<br /> I myself have been fine, I must say. It was pretty easy to adapt to the “wfh” lifestyle (apart from the fact that these circumstances made it difficult to separate work-hours from non-work hours, in the end my work-hours were considerably longer).<br /><u>Challenges came more from the actual work</u> – as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Science, I was directly involved in the management of the transition of “F2F” learning to virtual learning. Not only that I had to teach online myself, but it was also the many, many short-notice meetings with the faculty and the university leadership, where government policies due to the various lockdowns/easing lockdowns, had to be translated into guidelines for how we are teaching and assessing student learning.</p> <p><u>Impact on research:</u> this was huge! We are an experimental research group, and the fact that labs were closed for quite some time caused a lot of anxiety in my research students. We have tried to keep each other sane by having zoom group catch-ups every second day each week, just to check in on each other. Keeping the students motivated; trying to make them feel good despite the fact that they could not go into the lab – lack of progress wasn’t their fault but some still took it to their hearts as if it was their fault. It was really tough, even heart-breaking a times (for me), but I am proud how well my students overall emerged from the other end of the tunnel. Their resilience has been an inspiration, I must say.</p> <p><b><i>What opportunities have arisen as a result of the pandemic that help women/support gender equality?</i></b></p> <p><b><i>Megan Maher:</i></b> To be honest, I find this question very difficult to answer, since my immediate reaction is to say ’nothing’. There are quite a number of recent studies that show that the pandemic significantly impacted people with carer responsibilities (quite often women) in terms of numbers of scientific outputs, ability to maintain research momentum etc., which is a significant concern given that so much of the assessment of our research and ability to attract research funding is based on publication outputs.  On the positive side, the pandemic did prompt innovation in terms of how commonly accepted face-to-face activities, such as conferences, meetings, field work and research could be done in a different way. I hope some of these practices will remain, because many of them have the potential to lead to an improved work-life balance for all genders. </p> <p><b><i>Uta Wille: </i></b>No idea, have any opportunities arisen? Women were over-proportionally affected by the lockdown and the double-whammy of trying to work and home-schooling their kids. I can only hope that policy-makers use these facts to really bring in changes to the workplace. Allowing parents to work from home and more flexible working arrangements would be good. The office in the University (or any other ‘business’) is where computer-based work can be done.</p> <p><b><i>What do we need to do to prevent gains made in the area of gender equality in science from being lost?</i></b></p> <p><b><i>Megan Maher:</i></b> This is a significant challenge. Although it would require more resources, I feel individual approaches are required to address this, since I don’t think the pandemic affected any two people the same way. Depending on individual circumstances that include carer responsibilities, the home environment, mental health status, the presence or absence of work-based support networks, restrictions on laboratory-based research (which varied enormously across institutes and even between Departments/Schools within Bio21), some people were incredibly productive last year and others struggled. These individual circumstances need to be taken into account when supporting individuals to further their research careers. With a focus on supporting female scientific research careers, some people may need more time to reach career milestones, others may need targeted research support in terms of funding for research staff or infrastructure and some may need to be relieved of non-research related duties in order to catch up.</p> <p><img alt="" height="150" src="/images/image-20210311113313-3.png" style="float:left" width="225" /></p> <p><b><i>Dr Michelle Christie, Parker Lab</i></b><b><i>:</i></b> We have made much progress in raising awareness on gender equality in science in the past few years. Everyone (not just those in leadership and funding bodies) needs to practise respect in our everyday interactions with people. Equality will then become our culture and will be more sustainable.</p> <p>Michelle’s reminder that ‘respect’ lies at the heart of these endeavours is important. This applies to our whole community and in the past year, we changed the name of our the Bio21 Women’s Committee to the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.<br />  </p> <p><img alt="" height="183" src="/images/image-20210311113313-4.png" style="float:left" width="131" />The chair of the committee, A/Professor Guy Jameson with an invitation to be a part of initiatives that support an inclusive, diverse, fair and respectful culture at Bio21:</p> <p><b><i>Guy Jameson</i></b>: The start of a new semester brings all new challenges to what was a very challenging 2020. Research has been on hold for many researchers, especially those with young children who had to home school. Everybody’s mental health has been tested in one way or another and we won’t know the long-term effects of that for quite a while. This has been exacerbated by the pandemic reset program of the University which adds more uncertainty to the lives of many. This is one area I wish to highlight this year as chair of the Bio21 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Please contact me if you wish to help implement this (<a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="mailto:&lt;span class=" spamspan=""><span class="u">guy.jameson</span> [at] <span class="d">unimelb.edu.au</span>" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;<span class="spamspan"><span class="u">guy.jameson</span> [at] <span class="d">unimelb.edu.au</span></span></a>).</p> <p>Despite the dismay I feel, I remain hopeful for gender equality. Women are no longer prepared to remain silent and society is taking notice. The pressure for change is mounting.</p> <p>Michael Parker<br /> Director, Bio21 Institute</p> </div></div></div> Thu, 11 Mar 2021 00:36:21 +0000 Anonymous 502 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au Bio21 Director’s Message - Losing Sight of Lorne - 23 February 2021 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bio21-director%E2%80%99s-message-losing-sight-lorne-23-february-2021 <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="" height="266" src="/images/image-20210223162415-1.jpeg" style="float:left" width="580" /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">For nearly 30 years now, I’ve embarked on an annual pilgrimage to the Lorne Proteins Conference. I’m lured from the office and lab by the sun and the sound of the crashing surf, the rainforest walks to hidden waterfalls, koalas spotted drunkenly lolling on gum tree limbs, kangaroos on the golf courses and salty hot fish ‘n chips on the beach. All whilst consuming an intellectual feast of protein science.</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">And like a cherished family holiday retreat, Erskine House (now Mantra Lorne), carries memories of people, encounters and adventures in science since the very first Lorne Proteins Conference in 1986. Due to its popularity, over the years the magic of the Proteins conference has spawned similar and successful conferences in Proteomics, Cancer, Genome and Infection and Immunity and many of you would have memories of attending one or more of these conferences.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Lorne Proteins is a true celebration of proteins, where, as a seasoned protein scientist, I can reunite with old friends and colleagues, catch up on cutting edge developments in the field, hear the debut conference presentations from early career researchers and students and ruminate on a protein puzzle whilst on a leisurely forest walk with a Nobel Prize winner. It has also gained a reputation internationally as one of the premier protein science conferences around the world.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">So, after the past year largely spent in lockdown, I was immensely grateful to leave the boundaries of the city and head back along the Great Ocean Road to the Lorne Proteins Conference.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">But like in many other areas of our life affected by the coronavirus, I could not help but notice the differences this year: </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">We arrived in masks, logged in using QR codes and proceeded to get on with science. But it wasn’t business as usual; not how I’d hoped. Numbers were down from previous years; registrations dropped from 400 to 305 (97 face-to-face and 208 virtual), with international visitors absent and interstate attendees staying away. Trade stalls, that usually add colour, conversation about new product innovations and a bit of fun through the prizes they offer, were severely diminished in number and size. We were confined to one conference room of Mantra and many speakers were Zoomed in. We’d entered the world of ‘hybrid conferences’ and I couldn’t deny the tinge of disappointment and then fear, that the things that made Lorne Proteins unique, special and worthwhile were slipping away and at risk of disappearing all together, leaving just another online conference, like so many that I was become weary of visiting through my computer screen.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">So, what did the founders of the conference set out to do? </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Simon ‘Syd’ Leach (1920 – 2005) was one of the founders of the Lorne Proteins Conference. His obituary reads: </span></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">“He left many gifts behind him. One of the most enduring was the establishment of a biochemistry conference, held each year in Lorne.<br /> The conference, held in Erskine House, brings scientists together from across the globe.” [</span></i><a href="https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/leach-simon-16155" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/leach-simon-16155</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color:#0563c1"><span style="text-decoration:underline"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">]</span></span></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">In Syd’s own “Reflections on his work at CSIRO then at the University of Melbourne” Volume 31, No. 4, December 2000, he recalled: </span></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="margin-bottom:16px; text-align:center"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">“In 1976, with Tony Burgess and Theo Dopheide, I founded the first Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function. Melbourne had long been a centre for medical, biochemical and especially protein science with several notable institutes with research interests in common. Our aim was to bring as many of these powerful research groups together at informal Protein Conferences.”</span></i></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">“At our first meeting in 1976 we had 36 participants and one overseas invited speaker. When I retired as Chairman of the Organising Committee in 1985 there were about 200 participants, including a substantial number of overseas delegates.”</span></i></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">The conference became a success. Why did it grow and become so popular? What was the ‘magic ingredient’ of the Lorne Proteins that kept and keeps the protein science community coming back? </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">In 2005, at the 30<sup>th</sup> Anniversary of Lorne Proteins, Dr Richard Simpson describes the Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function, as "the yardstick by which protein conferences are measured." </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">“Lorne Protein: The protein pioneers” by Graeme O'Neill, Tuesday, 22 March, 2005 goes on to record the reflections on the conference at the time:</span></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">“Simpson, the conference's organiser, attributes its international reputation to Australia's long and rich history of protein research.</span></i></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Australia established an international presence in protein chemistry long before the word 'proteomics' was coined. It grew out of pioneering research into the chemistry of wool in the 1950s and 1960s by CSIRO's former Division of Protein Chemistry.</span></i></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">"Those people were then recruited by new medical research institutions and became the leading teachers of protein chemistry around the country," Simpson says."</span></i></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">[Source: </span><a href="https://www.labonline.com.au/content/life-scientist/article/lorne-protein-the-protein-pioneers-1349965299" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">https://www.labonline.com.au/content/life-scientist/article/lorne-protein-the-protein-pioneers-1349965299</span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt">] </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">It is good to remember the pioneers and what they set out to do. It is still valid, and yet change is inevitable and can be a good thing. Covid-19 has changed how we do our work and the events we attend. ‘Pivot’ and ‘unprecedented’ were among the words of the year 2020. And pivot we did, as we attempted to survive and continue our work. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Yet, even as change is inevitable, we are not helpless. Many have turned the challenges of Covid-19 into opportunities and I congratulate the organising committee on pulling together a hybrid Lorne Conference this year: </span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Danny Hatters, the current President of the Organising Committee explains:</span></span></span></p> <p class="rtecenter"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt" xml:lang="EN-US">“<i>Even COVID could not stop us running the Lorne Proteins meeting in its 46<sup>th</sup> year</i></span><i><span style="font-size:12.0pt">! I want to acknowledge the commitment and hard work of the organizing committee for this success.</span></i></span></span></p> <p>Over the last four and a half decades the meeting has evolved immensely, along with protein science, but some aspects of the meeting have remained steadfast: focusing on bringing the best of the best of research in protein structure and function from around the world to Australia and providing local researchers an exemplary forum to meet, network and present their findings. In recent times the meeting has found immense energy from the emerging cryoEM technologies. However, I stress too that the committee takes great pride in bringing breadth to our program across all areas of structure and function. </p> <p>Despite the COVID pandemic and see-sawing lockdowns creating major logistical challenges for the committee, I was really delighted to see it go so seamlessly as a hybrid format for the first time with just a few hiccups. In person, the meeting was more casual and intimate than usual, which brought a more relaxed vibe than in recent years and, perhaps, a greater opportunity for networking. The science remained on par in excellence with previous years, and I want to thank Melissa Call as program chair for her hard work in coordinating this under highly challenging conditions. </p> <p>Lastly, I do suspect we are at a pivotal point in time as to how conferences will be run in the future with online meetings becoming a more regular fixture. Only time will tell how things will pan out, but our meeting, as well as all others, will likely need to adapt to this changing world to remain relevant.  Lorne Proteins embraces this challenge!”</p> <p style="margin-bottom:16px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">And even as I feel a sense of loss, it can remind us of what is valuable to us and worth holding onto: </span></span></span></p> <ul><li style="margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">For me it is the <b><i>informality</i></b> of coming together in this beautiful place, that allows conversations to happen over lunch or on a walk, that wouldn’t otherwise. Informality and serendipity are difficult to recreate online. </span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">It is the <b><i>uniquely beautiful Australian location, that draws international visitors to our shores</i></b>. We are fortunate that they can Zoom in to present a talk, but they miss out on experiencing Australia and the Australian science community and we miss out on getting to know them as a person and a scientist, and to honour them as our guests.</span></span></span></li> <li style="margin-bottom: 16px;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">And for PhD students, it can be where they make their first presentation on an external scientific stage; where they have lunch with an international guest speaker and so <b><i>forge important relationships</i></b> for a research collaboration, or the next lab they will join as a postdoc. They miss out on this.</span></span></span></li> </ul><p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">It is undeniable that good things have come from online, ‘hybrid’ and virtual conferences and events: increased accessibility; innovations in online event presentations and reduced travel costs and carbon emissions. Whilst we embrace some of these benefits, let’s hope some of the costs are not too high, or permanent. And let us consciously hold onto the precious moments, where we can gather in person with scientific peers, in a beautiful Australian location; connect, become friends and share ideas over lunch, in a rainforest, or on the beach.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><span style="font-family:&quot;Calibri&quot;,sans-serif"><span style="color:#121212">Michael Parker<br /> Director, Bio21 Institute</span></span></span></p> </div></div></div> Tue, 23 Feb 2021 05:25:51 +0000 Anonymous 500 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au Bio21 Director’s Message - 12 reasons to be optimistic about 2021 at Bio21 - 5 February 2021 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bio21-director%E2%80%99s-message-12-reasons-be-optimistic-about-2021-bio21-5-february-2021 <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="" height="375" src="/images/19103_0946_Michael%20Parker.jpg" style="float:left" width="250" />The year 2020 brought bushfires, that threatened and destroyed communities and ecosystems; and two waves of coronavirus infection, that locked down our city and state for three months, isolating us from our extended families and social networks.  Our research was put on ice and our lectures moved online. Our confidence was dented and our sense of optimism for the future maybe dampened. What will 2021 bring? </p> <p>And yet, we have survived this far and can be proud of our collective efforts and sacrifice as individuals, organisations, state and country to suppress coronavirus in Australia. According to the analysis conducted by the <a href="https://interactives.lowyinstitute.org/features/covid-performance/#region">Lowy Institute, Australia ranked 8th in the world</a> for our response to the pandemic. In practical terms, many lives were saved, and people spared disability and distress and the health system was prevented from being overwhelmed with cases. </p> <p>Our hard-won ‘donut days’ have meant many of us could reconnect with family and friends over the Christmas and New Year break; go to the cinema, the library and the local pool, or into the regions for a holiday. It means that many more of us can now return to our work in the lab and reconnect with colleagues at the Institute, albeit adhering to COVID-Safe rules that are still in place. </p> <p>SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread beyond our borders, which remain closed to most international visitors, including students, with a disastrous effect on Australian universities and the Australian higher education sector, including research.<br /> Despite all the challenges and changes brought by budget cuts there is a lot of positive news to look forward to in Bio21 this year. </p> <p>Here are ‘12 reasons to be optimistic about 2021 at Bio21’:</p> <p>Facilities, platforms and instruments...</p> <p><em><strong>1.    Opening of the Ruth Bishop building.</strong><br /> The Ruth Bishop building was completed in late 2020. The building façade retains elements of the former Veterinary Research Institute, originally built in 1909. Behind it emerges a modern, purpose-built Ian Holmes Imaging Centre that now houses our electron microscopes, a wonderful resource for the University. It’s spectacular and beautiful and I encourage you to take a walk around the building. We plan to give tours inside the building when it is COVID-safe to do so.</em></p> <p><strong>2.    Commissioning our new Titan Krios and Aquilos.</strong><br /> The new Titan Krios cryo-EM microscope and Aquilos cryo-FIB arrived at Bio21 at the end of the last year. Eric Hanssen and his team have been busy carefully unpacking the large and heavy boxes with their precious cargo and setting up the instruments that will become available for use in the course of this year.  </p> <p><strong>3.    Establishing cryo-tomography at Bio21.</strong><br /> Also, within this new facility, Eric Hanssen and his team will be establishing a cryo-tomography pipeline at Bio21. We are fortunate to have a world expert in this technology at Bio21 with new group leader Debnath Ghosal, supported by experts in Eric’s team.</p> <p><strong>4.    Establishing the new ARC ITTC Centre for Cryo-EM of membrane proteins and drug discovery.</strong><br /><a href="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/multi-million-dollar-grant-new-arc-training-centre-announced-today">On the 14th July 2020, funding came through for an ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre (ITCC) for Cryo-Electron Microscopy of Membrane Proteins for Drug Discovery. </a>MIPS will be the headquarters of the ARC Training Centre and Bio21, University of Melbourne is one of the key collaborators, with the Ruth Bishop Building and Ian Holmes Imaging Centre to house many of the CryoEM microscopes that will be accessed by the ITTC centre. Isabelle Rouiller (Deputy Director of the ITTC and UoM node leader), Mike Griffin and the Parker groups will be conducting a number of major training projects as part of the ITTC centre.</p> <p><strong>5.    Opening of the <a href="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/proteins/acrf-facility-innovative-cancer-drug-discovery">Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF) Facility for Innovative Cancer Drug Discovery.</a></strong><br /> The $2M ACRF grant has helped establish a drug discovery pipeline at Bio21 which provides a virtual link between our platforms.</p> <p><strong>6.    Establishing a crystallisation facility in Melbourne Protein Characterisation (MPC).</strong><br /> This facility will build upon our in-house capability in crystallography and increase our productivity at the Australian Synchrotron.</p> <p><strong>7.    The rescue of our Melbourne Magnetic Resonance platform with the help of ACRF, Bio21 and <a href="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bio21-arc-lief-grant-success">ARC LIEF.</a> </strong><br /> Our flagship 800 MHz NMR spectrometer will be upgraded, a 19F 500 MHz NMR spectrometer funded by ACRF funds will arrive in the next couple of months following by a number of other spectrometers later in the year.</p> <p><strong>8.    Over $15M of new equipment for four of our platforms.</strong><br /> These include our new electron microscope and cryoFIB, NMR spectrometers, crystallisation robots and a range of mass spectrometers including a hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometer.</p> <p><strong>9.    Bio21 will welcome research groups from the former Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, (now part of the newly merged <a href="https://biomedicalsciences.unimelb.edu.au/sbs-research-groups/biochemistry-and-pharmacology-research">Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology in the School of Biomedical Sciences</a>) as well as new groups from Chemistry and Biosciences in the Faculty of Science to Bio21. </strong><br /> Please welcome the groups led by: Ivanhoe Leung (Chemistry) and Moira O’Bryan (Biosciences). We welcome them into our community and are excited at the ideas and knowledge they bring with them.</p> <p><strong>10.    Plans to expand industry presence at Bio21.</strong><br /> In the course of 2021, we expect to be welcoming new industry groups and the growth of existing industry tenants, as we plan to expand our industry presence at the Institute. </p> <p><em><strong>New Bio21 community spaces…</strong><br /><strong>11.    Developing an outside social space for Bio21 staff and students.</strong></em></p> <p>I am very pleased that as part of the Ruth Bishop development, we were able to include an outdoor social space. There will be landscaped garden beds, outdoor benches and a BBQ, that will become bookable for use and I’m sure will be very popular. This outdoor space may also lend itself to larger outdoor gatherings, which are also safer in this time of COVID.<br /><strong>12.    New bike shed.</strong><br /> Lastly, we will have a new bike shed when the old gatehouse on Park Drive gets redeveloped. For those who commute to work via bike, we will have another safe area to lock up their bicycle.</p> <p>The Australian vaccine roll-outs in the next couple of months, will be the key to guiding us out of the pandemic. Our industry friends at CSL play a major part in this Australian effort and we are proud of them. And there are many other academic and industry scientists at Bio21 who have contributed in various ways to our understanding of the virus and searching for new treatments. </p> <p>As scientists, it is our optimism, our generosity in sharing data and engaging in collaborations; our grit and determination in the face of challenges and our curiosity and constant willingness to learn and revise our knowledge as we apply the scientific method, that has made this possible.  </p> <p>Michael Parker<br /> Director, Bio21 Institute<br />  </p> </div></div></div> Fri, 12 Feb 2021 04:02:10 +0000 floder 498 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au Bio21 Director's Message - The Joy of Giving - 23 December 2020 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bio21-directors-message-joy-giving-23-december-2020 <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="" height="375" src="/images/19103_0946_Michael%20Parker.jpg" style="float:left" width="250" />With a newsfeed dominated by COVID-19 updates, you probably skimmed over or missed this headline in the Guardian newspaper 19 September this year: “<a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/19/billionaire-chuck-feeney-achieves-goal-of-giving-away-his-fortune" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Billionaire Chuck Feeney achieves goal of giving away his fortune. Irish-American mogul’s philanthropic foundation runs out of cash after 38 years.</a>”</p> <p>Preferring anonymity, you may never have heard of Chuck Feeney, or have an inkling that he has anything to do with you, yet Chuck Feeney is understood to be the greatest individual giver in Australian history.</p> <p>He has only now begun to share his story, to encourage others to give ‘giving whilst living’ a go: ‘try it, you might like it’. The Guardian article reads:</p> <p align="center"><i>“Chuck Feeney has achieved his lifetime ambition: giving away his $8bn (£6bn) fortune while he is still around to see the impact it has made.</i></p> <p align="center"><i>For the past 38 years, Feeney, an Irish American who made billions from a duty-free shopping empire, has been making endowments to charities and universities across the world with the goal of “striving for zero … to give it all away”.</i></p> <p align="center"><i>This week Feeney, 89, achieved his goal. The Atlantic Philanthropies, the foundation he set up in secret in 1982 and transferred almost all of his wealth to, has finally run out of money.</i></p> <p align="center"><i>As he signed papers to formally dissolve the foundation, Feeney, who is in poor health, said he was very satisfied with “completing this on my watch”.</i></p> <p>His contributions to Australian Life Sciences helped to deliver more than 20 outstanding health and medical research facilities across Australia, including <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/directors-blog-8-december-2017-giving-while-living" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">$50 million towards the construction of the David Penington Building, Bio21 Institute</a>.</p> <p>Chuck Feeney was awarded AusBiotech’s Life Science Legacy Award “<i>in recognition of his tremendous and unprecedented support of the Australian life sciences ecosystem across many decades</i>.”</p> <p>By giving away his wealth, Chuck Feeney created a wealth of higher education and scientific research infrastructure and opportunity, that has untold benefits for the health of individuals, communities and society. It is a gift that keeps giving.</p> <p>At Bio21 we work:</p> <ul type="disc"><li>in world-class laboratories;</li> <li>in beautiful and purpose-built buildings;</li> <li>with access to cutting-edge powerful facilities and instruments. </li> </ul><p>In 2020 we saw the completion of the Ruth Bishop Building and the Ian Holmes Imaging Centre, that houses our electron microscopes. We look forward to officially opening these sometime in 2021.</p> <p>Another example of philanthropy that has greatly benefited Bio21 was the award of $2M by the Australian Cancer Research Foundation in 2018 to establish the ACRF Facility for Innovative Cancer Drug Discovery which has provided cutting edge equipment for two of our platforms: Melbourne Protein Characterisation and Magnetic Resonance.<br /> Our work as scientists is only possible through the generosity of others; the Australian public, but also through philanthropists such as Chuck Feeney.</p> <p>You may be surprised to hear that Chuck Feeney, through his own choice, does not own a car or home and owns only one pair of shoes. He is known to fly only economy class, wears a $10 Casio watch and carries his papers in a plastic bag.<br /> During our Victorian 12-week lockdown, with nowhere to go and reduced to the essentials of life, many of us began to notice and appreciate the bird life and natural spaces within a 5km radius of our home; the joy of cooking and baking; a slower pace of life without the stress of the daily commute; and seeing more of our close family members and our pets.<br /> Realising how few things we actually need, may be one of the enduring gifts of 2020 and these may be some of changes we may wish to retain into 2021.</p> <p>We also became acutely aware of how interconnected and interdependent we are on others for the services we enjoy, our daily needs and health, such as teachers, childcare workers, healthcare workers, supermarket staff, cleaners and security guards, but also our interactions with colleagues, friends and family members.</p> <p>It was perhaps a surprising and welcome acknowledgement from the public, that suddenly scientists too, where considered ‘essential workers.’</p> <p>‘We are all in this together’ became a catchcry of 2020. And together we achieved a great deal:</p> <ul type="disc"><li>Together, the Victorian community eliminated the spread of the coronavirus;</li> <li>Together, the global community of scientists designed, tested and are now delivering vaccines around the globe, as well as testing drugs to help treat those who have become seriously ill.</li> </ul><p>2021 will see the roll-out of vaccines, that will help the world community see an end to this pandemic. But with COVID-19 revealing great inequalities in our communities, there is still much work to be done.</p> <p>Not all of us work in vaccines or drug discovery and development against COVID-19. Although not in the front of mind this year, I am excited by the impact that decades of development of personalised medicine is having in the clinic on cancer survival rates; I’m amazed when I see at the possibilities of <i>Wolbachia</i> being used to control the spread of dengue and zika virus and how it may one day also be applied to agricultural pests. These are just a couple of areas of Bio21 research that are having great impacts in our world.</p> <p>I wish to thank all of you who have carried on and given a great deal of yourselves through your research and teaching, as well as to your families and communities this year, despite all the great challenges. </p> <p><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://youtu.be/OMcjxe8slYI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">In the documentary about his life</a>, “Secret Billionaire: The Chuck Feeney Story”, it is said of Chuck Feeney that “…those who knew him say he was transformed, he was much happier and really enjoying life. The more he gave, the more he enjoyed it.”</p> <p>May we be grateful for the gifts we’ve received this year and I wish you the joy that comes from seeing the impact that your gift of research can have in the world.</p> <p>Michael Parker<br /> Director, Bio21 Institute</p> </div></div></div> Tue, 22 Dec 2020 13:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 496 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au Bio21 Director's Message - Funding Freedom to Fail...& Discover - 14 December 2020 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bio21-directors-message-funding-freedom-fail-discover-14-december-2020 <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><img alt="" height="375" src="/images/19103_0946_Michael%20Parker.jpg" style="float:left" width="250" />This year the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology went to Harvey J Walter, Michael Houghton and Charles M Rice for their "discovery of the Hepatitis C virus". </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing”.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The lectures took place and were broadcast last week on the 7th December 2020 via the <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">website</a> and Facebook, where you can still find them. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">It is interesting to note that when they started out Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna did not know they were going to discover a powerful new molecular tool that would go on to be considered ‘the greatest benefit to humankind.’ </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A microbiologist, Emmanuelle was studying a defence mechanism in bacteria. She was conducting fundamental discovery research on her organism of choice, the gram-negative bacterium <i>Streptococcus pyrogenes</i>.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Although it has long been possible to ‘cut’ and ‘paste’ genes in bacteria and other organisms, the process was slow and difficult. Emmanuelle explains in her lecture: </span></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center; margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><i>“This started in the 70s with different types of enzymes and technologies that would allow you to recombine DNA, to sequence DNA, amplify DNA, target genes. The zinc-finger and TALEN nucleases that were discovered over the last 20 years, allowing the same as what CRISPR Cas9 does, except that CRISPR Cas9 brings a level of programmability and a level of simplicity and versatility that is quite unique. So, we are all very happy because we can now study certain organisms that were difficult to study prior to CRISPR Cas9.”</i></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Famously it was Louis Pasteur who said that: ‘Chance favours the prepared mind.’ </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Often when we dig into the stories of scientific discovery, we find that it was a chance observation; something strange, that could not at first be easily explained, that led to something truly new being discovered.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">In the case of Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, it was stumbling upon the ancient mechanism by which bacteria defend themselves against viruses.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">For the Hepatitis C discovery, it was the observation that there was an agent in blood causing hepatitis, that was not being picked up by the existing testing methods, that triggered the hunt for the virus.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">To have the opportunity to make discoveries that win Nobel Prizes or to make an impact on the lives of people, scientists need long term, consistent funding, that provides the opportunity to take a risk, explore, fail and stumble upon something new and exciting. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">At a time when medical research has received enormous exposure and recognition by the Australian public, we are facing a huge exodus of young researchers, who fail to receive funding to continue their research careers. This is a tragedy for individuals and for science.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">According the <a href="https://asmr.org.au/asmr-2019-fact-sheet/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">ASMR’s Fact Sheet</a>, the full time health and medical research workforce declined by 20% between 2012 and 2017. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Read Bio21’s Dezerae Cox’s insightful piece in <a href="https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-funding-insight-2020-9-emerging-researchers-face-uphill-struggle-at-nhmrc/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Research Professional News</a> that shows that gains in gender diversity are slow and that emerging researchers continue to struggle: </span></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center; margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“<em>Investigator Grants fund outstanding researchers from a limited pool of resources, but the reality is that success rates so low – just over 13 per cent in 2019 and 2020 – are unsustainable for long-term retention of Australian-trained scientists</em>,” writes Dezerae.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Last week the Australian Society of Medical Research initiated a Twitter campaign to highlight the lack of federal funding for medical research. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">I became involved through my own Twitter account and was even challenged to name high impact medical discoveries from basic research funding at Bio21.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">At Bio21, we do have numerous high impact scientific discoveries that we can be proud of and I sent out the following tweets: </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b>Director, Bio21 Institute @Bio21Director·Dec 9</b></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">The @Bio21Institute is one of Australia's largest life science institutes with &gt;800 people distributed over 4 buildings, including @CSL's global research hub. We have made a number of high impact medical discoveries that would not have been possible without basic research funding</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b>Director, Bio21 Institute @Bio21Director·Dec 9 Replying to @Bio21Director @DwanPrice and 6 others</b></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Paul Donnelly developed SARTATE @Bio21Institute to find &amp; destroy neuroendocrine tumours #menigioma &amp; #neuroblastoma in kids. Clarity Pharmaceuticals has been granted Investigational New Drug status for SARTATE by the @US_FDA &amp; a Phase 1-2a trial has been approved.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b>Dr Dwan Price Glowing star Retweeted Director, Bio21 Institute @Bio21Director·Dec 9 Replying to @Bio21Director @DwanPrice and 7 others</b></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">A potential treatment for Motor Neurone Disease #MND and #Parkinsons Disease, that was developed in the @Bio21Institute, has progressed to a Phase 2/3 Trial in MND patients led by Collaborative Medicinal Development #AdvanceAustraliaCare #auspol2020</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b>Dr Dwan Price Glowing star @DwanPrice·Dec 9</b></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Fibrosis can develop during chronic kidney and heart disease, pulmonary fibrosis and even arthritis. #medicalresearch from @Bio21Institute developed critical drugs that targeted these disease complications. We need more of this, that's why we need: #AdvanceAustraliaCare @TheASMR1 Quote Tweet</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b>Director, Bio21 Institute @Bio21Director· Dec 9<br /> Replying to @DwanPrice @anthonyjhannan and 2 others</b></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">Professor Spencer Williams @sjwill99 co-founded Fibrotech which developed a family of anti-fibrotic drugs at @Bio21Institute @ChemistryUoM @scimelb for treating #diabetes complications #AdvanceAustraliaCare #auspol2020</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">---</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">For instance, the discovery of Cu-ATSM, </span></span></span>synthesised by Paul Donnelly’s lab, <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">as a potential treatment for Motor Neurone Disease and Parkinson’s Disease was made at Bio21. At the time, <a href="https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/teaming-fight-motor-neurone-disease" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Kevin Barnham was the fortunate recipient of a NHMRC program grant</a>.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">He says: </span></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center; margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“<em>At this time, Tony White and I were part of a NHMRC program grant team, and this flexible funding allowed us to take a few risks and try things that we would not otherwise have done</em>.”</span></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center; margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">“<em>So we took a punt, and one of the things we tried was Cu(-ATSM) in models of both MND and Parkinson’s disease and it worked brilliantly in both models</em>.”</span></span></span></p> <p align="center" style="text-align:center; margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">--</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom:11px"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:107%"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">As we celebrate and acknowledge the 2020 Nobel Prize winners for Chemistry and Medicine and Physiology and celebrate their success, as scientists we know, in order to succeed, we must be permitted to fail. Public funding needs to be more accepting of risk; to fund scientific ‘failure’, exploration and therefore also discovery. Failing this, we continue to risk losing our brilliant young emerging researchers, that could one day bring us the greatest benefits to humankind.</span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif">And on a final note: </span></span></span></p> <p class="rtecenter"><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-AU" style="color:black" xml:lang="EN-AU">Thank you to the scientific team led by Paul Young, Trent Munro and Keith Chappell at the University of Queensland and CSL Behring for their work on the UQ/@CSLBehring COVID-19 vaccine. Some of the early CSL work was done at Bio21. </span></span></span></span></strong></p> <p class="rtecenter"><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-AU" style="color:black" xml:lang="EN-AU">The UQ clamp technology, which was developed based on basic discovery research, was unique in the world and the UQ team created a powerful vaccine with a strong antibody response to the spike protein.  The vaccine was performing well in trials, but the unexpected antibody response to the clamp protein, that gives a false HIV positive test result, has led to the vaccine work being terminated.</span></span></span></span></strong></p> <p class="rtecenter"><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-AU" style="color:black" xml:lang="EN-AU">It is a heart-breaking decision for all the teams involved in this project, who have worked so hard through this incredible year. It is an example of what we all know – the ups and downs of scientific research. As fellow scientists we really feel for them and know the sacrifices they have made. </span></span></span></span></strong></p> <p class="rtecenter"><strong><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-AU" style="color:black" xml:lang="EN-AU">They are heroes and we are proud of their work.</span></span></span></span></strong></p> <p style="text-align:justify; margin-bottom:11px">Michael Parker,</p> <p style="text-align:justify; margin-bottom:11px">Director, Bio21 Institute</p> </div></div></div> Mon, 14 Dec 2020 00:56:31 +0000 Anonymous 493 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au Bio21 Director’s Message: Acknowledging different experiences and impacts of Covid-19 on Bio21 community members - 19 November 2020 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bio21-director%E2%80%99s-message-acknowledging-different-experiences-and-impacts-covid-19-bio21-community <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><img alt="" height="124" src="/images/image-20201120152747-1.png" style="float:left" width="186" />As we slowly approach a “COVID-normal” return to Bio21, I thought it worth reflecting, in a series of invited Digest messages, on the hardships some of our community have endured and continue to endure by the pandemic. However, it has been heartening to see that some exciting new opportunities also have and will emerge as we return to Bio21. In this message our Associate Director for Engagement, Sally Gras, reflects on her experience over the last few months followed by some observations from David Stroud and Kim Kwan:</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" height="120" src="/images/image-20201120152747-2.png" style="float:left" width="262" /><b><i>Sally Gras, Bio21 Associate Director for Engagement:</i></b></p> <p>“Everyone in our community has a different pandemic experience.  Many are enjoying not having to commute.  Others find the isolation and uncertainty challenging.</p> <p>The situation is dynamic and varies across the Institute and across the wider academic world. In our group, I am proud of the way we have calmly adapted to change but some things are beyond our control: a new PhD student has been stuck in Wuhan from the very start of the pandemic, other international fellows and visiting students have been unable to travel to Australia.  We are learning strategies from our collaborators interstate and in Italy, UK, France, Ireland and Denmark who are transitioning in and out of lockdown as the pandemic spreads and is then checked.</p> <p>Large changes to our everyday pattern of work give us an opportunity to think about how we can do things differently.  We have found the re-examination of old data yielded new insights.  We have written reviews and performed simulations.  Those students who are lucky enough to work on cheese protein microstructure have performed freezing experiments at home.</p> <p>While we haven’t been able to visit the sites of our industry collaborators, we have still been able to organise some very big (multi-tonne) six-month cheese manufacturing trials.  This has perhaps even been easier to arrange, given everyone’s availability on Zoom at short notice.</p> <p>We have also been working with CSL Innovation to identify how new research could increase the productivity of vaccine and other drug manufacturing to increase Australia’s resilience.   A spike in enrolments in Pharmaceutical Engineering has shown how our masters students are wanting to learn and contribute too.</p> <p>More broadly, we have missed the conversations and engagement that form Bio21’s social fabric.  The pandemic has shown us the value of everyday exchanges we often take for granted.  Our own local difficulties are put in perspective, however, talking to members of Bio21 and our broader Global science community who have family and friends in worse affected regions of the world: Indonesia, Iran, India, Brazil and Russia to name a few.  These discussions highlight how fortunate we are to have an evidence-based approach to slowing local virus spread and the sovereign capability for vaccine manufacture at CSL.</p> <p>I hope that as a scientific community we can learn from these experiences and can apply our unique knowledge and skills to assist national and international recovery.  With a renewed sense of purpose and the value of scientific knowledge and method, we can also help Australia prepare for the challenges the world faces in coming decades.“</p> <p><i>Prof Sally Gras is a Biochemical engineer and leader of the Gras group in Bio21.  She is Director of The ARC Dairy Innovation Hub, Leader of Food and Agribusiness in Engineering and Associate Director for Engagement at the Bio21 Institute.  Her research group combines biology, chemistry and mathematics with engineering to solve technical challenges in food and pharmaceutical production. </i></p> <p>Also, David Stroud, Honours Coordinator, School of Biomedical Sciences, reminds us of the challenges of this year’s cohort of Honours students:</p> <p><img alt="" height="118" src="/images/image-20201120152747-3.png" style="float:left" width="256" /><b><i>David Stroud, Bio21 Group Leader, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology</i></b><br /> “The Honours students have had it really tough this year, two "lock-downs", learning how to do research over Zoom, and just a general lack of certainty throughout the year. They’ve all done really well and it’s a testament to their resilience - it will be great to hear their stories when they give their final seminars this week.”</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" height="138" src="/images/image-20201120152747-4.png" style="float:left" width="268" /><b><i>Kim Kwan, Metabolomics Australia</i></b><br /> Finally, Kim Kwan is one of the Mental Health Advisors at Bio21 for the Faculty of Science and part of the Metabolomics Australia team and has these thoughts to share, as well as a reminder of some of the resources we can all access in need:</p> <p>“As Melbourne starts to open up again and we look back on the year where the world has rapidly changed around us, it leaves many heaving a sigh at the frustration and fatigue faced with our work and life situations. Wherever we are right now, we can continue to make choices to move ourselves forward. This will look different for each person, but no matter how small or slow, whether it is visible or intangible, progress is progress.”</p> <p>Here are some resources that Bio21 members can all access:</p> <p><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lifeline </a>on 13 11 14<br /><a href="https://www.beyondblue.org.au/"><u>Beyond Blue</u></a> on 1300 224 63<br /><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Headspace</a> on 1800 650 890<br /><a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ReachOut</a> at <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">au.reachout.com</a> </p> <p>Something for people to pause and reflect on: <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.mindaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/How_are_you_going_tool.pdf</a><br /> This presents the well-known concepts of meditation/breathing exercises in a way that I hope is more engaging to science/research minded people: <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="about:blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://hbr.org/2020/09/research-why-breathing-is-so-effective-at-reducing-stress</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://fb.watch/1uYWUwrnGG/">And on an upbeat note from medical students at the University.</a> </p> <p>Yes, it has been a challenging year for many of us. Please feel free to share with me your suggestions for how to keep our Bio21 community strong, even as some of us are not yet able to return to the bench.</p> <p>Stay safe</p> <p>Michael Parker<br /> Director, Bio21 Institute</p> </div></div></div> Wed, 18 Nov 2020 13:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 491 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au Bio21 Guest Message: Matt Hardy, CSL – Parkville History Essay - 5 November 2020 https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au/bio21-guest-message-matt-hardy-csl-%E2%80%93-parkville-history-essay-5-november-2020 <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="" height="169" src="/images/2020-11-03%20Bio21_Guest%20Message_Matt%20Hardy_portrait.jpg" style="float:left" width="250" />As we go about our daily working lives in the David Pennington, Nancy Millis and (more recently) the Ruth Bishop buildings, it is worthwhile to pause and reflect on the fact that these buildings lie on a site and within a wider area that has not always been devoted to cutting-edge biotechnology. Indeed, the “Welcome to Country” said at the start of Bio21 events should continually remind us that until the mid-19<sup>th</sup> century and for thousands of years before that, the Parkville precinct had been in continual use by the Woi wurrung people as a camping ground and for Corroborees with the neighbouring Boon wurrung, Wathaurong and Taungurong peoples, with known sites within Royal Park and on either side of Sydney Road.</p> <p>Following the arrival of Batman and Fawkner to the Port Phillip District in 1835 from Van Diemen’s Land, what is now Parkville remained generally undisturbed until 1850 when Superintendent Charles J La Trobe outlined a far-reaching policy of retaining land close to Melbourne for the “recreation and amusement” of the people. This originally included a much larger swathe of land, 2,560 acres in fact, than the current boundary of Royal Park and as one would expect, this land has been nibbled away over the years for uses such as the Zoo (est. 1862), the Parkville CSL site (formally a model farm), a golf course and the Royal Children’s Hospital (site est. 1948; opened 1962).</p> <p align="center"><img alt="" height="384" src="/images/image-20201120152227-1.png" width="683" /></p> <p>Closer to home, the triangle of land bounded by Flemington Road, Park Drive (actually fronting Royal Park originally) and Royal Parade was alienated by the mid-1850s with the southern section retained as a reservation for a Hay, Corn, Horse and Pig Market, operating in various capacities from 1855 through to 1939. All are now gone. The Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) building lies over the former Dental School (1963-2003) which itself occupies the site of the original Haymarket (demolished 1954); University High (1929) and the WEHI occupy the Horse Market site, and the Pig Market was repurposed in 1943 as the Royal Melbourne Hospital once it outgrew its central Melbourne location. However, tantalising hints of the former use of the market remains in the form of the Northern Market Wall originally surrounding the entire market site. As one could imagine, local residents did not take kindly to the “sights and smells” of the livestock held in the market and succeeded in getting the market wall built in 1888. It is now the most impressive surviving example of a 19<sup>th</sup> century civic wall in the state.</p> <p><img alt="" height="423" src="/images/image-20201120152227-2.png" width="752" /></p> <p>The section of land north of Story Street is now the fashionable suburb of South Parkville with a wide array of architectural styles, but even there, the Port Phillip Farmer’s Society conducted shows until 1870 on land between Morrah and Bayles Streets before the shows eventually moved to the more familiar Showgrounds in Ascot Vale.</p> <p>The agricultural flavour of the Parkville precinct has not disappeared. In 1909 an Act of Parliament (no. 2174) resulted in the establishment of the University Veterinary School on the relatively unused section of the Northern Market grounds where the Bio21 Institute as a whole now stands. Not much remains of these early buildings, with the magnificent Federation-style Veterinary Research Institute (VRI) building constructed in 1910 being the sole exception.</p> <p> </p> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="557"> <p><img alt="" height="207" src="/images/image-20201120152227-3.png" width="369" /></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="15"> <p><img alt="" height="204" src="/images/image-20201120152227-4.png" width="362" /></p> </td> </tr></tbody></table><p>Fast-forward now to the 21<sup>st</sup> century and the rate of progress has been astonishing with 20 years of building activity rendering the site almost unrecognisable. The construction of the David Pennington building (2005) has been followed by the Nancy Millis building (2018) and now the Ruth Bishop building (2020). Surrounding this are a profusion of new and renovated facilities, the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Royal Children’s Hospital to name but a few. The future of the Parkville precinct is bright.</p> <p>Matt Hardy</p> <p>Senior Scientist<br /> CSL Research</p> </div></div></div> Wed, 04 Nov 2020 13:00:00 +0000 Anonymous 490 at https://www.bio21.unimelb.edu.au