Children experience the excitement of discovery every day, and so do our researchers.
Childrens Research Institute is dedicated to finding innovative ways to treat and prevent conditions affecting babies, children and adolescents. Because every discovery we make will help children lead happier, healthier lives.
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute conducts innovative, world-class research to improve the health and wellbeing of children.
Our passionate team of 1100 researchers discover ways to prevent and treat conditions including allergies, cancer, cerebral palsy, obesity, heart disease, genetic diseases, mental illness and premature birth.
Working closely with The Royal Children’s Hospital and the University of Melbourne’s Department of Paediatrics gives us the unique opportunity to translate our discoveries into real benefits for children.
www.mcri.edu.au
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI) is one of Australia’s three largest medical research institutes and is the leader in child health.
Our recent rapid growth has enabled us to build bigger, more effective research teams to address important current child health issues including allergic and autoimmune conditions, obesity, genetic diseases, and brain and mind development from birth to adolescence.
Our research continued to deliver results in terms of both publication of findings and tangible improvement in children’s health.
The number of publications in 2007 was 495 and pleasingly there was an increase in the number published in high impact tier one or two journals, increasing from 85 in 2006 to 101 in 2007.
Through recruitment and internal development of our research staff we increased our capacity to investigate the genetic determinants of relatively common childhood diseases such as cancer and juvenile diabetes. Planning for long-term on-site banking of bio-specimens, such as blood, to facilitate this work in the medium term was significantly advanced. All research themes are involved in this program.
We were part of a successful collaborative funding application for a Cooperative Research Centre in Hearing which will provide significant funding over seven years to our researchers in this area. Our contribution was led by A/Professor Henrik
Dahl whose research into the genetic causes of hearing loss will be greatly facilitated.
Professor Terry Nolan and his group completed advanced testing of the Human Papilloma virus vaccine, developed to prevent cervical cancer in girls.
A/Professor Amanda Fosang and her group published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Investigation research on cartilage destruction in arthritis. Their findings which build on previous research published in Nature related to enzymes called aggrecans which are central to this process.
Our campus colleagues, whose work was carried out within the University of Melbourne or RCH, as well as MCRI, are also commended for their achievements in 2007.
These included publication of a landmark series on adolescent health in The Lancet by Professors Glenn Bowes, George Patton and Susan Sawyer and a new website providing expert information for parents (www.raisingchildren.net.au) developed by Professor Frank Oberklaid and his team at the Centre for Community Child Health. The site received four million visits and won the NetGuide Australian Web award for Site of the Year.
We have also continued to drive excellence in clinical care at RCH, with many hospital clinical groups engaged in research through MCRI.
These excellent results suggest that our theme structure and strategies are working. The approach includes MCRI’s unique performance evaluation framework measuring research outputs from each of our six themes, which is used to facilitate the annual apportioning of MCRI funds.
Dr MaryAnne Aitken was appointed as head of Research Strategy and Communications, which is responsible for performance evaluation.
Our campus partners, The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), RCH Foundation and University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics (UMDP) are key constituents in achieving our mission to improve child health through research. In 2007, a campus council chaired by Ms Elizabeth Proust was established to harmonise relationships and strategies.
This year, the Good Friday Appeal raised a record $11.8 million for the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, which then apportioned a significant amount to MCRI for research. We thank the many generous Victorians who contributed and the Royal Children’s Hospital for this commitment.
Our research funding increased by more than 20 per cent over the past year to $55.1 million. This included $12.1 million awarded from the National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for research commencing in 2008.
Of this, $9.5 million was awarded for project grants, representing a 58 per cent increase from 2007 (refer to graph).
MCRI researchers also attracted international competitive funding of almost $700,000 (refer to page 17), a testament to their world class research.
The number of staff and students increased from 745 in 2006 to 820 in 2007, with a further 300 Royal Children’s Hospital doctors and allied health professionals conducting research within MCRI. This growth highlights the Institute’s need for more space.
The Victorian Government committed to replacing current research space that will be demolished as part of the Royal Children’s Hospital redevelopment.
After a dedicated advocacy campaign, the Federal Government awarded a $50 million capital grant in the 2007 budget to assist with a more than doubling of MCRI research space from 12,000sqm to 26,000sqm.
Staff numbers though continue to climb with MCRI developing more research space in the 10 storey building completed in 2006 and funded by Atlantic Philanthropies. But this alone has not been sufficient and we have started to place some new or growing groups off site in rented facilities.
Josh & Ellie Bursztyn
With strategies to raise community awareness of our brand and to diversify private income streams, net fundraising income (excluding bequests) increased 48 per cent to $3.4 million. A further $550,000 was received in bequests. See donors and supporters on pages 17–29.
However, as private support from donors and companies is critical for seed funding of priority research initiatives, growth of fundraising income will continue to be a priority. The focus for 2008 will include developing corporate, bequest and major gift income.
We thank our Patron Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and four generations of her family for continuing to generously support the institute.
The Development Board chaired by Ms Suzi Carp continued to provide strategic input to all fundraising and profile raising activities.
1 Dame Elisabeth Murdoch hosted Discovery Day at Cruden farm
2 Susannah Calvert-Jones, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch & Terry Dwyer
3 Geoff Tregear, Glenn Bowes, Ruth Bishop, Graeme Barnes, John Bateman & David Thorburn 4 Victoria Lord & Ellie Smorgon
5 Agnes Bankier, Bill Hodgson and Joan Lefroy 6 Julie Ann Cox, Fran Awcock and Pam Miller 7 George Patton with Jan Robins & Robyn Reeves from the Jack Brockhoff Foundation
MCRI is committed to developing the researchers of the future and in 2007 had 143 PhD students and 96 other higher degree students.
With support from MCRI and UMDP, the Postgraduate Students’ Association and the Early to Mid Career Research Association provided professional skill development and opportunities for students to share experiences through retreats, seminars, a buddy system and travel grants.
The following awards were announced in 2007 and recognise the exceptional commitment of our high achievers in four important areas.
• Discovery Award for excellence in research achievement was awarded to A/Professor David Thorburn in recognition of his nationally and internationally significant research into mitochondrial diseases. In 2006 David was awarded a prestigious Principal Research Fellowship from NHMRC and new funding totaling more than $1 million
• Rising Star Award for excellence in research achievement was awarded to Dr Paul Lockhart in recognition of his research into the role genes play in conditions like dystonia and Parkinson’s and in fertility. Paul received an NHMRC career development award and his team published 43 papers including two in the prestigious Nature Genetics Journal
• Teamwork Award for exceptional commitment beyond their own position to helping MCRI achieve its mission was awarded to Alison Van Bree for improving internal culture
• Innovation Award for outstanding innovation in research support was given to the Human Resources team of Kathryn Bellion, Andrea Frigo, Nicki Hockley for redevelopment of the performance evaluation program.
1 A/Professor David Thorburn 2 Dr Paul Lockhart 3 Alison Van Bree 4 Kathryn Bellion
5 Andrea Frigo 6 Nicki Hockley
The ongoing growth and development of the Institute would not be possible without the contribution of the board and board committees (see page 13–14).
Bill Hodgson retired as Deputy Chairman after 21 years on the board (see breakout box). Professor Glenn Bowes also retired following his move from Stevenson Professor and Head of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne.
We welcomed two new members to the board: Leigh Clifford and Ian Miller. Leigh Clifford is Qantas Board Chairman and non-executive director of Barclays Bank plc. He was honoured as an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) on Australia Day 2008.
Ian Miller has held various senior positions within Ernst & Young where he is currently a member of Ernst & Young’s Management Group.
Bill Hodgson retires as Deputy Chairman after a 21 year involvement. Bill was also a director of the Victorian Clinical Genetics Services Board and chaired the Audit, Finance and Risk Management Committee.
We are grateful for the skill and wisdom he brought to his role on the MCRI board and wish him well in his retirement.
Professor Graeme Barnes, who has had a long involvement with research on this campus as director of the former RCH Research Foundation and more recently as MCRI research fellow and board director of VCGS, also retired. We thank him for his significant contribution over many years.
Professor Andy Giraud replaced Professor Julie Bines as Theme Director, Infection, Immunity & Environment. Professor Giraud joined us from the University of Melbourne and Western Hospital, where he headed gastrointestinal cancer research. Professor Bines took up the Victor and Loti Smorgon Chair of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne.
With major discoveries to benefit children, growth in funding and staff numbers and progress made to secure space in the Royal Children’s Hospital redevelopment, 2007 was another successful year.
With ongoing dedication from our researchers and support staff, guidance from our board and executive and support from our corporate and community supporters, we are confident that 2008 will deliver continuing success for the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and improved health for children here and around the world.
Mr Laurence G Cox AO Chairman
Professor Terry Dwyer AO MD MPH Director
Directors bring to the board a diverse range of expertise across business and finance, health and research.
1. Chairman
Mr Laurence G Cox AO
Investment banker, director of various public and private companies and community groups
2. Deputy Chairman
Mr WH Hodgson (to December 2007) Formerly executive director and director of various private and public companies
3. Mr Martin Armstrong Lawyer and a director of various public and private companies and community groups
4. Mr Anthony Beddison AO Chairman of the Royal Children’s Hospital
5. Professor Glenn Bowes (to December 2007)
Stevenson Professor of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne
6. Mrs Janet Calvert-Jones AO Chairman of Herald & Weekly Times Limited
7. Mrs Suzi Carp Director of River Capital, chair of the MCRI development board
8. Mr Leigh Clifford AO (from December 2007) Chairman of the Qantas Board and non-executive director of Barclays Bank
9. Ms Patricia Cross Board director of National Australia Bank and other private and public companies
10. Dr Tony Cull
Chief Executive Officer, The Royal Children’s Hospital
11. Professor Terry Dwyer AO MD MPH Director, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
12. Ms Jane Fenton AM Director of Fenton Communications, Chair of The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation
13. Mr Peter Griffin
Investment banker and a director of NM Rothschild & Sons Pty Ltd Group and other public companies and community groups
14. Mr Ian Miller (from December 2007) Managing Partner – Oceania Area People Leader, Ernst & Young
15. Mrs Judy Paterson Director of Ace Radio Broadcasters
16. Professor Richard Smallwood AO Chief Medical Officer for the Commonwealth of Australia
17. Professor Geoff Tregear AM Deputy Director of the Howard Florey Institute
Audit, Finance &
Risk Management Committee
Monitors the systems and establishes controls to safeguard the institute’s assets
Chair, Mr WH Hodgson (to December 2007)
Mr Martin Armstrong
Mr Laurence Cox AO
Ms Anne Cronin
Professor Terry Dwyer AO
Mr Ian Miller (from April 2007)
Commercialisation/IP Committee
Advises the board on business development opportunities for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries and related issues, including patent protection
Chair, Professor Geoff Tregear AM
Mr Martin Armstrong
Mr Andrew Baker
Dr Angeline Bartholomeusz (from March 2007)
Ms Anne Cronin
Professor Terry Dwyer AO
Ms Sue Michelmore
Mr Bob Moses
Mr George Raitt
Professor George Werther
Development Board
Provides advice for communications, development and events
Chair, Mrs Suzi Carp
Deputy Chair, Mr Angus Reynolds
Ms Lisa Bond (from November 2007)
Mrs Prue Brown (to August 2007)
Mrs Susannah Calvert-Jones
Dr Narelle Curtis
Mr Tony Davies
Mr Ben James
Ms Marisa Leone (from October 2007)
Ms Victoria Lord (from March 2007)
Mr Fraser Macvean (to March 2007)
Mrs Sarah Murdoch
Ms Emma Rosenberg (from November 2007)
Ms Fiona Rowland (from October 2007)
Mr Ion Teska (to August 2007)
Investment Committee
Advises on the financial investments of the institute
Chair, Mr Peter Griffin
Mrs Suzi Carp
Mr Laurence G Cox AO
Ms Patricia Cross
Mr Ben James
Mr Dominic Leary
Mr Paul Martin
Mr Ian Miller
Mr John Nickson
Redevelopment Advisory Committee
Advised on the redevelopment of the institute and the new Royal Children’s Hospital
Chair, Mr Laurence Cox AO
Mr Martin Armstrong
Ms Anne Cronin
Mr Rodger Dalling
Professor Terry Dwyer AO
Mr Leon Lachal
Mr Guy Nelson
Mr Angus Reynolds
Mr Josh Slattery
Remuneration Committee
Mr Martin Armstrong
Mr Laurence G Cox AO
Victoria Clinical Genetics Services Board
Board of directors, which oversees the activities of VCGS, an incorporated subsidiary of MCRI
Chair, Professor Terry Dwyer AO
Professor Agnes Bankier
Mr Laurence G Cox AO
Mr W H Hodgson (until December 2007)
Professor Stephen Holdsworth
Associate Professor Andrew Kornberg
Professor Finlay Macrae
Professor Paul Mitchell
The executive committee is responsible for the management of research strategy, operational issues, research income and infrastructure development.
ExECUTIVE COMMITTEE
1. Professor Terry Dwyer Director
2. Ms Anne Cronin Chief Operating Officer
3. Professor Vicki Anderson Critical Care & Neurosciences
4. Professor Andrew Sinclair Early Development & Disease
5. Professor Sheena Reilly Healthy Development
6. Professor Julie Bines Infection, Immunity & Environment (to July 2007)
7. Professor Andrew Giraud Infection, Immunity & Environment (from July 2007)
8. Professor Andy Choo Laboratory & Community Genetics
9. Professor John Bateman Musculoskeletal Disorders
INVITED TO ATTEND
10. Dr Moira Clay Policy Advisor (to April 2007)
11. Dr Narelle Curtis PR & Development Manager
12. Ms Julia Malone Manager, Grants office
13. Dr MaryAnne Aitken Research Strategy Communications Advisor (from June 2007)
Members
Stakeholders
PR & Development
Dr Narelle Curtis
The Board Chairman Laurence G Cox AO
Director Professor Terry Dwyer AO MD MPH
Board Committees
Audit, Finance & Risk Management
Commercialisation & IP Development Board Investment Remuneration
Research Strategy Dr MaryAnne Aitken
Executive Committee
Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Australian Paediatric Pharmacology Research Unit
Bioinformatics
Critical Care & Neurosciences
Theme Director Professor Vicki Anderson
Academic Child Psychiatry
Anaesthesia & Pain
Management
Child Neuropsychology
Developmental
Disability Research
Emergency Research
Haematology Research
Heart Research
Medical Imaging Research
Neonatal Nursing
Neonatal Research
Neurorehabilitation research
Neuroscience Research
Otolaryngology
Paediatric Intensive Care
Patient Safety Research
Social & Mental Health
Aspects of Serious Illness
Victorian Infant Brain Studies
Early Development & Disease
Theme Director
Professor Andrew Sinclair
Cancer
Cord Blood Bank
Diabetes
Embryology
Epigenetics Research
Genetic
Hearing Research
Hormone Research
Molecular Development
Pituitary Development & Disease
Healthy Development
Theme Director
Professor
Sheena Reilly
Alcohol & Drug Use
Health Services
Healthy Communities
Healthy Mothers
Healthy Families
Language & Literacy
Mental Health, Behaviour & Wellbeing
Obesity, Physical Activity & Nutrition
Public Health
Hearing
Physical Health & Development
Infection, Immunity & Environment
Theme Directors Professor Julie Bines
Professor Andrew Giraud
Allergy & Immune Disorders
Clinical Paediatrics & Therapeutics
Enteric Viruses
Environmental & Genetic Epidemiology Research
Gastrointestinal Research in Inflammation & Pathology
Gut & Liver
Immunisation Research (VIRGO/Immunisation CCRE)
Infectious Diseases & Microbiology
International Child Health
Intestinal Failure & Clinical Nutrition
Respiratory Diseases
Surgical Research
Laboratory & Community Genetics
Theme Director
Professor Andy Choo
Cell & Gene
Therapy
Chromosome & Chromatin
Research
Clinical Genetics Research
Cyto-Molecular Diagnostics Research
Ethics
Genetics Education & Health Research
Genetic Health Research
(Bruce Lefroy Centre)
Mitochondrial & Metabolic Research
Public Health
Genetics
Chief Operating Officer Anne Cronin
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Theme Director Professor John Bateman
Arthritis & Rheumatology
Craniofacial Research
Muscular Dystrophy
Oral Health Research
Orthopaedics & Gait Analysis (Gait CCRE)
Skeletal Biology & Disease
Corporate Services
Engineering & Technology
Finance Grants Office
Graphic Design
Human Resources
Information Technology
IP & Commercialisation
Payroll
Occupational Health & Safety
Scientific Services
Disease Models
Tissue Culture
Flow Cytometry & Imaging
Laboratory Support
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute has many loyal and generous supporters including private donors, trusts and foundations, pro bono contributors and corporate supporters.
Income from charitable trusts and foundations increased with major support received from beyondblue, Hugh Williamson Foundation, Ilhan Food & Allergy Foundation, John T Reid Charitable Trust, Miller Foundation, My Room, Myer Foundation, TAC Health Research Group, The Jack Brockhoff Foundation, Victorian Health Promotion Foundation and Windermere Foundation.
MCRI was awarded almost $700,000 in competitive funding from international sources including Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance, Citrina Foundation, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association US, National Institute of Health USA, World Health Organization and National Childhood Cancer Foundation.
Our Patron, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, and four generations of her family continued to support the institute financially and with the generous gift of their time. Dame Elisabeth hosted numerous
lunches and kindly opened her gardens for our annual Discovery Day at Cruden Farm. Janet Calvert-Jones and Judy Paterson served on the board and Susannah Calvert-Jones served on the development board together with MCRI ambassador Sarah Murdoch, who leant her profile to promote the FOXTEL Lap. Sarah’s visit to the institute with husband Lachlan and son Kalan was a highlight for both research staff and patients.
Corporate income increased with major support received from ABC Learning Centre, Deloitte, FOXTEL, Macquarie Group and Macquarie Group Foundation, NAB and Pratt Foundation.
Support in kind is just as important to helping the institute fundraise and achieve its mission.
Major contributors included The Big Group, Cavill + Co, Eclipse, FOXTEL, Herald & Weekly Times, Hub, Inlink, Media Puzzle, My Child Magazine, NAB, Nellie Castan Gallery, News Custom Publishing, News Limited, Splitrock and Teska Carson.
Discovery Day at Cruden Farm
More than 1500 people visited Dame Elisabeth Murdoch’s Cruden Farm for the third annual Discovery Day which raised more than $61,000. Thanks to major sponsors Herald Sun, Country Road, Leader Community Newspapers and Aromababy.
Project group: Susannah Calvert-Jones (chair), Jane Baillieu, Romy Bursztyn, Narelle Curtis, Aimee Dean-Pritchard, Victoria Lord, Lara Reynolds, Candy Rosenbaum and Ellie Smorgon. 1 Dame Elisabeth Murdoch & friends 2 Victoria does some gardening of her own 3 Heni Paterson & Lucy Emmett 4 Ben Harris enjoys the baby animal farm
Portsea Polo Charity Cup
MCRI was the official charity for The Age Portsea Polo Charity Cup, which attracted more than 5000 spectators and raised $62,000. Thanks to Kay & Burton for hosting the charity marquee and the Victorian Polo Club.
The Heritage Charity Golf Day
With 26 teams participating, the golf day raised $36,000, doubling the fundraising efforts of 2006. Thanks to The Heritage Golf & Country Club for hosting the event.
Starting with a champagne preview and ending with a live contemporary Australian art auction, Art for Science raised $300,000. Thanks to the Nellie Castan Gallery, the incredibly generous artists and supporting galleries, auctioneer Scott Livesey and supporters.
Project group: Suzi Carp (chair), Prue Brown, Narelle Curtis, Rohan Davis, Mardi Foster, Scott Livesey, Linda McNaughton, Emma Rosenberg, Lydia Schiavello and Ion Teska.
1 James Calvert-Jones, Paul & Gay Rosen, Susannah Calvert-Jones 2 Daniel & Danielle Besen with Suzi Carp
3 The Art for Science project group 4 Terry Dwyer & Nellie Castan 5 Artist Song Ling
The FOXTEL Lap
Held in Melbourne, Sydney and for the first time Perth, The FOXTEL Lap saw 97 corporate teams and 1864 participants competing to run the most laps over the 10-hour treadmill challenge.
MCRI ambassador Sarah Murdoch was the face of the event, fronting a $2 million advertising campaign supported by FOXTEL, Qantas, The Australian, The Sunday Times (WA), Inlink, Stadiamedia, MMM Sydney, 2DAY FM Sydney, 92.9 FM Perth, FOX FM Melbourne, MMM Melbourne and 6PR.
The award for most laps run went to Ernst & Young in Melbourne, UBS in Sydney and KPMG in Perth. The ‘most funds raised’ team awards went to AON in Melbourne and Macquarie Group in both Sydney and Perth.
More than $550,000 was raised for MCRI. Thanks to sponsors FOXTEL, NAB and Eclipse, official suppliers Exercise Australia, PUMA and SCT Logistics and also to the Australian Human Resources Institute.
Thanks also to the many people who generously sponsored the corporate participants.
1 Sarah Murdoch competes in the Sydney event
2 The Melbourne challenge underway 3 Maude & Kyle from FOXTEL 4 Candy Rosenbaum & Daniela Moreira
5 Dora the Explorer, Sarah Murdoch & Karl Stefanovic
6 NAB volunteers 7 Cheering on the team
Thank you to all our generous donors, sponsors and event supporters in 2007.*
AABC Learning Centre
Abeles Pty Ltd
Abercromby’s Real Estate
ABN AMRO
Peter Abraam
Justin & Emma Abrahams
Achna Pty Ltd
Roger & Lorraine Adams
Robert Agnew
Agriculture Victoria
Diego Aguilar Lozano
Robert Aguis
AIG Australasia
Michael Aladjem
Theoharis Alaveras
Alexander Robertson
Matt & Megan Allen
Simon Allen
Mark & Shani Anderson
Michelle Andrews
Leo Anezakis
Con & Liz Angelatos
ANZ
ANZ Executors &Trustee Company
Aon
Fiona Archer
Nick Argyrou
Martin & Toni Armstrong
Grant Armstrong
Fleur & Ian Arnold
Arnold Bloch Leibler
Arnott’s Biscuits Holdings
Lucy Arter
Arthritis Foundation of Australia
Ashe Morgan Winthrop
Jane Ashton
Association of Greek & Affiliated
Panhellenic Interests
Asthma Foundation – Victoria
Andrew & Tracey Atkins
Amanda Atkins
Austar Entertainment
Austbulk Shipping
Clare Austin
Australian & New Zealand
College of Anaesthetists
Australian Dental Research Foundation
Australian Finance Group
Australian Medical Association
Australian Nursing Federation
Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth
Australian Rotary Health Research Fund
Australian Stem Cell Centre
Avant Mutual B
Anthony & Sybil Baillieu
Jane & Richard Baillieu
Susie Baines
John D Balmford
Bank Of Cyprus
Bank West
Baracon Group
Luigi & Iole Barbieri
Andrew Barlow
Peter & Amanda Barnett
Stewart & Natalie Baron
John & Rosemary Barr
Harry Barrass
Amy Barron
Tom & Jenny Barr-Smith
Martin & Anne Marie Bartlett
* Donations over $100 are listed, FOXTEL Lap participant sponsors are not.
Battered Frozen Foods
Anthony Baxter
BDO Kendalls
Kate & Tony Beaconsfield
Tony Beddison AO
Katherine Behrend
Belgravia Group
Bruce Bell & Anne Willey
Richard Bell
Drew Bellmaine
Bendigo Truss Plant
Rebecca Berry
Daniel & Danielle Besen
Bexton Professional
Beyond Blue
Bilby Triathlon Club
Margaret Billson
John & Dorothy Bines
Graeme Black
Tania Black
Annie Blair
Blake Dawson
Barbara Blanch
Bodycare Group
Peter & Margaret Bond
Bone Growth Foundation
Kasino Boneng
Bob & Anne Bones
Lucy Bongiorno
Boston Consulting Group
Graeme & Linda Boulter
Richard & Alison Bouris
Kris Bowyer
David Briskin
Malcolm & Janet Brodie
Errol C Broome
Warwick & Megan Broomham
Paul Brotchie
Nick & Prue Brown
Stuart & Nat Brown
Bob Brown
Jacqui Brown
Stephen Browning
Andrew Buchanan
Luke Buckle
Hans & Sally Bufe
Nick & Tracy Bufe
Kimberley Bunning
Marcus & Nora Burke
Paul Burley
Graham & Fran Burns
Alasdair Burns
Ryan Burns
Graham & Dana Burrows
Tim & Romy Bursztyn
Burtons Pty Ltd
Michelle Byrnes
C
Cassy Cadden
Liz Cacciottolo
Michael & Creena Cadden
CAF Community Fund
James & Susannah Calvert-Jones
John & Janet Calvert-Jones
Calvert-Jones Foundation
The Cancer Council Victoria
Simon Cammiss & Ms Lucy Mills
Katrina Campion
Andrea Candiani
Canterbury Partners
Scott Carmichael
Barry & Suzi Carp
Brandon & Nicky Carp
Michael A Carp
Sara Carter
Andrew Casper
Steven Casper
George & Freda Castan
Richard & Sue Castan
Nellie Castan
The Cass Foundation
Amanda Catanach
Liz Cavagna
Hailey Cavill
Cavill + Co
Melissa Chadwick
Charles Nodrum Gallery
Barry & Joanne Cheetham
Lynda & Jake Cheng
Nathan & Cami Cher
Brandon & Davina Chizik
Kevin & Melissa Choate
Citrina Foundation
Jenny Clairs
Andrew Clark
Jacqui Clark
Clayton Utz
Naomi Clements
Johnny Clemons
Leigh & Sue Clifford
Andrew & Miffy Coady
Andrew D Cochrane
James Cole
Collier Charitable Fund
Colliers International
Christine Collingwood
Helen M Collis
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Communications Hearing Clinic
Andrew Connell
Chris Connell
Kevin & Carol Connolly
Mark Coombes
Mark & Georgie Coombe-Tennant
Adelle Coote
Amelia Coote
Ross & Gina Copeland
Phyllis Corben
Phillip & Caroline Cornish
Costa Family Foundation
Country Road
Paul & Belinda Cowan
Nicholas & Caroline Cox
Laurence & Julie Ann Cox
Cecily Cox
David & Bronwyn Crammond
John Crennan
Rob & Camilla Cropper
Patricia Cross
CSL
Graham Cumming
Peter & Rosanne Cunningham
Elizabeth M Cunningham
Narelle Curtis
Allan & Lorraine Curtis
Belinda Curtis
Peter Cusick
Cyprus Club Kapouti
Cyprus Club Karavas Lambousa
Cyprus Community of Melbourne & Victoria
Cystic Fibrosis Australia
Albert & Debbie Dadon
Jack & Sandie Dahan
Ken & Kate Damm
June Danks
Tony & Sue Darvall
Andrew Davidson
Glen & Adena Davidson
Richard & Danielle Davies
Tony & Trisha Davies
Jonathan & Briely Davis
Marc & Julie Davis
Geoffrey Day
Richard & Sarah de Crespigny
David & Kristene Deague
Andrew Debono
Ed & Helen Delany
Lerida Delbridge
Deloitte
Deloitte Foundation
Michael & Vera Demkiw
Jane Denniston
Department of Human Services
Department of Human Services – Sth Aust
Department of Justice
Dept of Health & Aged Care
Mrs Katharine Derham-Moore
Fiona Devereux
DFO
Suwanee Dharmalingam
Edwina Dillon
Peter Dollin
Sandra Donovan
Douglas Will Family Trust
Nick & Lucy Dowling
Mary Dowling
Stephen Drakeford
Ralph D’Silva
Lorna Duffy
Kimi Duncan
Andrew Dunlop
Dunstar Pty Ltd
Terry & Jeanine Dwyer
David & Robbie Dyer
E
Marnie Eden
Nick Edwards
Katie Edwards
Ms Jacinta Efthim
Jennifer Eikenboom
Stuart Eliot
David & Barb Ellett
Rodger & Gwen Elliot
Rory Elliot
Embelton Limited
Entertainment Publications
Ernst & Young
Establishment Developments
Euroz Ltd
David & Jeanie Evans
Earl Evans
F
Richard Facioni
Deirdre Farfor
Melanie & Tim Farrell
Enzo & Lidija Fasciani
Bill & Janne Faulkner
Luke Fay
B Feith
The Felton Bequest
Jane Fenton
Helen Ferguson
Ferrier Hodgson
Robert Fiani
Adrian & Candice Field
Financial Markets Foundation for Children
Michelle Fincke
Ryan Fleming
Conor Foley
The Flew Foundation
Nola Foote
Dean & Jenny Ford
Judy Foreman
Mardi Foster
FOX SPORTS
FOXTEL
FOXTEL Management
Jono Francisco & Liesel Upton
Simon & Libby Fraser
Malcolm & Tamie Fraser
Marcus & Sarah Freeman
Fresh Mums
Simon & Mia Frid
David & Amanda Fried
Zac & Rebecca Fried
Friedreich Ataxia Research Association
Friedreichs Ataxia Group
Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance
Mark Frost
Richard J Fuller
G
Harold Gallagher
Pamela Galli
Roger Gamble
Michael & Helen Gannon
Neilma Gantner
Ross & Judith Gardner
Jo Gardner
The Garnett Passe & Rodney Williams
Memorial Foundation
Bruce & Elizabeth Garrett
Thomas Garside
Yianni & Niki Gelis
Sylvia Gelman
Gem Consulting / Azure Capital
Genesis Fitness
George Castan Family Charitable Foundation
Virginia Gibbes
John & Suzanna Gibson
Helene Gibson
Chris Gilbert & Nadine Caprioglio
David Gillespie & Victoria Lord
GIO Social Club
Leora Givoni
GlaxoSmithKline
Quinton Gleeson
SF & MG Gooley
Paul Goncharoff
Noel & Marlene Gould
Gould Galleries
Louise M Gourlay
Hugh Graham
Philip Graham
James & Bec Gray
Suzanne Gray-Lynch
Len & Elaine Greenhall
Peter Griffin & Terry Meehan
Marcia Griffin
Rosemary A Griffith
John & Jo Grigg
Peter Grigor
Michael & Dahlia Gross
H
H & L Hecht Trust
Stephen & Jane Hains
Michael & Jackie Haintz
Tom & George Hall
Maurice E Hall
Hall & Wilcox
Geoffrey & Tracey Hamilton
Michael & Susie Hamson
Addie Hance
Scott Hanlon
Paul Hannan
Frank Hargrave
Tony & Susan Hargreaves
Tom & Sarah Harley
Judith D Harley
Harold & Cora Brenen Benelovent Trust
Harold Mitchell Foundation
Mary Harries
Colin & Carolyn Harris
Olivia Hawkes
Steve Hawkins
Nancy Haydon
Sam Hayes
Simon & Jane Hayman
Barbara Haynes
Max & Jan Hayson
Adrian & Serena Hayward
HBOS Australia
The Heart Foundation
Hearts of Hope Australia
Geoffrey E & Dorothy Heeley
Heather Heemskerk
Helen Macpherson Smith Trust
Barry & Fran Helfenbaum
Romy Hendel
David & Sue Hendy
Herald Sun
Herald & Weekly Times
Heritage Golf & Country Club
Vanessa Herskope
M Hibbins
Ian W Hicks
Hicksons Lawyers
Colin & Norma Hinshelwood
Candice Hirons
David & Kate Hocking
Mario & Amber Hogerhorst
K & M Hoggard
Tanya Hollis
Errika Holm
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Enhancing the quality of life for children with brain injury, heart disease, premature birth, developmental and behavioural disorders, epilepsy, autism, stroke, serious illness and after surgery.
Professor Vicki Anderson vicki.anderson@rch.org.au
What we do
We take a multidisciplinary approach to ensure more holistic treatment and management of acutely ill babies, children and their families. Our researchers also care for patients, giving us the advantage of identifying the most important clinical issues and quickly implementing research findings.
We aim to implement and evaluate treatment of the highest standard, not only to enhance patient care in hospital, but also to improve the medical, educational and psychosocial outcomes for children after they leave hospital.
Research highlights
We brought together new clinical research groups with pre-existing groups, to forge collaborations and provide support to researchers. The outcomes were positive and included:
• Children with complex congenital heart defects will benefit from the finding that the Fontan procedure (a palliative surgical operation) gives better results than a classical atriopulmonary connection. RCH heart surgeon A/Professor Yves d’Udekem, who was awarded an MCRI Research Fellowship, led the research
• Babies under intensive care often require frequent painful procedures, with the long term impact of that pain on the baby’s health and wellbeing not well known. Professor Linda Johnston and the Neonatal Research Team confirmed the benefits of oral sucrose as a non-pharmacological approach to pain management. The finding was incorporated into The RCH clinical guidelines and disseminated internationally
• A new research program was implemented to better understand the full impact of stroke on a child’s brain development and to build on the clinical stroke service launched by RCH
achievements
• The Victorian Infant Brain Study attracted a $1.7 million NHMRC project grant to continue tracking the health of very premature babies. The grant followed research findings published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine in 2006
• Research investigating the effects of anaesthesia on infants’ long term neurological development attracted an NHMRC project grant. The research, led by Dr Andrew Davidson, will begin in 2008
• The Victorian Neurotrauma Initiative awarded a grant to Professor Vicki Anderson and her team to investigate the prevention and treatment of social problems following traumatic brain injury in children and adolescents
• Protecting the lungs of sick and premature babies is the focus of a new 2008 study. Dr David Tingay, Neonatal Research, received an NHMRC Australian Clinical Research Training Fellowship for the project
• Professor Vicki Anderson was made a fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia
Our research strategy
The theme’s investment strategy was based on fulfilling the following objectives:
• Increase outcomes of new and fledgling research groups with infrastructure
• More multidisciplinary collaborations within the theme and across the campus
• Encourage promising young researchers with post-doctoral funding
The future: our objectives for 2008
The theme will focus on increasing the productivity of current researchers by:
• Further consolidating multidisciplinary collaborations
• Developing a cohesive clinical research governance framework in collaboration with RCH
• Establishing a state-of-the-art functional neuron-imaging facility
• Increasing innovative clinical research to improve children’s health and wellbeing
Publications
The theme published 142 peer-reviewed papers. Highlights included:
• d’Udekem Y, Iyengar AJ, Cochrane AD, Grigg LE, Ramsay JM, Wheaton GR, Penny DJ and Brizard CP. The Fontan procedure: contemporary techniques have improved long-term outcomes. Circulation 116 (11): 1157–1164 (2007)
• Doyle LW, Davis PG, Morley CJ, McPhee A, Carlin JB and DART study investigators. Outcome at two years of age of infants from the DART study: A multicenter, international, randomized, controlled trial of low-dose dexamethasone. Pediatrics 119(4): 716–721 (2007)
• Dulac O, Nabbout R, Plouin P, Chiron C and Scheffer IE. Early seizures: causal events or predisposition to adult epilepsy? Lancet Neurology 6(7): 643–651 (2007)
• Owen LS, Morley CJ and Davis PG. Neonatal nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation: what do we know in 2007? Archives of Disease in Childhood Fetal & Neonatal Edition 92(5): F414–8 (2007)
• Vance A, Silk TJ, Casey M, Rinehart NJ, Bradshaw JL, Bellgrove MA and Cunnington R. Right parietal dysfunction in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, combined type: a functional MRI study. Molecular Psychiatry 12(9): 826–832 (2007)
THEME DIRECTOR
Professor
Vicki Anderson
Mary Iliadis
Personal Assistant to Theme Director
LeeAnn Jones
Administrative Assistant
THEME ADVISORY GROUP
A/Professor Alasdair Vance Academic Child Psychiatry Unit
Dr Andrew Davidson Anaesthesia Pain Management
Professor Vicki Anderson Child
Neuropsychology
A/Professor
Dinah Reddihough Developmental Disability Research
Dr Franz Babl Emergency Research
Professor Paul Monagle Haematology Research
Professor
Dan Penny Cardiology Research
Dr Timothy Cain
Dr Michael Ditchfield
Medical Imaging Research
Professor Linda Johnston Neonatal Nursing Research
Professor Colin Morley Neonatal Research
Jane Galvin Neurorehabilitation Research
Dr Andrew J Kornberg
Neuroscience Research
A/Professor Robert Berkowitz Department of Otolaryngology
Dr Lara Shekerdemian Paediatric Intensive Care
A/Professor Brigid Jordan Social and Mental Health Aspects of Serious Illness
Dr Karen Dunn Patient Safety Research
Dr Peter Anderson
Professor
Lex Doyle
Dr Rod Hunt
Victorian Infant Brain Studies (VIBeS)
THEME MEMBERS
Rachele Aiello
Dr Giuliana Antolovich
Anday Atlas
Dr Franz Babl
Dr Gordon Baikie
Dr Melinda Barker
Dr Chris Barnes
Fiona Bassed
Lisa Bates
Merilyn Bear
Natalie Beatie
Dr Miriam Beauchamp
Dr Mark Bellgrove
Jiang Benran
A/Professor
Robert Berkowitz
Amy Boden
Dr Penny Bolt
Dr Cynthia Borg
Robert Bourke
Dr Ros Boyd
Dr Christian Brizard
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James Brown
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Nisha Brown
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Copnell
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Louise Crowe
Karen Dally
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Cinzia De Luca
Ben Deery
Maree Dellaportas
Stacy
Dimitracopoulos
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Bernice Dodds
Professor
Lex Doyle
A/Professor
Yves d’Udekem
Abbey Eeles
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Gary Egan
Upeka
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Greenway
Dr Joanne
Grindlay
Dr Julia Gunn
Julie Hall
Nicole Hall
Rosnah Harun
Dr Simon Harvey
Andrew Hattam
Lyndal Hickey
Dr Sandy Hopper
Kelly Howard
Dr Rod Hunt
Dr Vera Ignjatovic
Aysel Ilhan
Christine Imms
A/Professor
Terrie Inder
Craig Ironfield
Professor
Linda Johnston
Dr Bryn Jones
Felicity Karsz
Michael Kean
Charlotte Keung
Asawari Killedar
Ingrid King
Nicholas Kiraly
Anne Kissane
Sarah Knight
A/Professor
Andrew Kornberg
Marie Lamb
Anna Lanigan
Shelly Lavery
Melissa Lee
Dr Rick Leventer
Dr Stuart Lewena
Jeremy Lim
Ashleigh Lin
Tess Lionti
Brian Long
Viola Luk
Belinda Luther
Dr Mark Mackay
Niloufar Mahdavi
Vicky Manikas
Kolta Marian
Dr Catherine Marraffa
Professor Paul Maruff
Maria McCarthy
Stephen McKeever
Dr Ian McKenzie
Anne Marie
McVeigh-Dowd
Michele Meehan
Johnny Millar
Dr John Mills
Carly Molloy
Professor Paul Monagle
Anne Moodie
Professor
Colin Morley
Sue Morse
Dr Frank Muscara
Jonathan Mynard
Caroline Nadebaum
Siva
Namachivayam
Ashwini Nayate
Jennifer Nazareth
Fiona Newall
Dr Carol Newnham
Elisabeth Northam
Dr Ed Oakley
Emra Oguzkaya
Dr Christine Olesch
Joy Olsen
Jean Ong
Jane Orton
Maree O’Toole
Tess Overend
Dr Greta Palmer
Jennifer Papoutsis
A/Professor
Campbell Paul
Sarah Peek
Anastasia
Pellicano
Professor
Dan Penny
Lauren Phelan
Trina Phuah
Dr Chidambaram Prakash
Karthik
Premkumar
Tara Quinlivan
Dr Philip Ragg
Melinda Randall
Jennifer Re
A/Professor
Dinah Reddihough
Sandra Rees
Sue Reid
Emily Roberts
Dr Gehan Roberts
Michelle Rose
Dr Margaret Rowell
Dr Monique Ryan
Leanne Sakzewski
Professor
Ingrid Scheffer
Karissa Searle
Dr Divyen Shah
Dr Amre Shahwan
Professor
Frank Shann
Lisa Sharwood
Lara Shekerdemian
Suzette Sheppard
Sarah Sherwell
Tim Silk
Dr Kate Simpson
Robyn Sketchley
A/Professor
Joe Smolich
Suzanne Snookes
Dr Cheryl Soo
Megan
Spencer-Smith
Alicia Spittle
Michele Spreckley
Jane Sullivan
Robyn
Summerhayes
Bonnie Swann
Dorothy Tam-Chan
Robyn Tapp
Jia Teo
Deanne Thompson
Dr Frances
Thomson Salo
Dr David Tingay
Nicole Tokatlian
Misel Trajanovska
Karli Treyvaud
Meg Turville
A/Professor
Alasdair Vance
Janet Walstab
Dr Hong Wang
Beverley Weate
Dr Robert
Weintraub
Christine Westbury
Elizabeth Westrupp
Cresley Wheeler
Dr Jacqueline
Williams
Michelle
Wilson-Ching
Yan Wong
Jia Wei Woo
Dr Amanda Wood
Damith Woods
Jackie Yamada
Dr Simon Young
Improving outcomes for children affected by conditions such as cancer, diabetes, hearing loss and disorders of sexual development.
Professor Andrew Sinclair andrew.sinclair@mcri.edu.au
What we do
Our research is based on the understanding that many childhood diseases originate during early development.
In this context, development may refer to the change from a non-specialised to a specialised cell or the sort of extraordinary development that occurs in a growing human foetus during pregnancy.
Faults in the genes that regulate these developmental processes, in combination with environmental factors, can result in a variety of childhood diseases.
Research highlights
• Prestigious journal Cell invited Professor Andrew Sinclair to write an editorial giving an Australian perspective on human embryonic stem cell research and the implication of developments made this century
• A/Professor Paul Ekert was an important contributor to a group that established an important pathway in programmed cell death in cancer, resulting in two publications in the journal Cell
• Pigs fed high-fat diets are less responsive to insulin, according to research by Dr Matt Sabin and team. The finding has major implications for the study of diet and obesity
• A 15-year diabetes research group study found 38 per cent of adolescents with type 1 diabetes had been referred to mental health services since their diagnosis. The research was led by A/Professor Elisabeth Northam
Major achievements
• The 2007 Victorian Government Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement went to Professor Garry Warne
• A/Professor Paul Ekert received a Sylvia & Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship
• The diabetes research group won the International Health & Medical Media Award for its life guide for young people with diabetes
• MCRI’s contribution in a successful bid for a Cooperative Research Centre in Hearing was led by A/Professor Henrik Dahl for research into the genetic causes of hearing loss
• NHMRC awarded a training fellowship to Stefan White who joined MCRI from the Netherlands to identify genes responsible for disorders of sexual development
• The epigenetics research group, established in 2006, recruited new staff and secured external funding. A highlight was the announcement of a ‘Healthy Start to Life for All Australians’ grant from NHMRC. The group is leading research into twins to understand prenatal factors that can lead to low birth weight and increased risk of disease in later life
Our research strategy
We allocated resources in the three key areas of people, projects and equipment. We have enhanced synergies and facilitated new collaborations between our existing groups and established new collaborations with other themes. Three major developments were:
• External review of cancer research undertaken and new research priorities set
• Funded (jointly with Healthy Development) a campus wide Multi-disciplinary Paediatric Obesity & Weight Research (M-POWR) initiative
• Significant involvement and participation in the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (ICCCC) with Dr Stefan White and Dr Nick Wong as key contributors
The future: our objectives for 2008
• Implement outcomes of the cancer review conducted in 2007, including restructuring and recruiting a key clinical researcher
• Conduct an external review of endocrinology and diabetes research
• Improve grant success rates by developing a mentoring system
• Position groups to be competitive for larger funding opportunities both nationally and internationally
Publications
The theme published 59 peer-reviewed papers. Highlights included:
• Algar EM, St Heaps L, Darmanian A, Dagar V, Prawitt D, Peters GB and Collins F. Paternally inherited submicroscopic duplication at 11p15.5 implicates insulin-like growth factor II in overgrowth and Wilms’ tumorigenesis.
Cancer Research 67(5): 2360–2365 (2007)
• Cameron FJ, Northam EA, Ambler GR and Daneman D. Routine psychological screening in youth with type 1 diabetes and their parents: a notion whose time has come? Diabetes Care 30(10):2716–24 (2007)
• Lepore DA, Thomas GP, Knight KR, Hussey AJ, Callahan T, Wagner J, Morrison WA and Thomas PQ. Survival and differentiation of pituitary colony-forming cells in vivo. Stem Cells 25(7): 1730–1736 (2007)
• Mason KD, Carpinelli MR, Fletcher JI, Collinge JE, Hilton AA, Ellis S, Kelly PN, Ekert PG, Metcalf D, Roberts AW, Huang DC and Kile BT. Programmed anuclear cell death delimits platelet life span. Cell 128(6):1173–1186 (2007)
• Sinclair AH and Schofield PR. Human embryonic stem cell research: an Australian perspective. Cell 128(2): 221–223 (2007)
Children’s cancer research laboratories proudly supported by
THEME DIRECTOR
Professor
Andrew Sinclair
Nicky Woods
Personal Assistant to Theme Director
THEME ADVISORY GROUP
A/Professor
David Ashley Cancer
A/Professor Fergus Cameron Diabetes
Dr Jeff Craig Epigenetics Research
A/Professor Henrik Dahl Genetics Hearing Research
Dr Don Newgreen Embryology
Professor
Andrew Sinclair Molecular Development
Dr Richard Saffery Epigenetics Research
Professor
George Werther Hormone Research
THEME MEMBERS
Wendeline Alderlieste
Susan Alford
Dr Elizabeth Algar
Elena Andaloro
Roberta Andronikos
Melissa Arnold
Walid Azar
A/Professor
Leon Bach
Dr Anurag Bajpai
Stephanie Bannister
Ben Binder
Tamara Bonney
Andrew Boucher
Dr Gabriela Brumatti
Silverton Buraundi
Paul Canham
Jessica Cardwell
Dr Denise Caruso
Dr Jennifer Cauchi
Anna Cawood (Piper)
Linda Chilcott
Larissa Christophidis
Dr Rowena Conroy
Anna Crack
Vinod Dagar
Hinda Daggag
Thomas Dantoft
Carmel Daunt
Maaike Dekker
Christofora Dewi
Dr Tam Dieu
Karen Egan
Dr Sarah Ehtisham
Professor
Henry Ekert
A/Professor
Paul Ekert
Dr Ngaire Elwood
Melissa Ferguson
Jenny Forrester
Samantha Francis-Pester
Sarah Fraser
Rebecca Gebert
Dr Heather Gilbertson
Ben Green
Sonja Gustin
Dr Christine Hawkins
Sarah Healy
Dr John Heath
Sandra Higgins
Jennifer Houlihan
Dr Honor Hugo
Rebecca
Humphreys
Wendy Hutchison
Dr Anissa Jabbour
Abeer Jawaid
Lee-Ann Jones
Eric Joo
Sue Kantor
Jane Kaye
Chris King
Dr Ildi Koves
Anne Krastev
Lisa Kropf
Dr Diana Lepore
Dr Ruili Li
Ashley Lin
Elizabeth Loughlin
Maja Lovric
Dr Shehnaaz Manji
Stephen Mercer
Denise Miles
Dr Ruth Morley
Sally Morrissy
Andrea Muscat
Hien Nguyen
Tam Nguyen
Lana Ninkovic
A/Professor
Elisabeth Northam
Dr Amanda Notini
Boris Novakovic
Dr Michele O’Connell
Dr Thomas Ohnesorg
Dr Miina
Ollikainen
Mandy
Parkinson-Bates
Ebbe Poulsen
Dr Supriya Raj
Anne Reilly
Mette Richner
Chris Riffkin
Ashley Robertson
Kelly Roeszler
Jacqui Rosen
Caitlin Rowe
Sandra Ruhayel
Dr Vincenzo Russo
Dr Matthew Sabin
Marika Salmanidis
Menka Sebalj
Margaret Shaw
Dr John Silke
Johanna Simkin
Dr Peter Simm
Dr Craig Smith
Julieta Solis
Megan
Spencer Smith
Maysa Taleb
Kally Theodore
Pei Tian
Dr Karin
Tiedemann
Dr Caroline Ting
Dianne Tucker
Tina Vaiano
Jocelyn
van den Bergen
Professor Garry Warne
Blaise Weinrich
Dr Patrick Western
Dr Stefan White
Marguerite Wijetunge
Dr Nicholas Wong
Dr Margaret Zacharin
Dr Faten Zaibak
Sally Zeunert
Dong Zhang
Exploring the physical, social and environmental factors that shape the health of children, young people and adults.
Professor Sheena Reilly sheena.reilly@mcri.edu.au
Our research spans generations of families as we investigate common problems like obesity, depression, substance abuse, behavioural conditions, language and literacy.
We aim to improve quality of life by influencing public policy and health services in clinical and community settings including family focused programs. Our theme encompasses research that affects the health of the general population and includes the Centre for Adolescent Health and the Centre for Community Child Health.
Research highlights
• The Lancet published a landmark series on adolescent health conceptualised and developed by Professors Glenn Bowes, George Patton, Susan Sawyer and John Toumbourou
• Determined that fathers’ parenting behaviour, not mothers’, was associated with their child being overweight. Professors Melissa Wake and Jan Nicholson, an NHMRC fellow who joined MCRI in 2007, made the discovery using data from a longitudinal study of 5000 Australian children aged 4 to 5 years
• The Healthy Mothers Healthy Families group led by A/Professor Stephanie Brown joined MCRI from La Trobe University, bringing significant NHMRC funding. The group is investigating women’s health during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth, to understand the causes and consequences of poor maternal health. Research into the health of Indigenous mother’s is also a priority
• The Raising Children website (www.raisingchildren.net.au) provided expert information to more than four million parents. The site is a project of the Centre for Community Child Health, a joint centre of MCRI and RCH
• The program developing campus population health researchers to investigate common childhood conditions began. Supported by an NHMRC Capacity Building Grant, the project has attracted talented PhD graduates from this campus, London and Seattle
Major achievements
• Professor Sheena Reilly was awarded an NHMRC senior practitioner fellowship
• A study into the outcomes and cost effectiveness of a universal newborn hearing screening program attracted an NHMRC grant
• The Centre for Adolescent Health’s Professor George Patton and Dr Craig Olsson received an NHMRC ‘Healthy Start to Life for All Australians’ grant to investigate how mental health patterns pass from generation to generation. Their findings will define interventions for breaking cycles of depression, substance use and violence
• Other NHMRC funding announced included two project grants, a strategic initiative grant and a career development award
• Children’s Hospitals Australasia awarded its 2007 Medal of Distinction to Professor Frank Oberklaid
Our research strategy Capacity building initiatives were designed to increase our success with competitive grant applications. These included:
• Recruitment of new groups and senior staff to the theme
• The Multi-disciplinary Paediatric Obesity & Weight Research (M-POWR) was launched with the Early Development theme to investigate obesity and diabetes
• Enhanced statistical support to benefit many research groups
• Seed funding for important research projects
The future: our objectives for 2008
We will continue to increase the capacity of the theme by supporting our talented and dedicated staff and providing infrastructure to enhance the theme’s research activities. We will provide support for exciting cross theme initiatives and for our postdoctoral fellows as they establish their careers.
The theme published 77 peer-reviewed papers. Highlights included:
• Hiscock H, Canterford L, Ukoumunne OC and Wake M. Adverse associations of sleep problems in Australian preschoolers: National population study. Pediatrics 119(1):86–93 (2007)
• Patton GC and Viner R. Pubertal transitions in health. Lancet 369(9567):1130–1139 (2007)
• Reilly S, Wake M, Bavin EL, Prior M, Williams J, Bretherton L, Eadie P, Barrett Y and Ukoumunne OC. Predicting language at 2 years of age: a prospective community study. Pediatrics 120(6): e1441–1449 (2007)
• Sawyer SM, Drew S, Yeo MS and Britto MT. Adolescents with a chronic condition: Challenges living, challenges treating. Lancet 369(9571):1481–1489 (2007)
• Toumbourou JW, Stockwell T, Neighbors C, Marlatt GA, Sturge J and Rehm J. Interventions to reduce harm associated with adolescent substance use. Lancet 369(9570):1391–1401 (2007)
THEME DIRECTOR
Professor
Sheena Reilly
Rachael Hurley
Inge Timmerman
Personal Assistants to Theme Director
THEME ADVISORY GROUP
Dr Lyndal Bond Mental Health, Behaviour and Wellbeing
A/Professor
Stephanie Brown Healthy Mothers Healthy Families
Dr Kay Gibbons
Obesity, Physical Activity and Nutrition
Dr Sharon Goldfeld
Healthy
Communities
A/Professor
Jan Nicholson Mental Health, Behaviour and Wellbeing
Professor Frank Oberklaid Health Services
Professor
George Patton Mental Health, Behaviour and Wellbeing
Professor
Sheena Reilly
Language and Literacy
Professor
Susan Sawyer Physical Health and Development
A/Professor
John Toumbourou
Alcohol and Drug Use
A/Professor
Melissa Wake Public Health
Hearing
THEME MEMBERS
Helen Anastasakis
Donna Anderson
John Bamberg
Melinda Barker
Rebekah Barnfield
Dr Rachel Barratt
Amy Basile
Dr Jordana Bayer
Kristina Bennett
Anna Benton
Penelope Bezar
Melanie Bissett
Catherine Bolzonello
Angela Bourne
David Broderick
Vikki Brown
Helen Butler
Petrea Cahir
Dr Michele Campbell
Louise Canterford
Eileen Cini
Rachel Coghlan
Laura Conway
Melissa Coutts
Diana Crocker
Jacinta Cullinan
Judy Davey
Natalie De Bono
Dr Sarah Drew
Dr Rony Duncan
Dr Patricia Eadie
Dr Daryl Efron
Dr Tracy Evans-Whipp
Mark Farrell
Fides Ferlin
Dr Nola Firth
Margaret Flood
Maria Fong
Sharon Foster
Lucianne Foy
Dr Alexandra Fraser
Katherine Frayman
Philippa Garrard
Deirdre Gartland
Angela Gent
Bibi Gerner
Kylie Gilmartin
Julie Green
Philip Greenwood
Daisy Grinter
Cathy Grove
Dr Sonia Grover
Eva Grunden
Dr Bill Hallam
Dianne Halloran
Natasha Hampson
Anne Hampton
John Hargreaves
Megan Harper
Claire Haslope
Mary Hawkins
Jessica Heerde
Dr Sheryl Hemphill
Dr Harriet Hiscock
Dr Jan Hodgson
Emily Horwill
Tessa Hughes
Hasherah Ibrahim
Moira Inkelas
Dr Estelle Irving
Sharon Johnson
Stephanie Jones
Richard Kaa
Sylvia Kauer
Tracey Kearins
Jennifer Kelly
Megan Keyes
Jodie Kline
Tanya Koolmatrie
Aneta Kotevski
Andrea Krelle
Christina Laidlaw
Dr Nirosha
Lansakara
Rachel Leung
Penny Levickis
Dr Andy Lovett
Lisa Lutteken
Maire MacCana
Amanda Maguire
Kruno Martinac
Megan Mathers
Dr Zoe McCallum
Rachel
McConaghy
Dr Myfanwy
Mcdonald
Ellie McDonald
Maria McKenzie
June McLoughlin
Raelene
McNaughton
Robyn McNeil
Cristina Mei
Roxanne Miller
Izza Modh
Dr Tim Moore
Dr Elya Moore
Dr Angela Morgan
Kate Naish
Natasha Napiza
Shannon Newman
Cattram Nguyen
Ruth Nicholls
Dr Craig Olsson
Corrinne
op’t Hoog
Mandy
Parkinson-Bates
Sonja Pase
Renee Paxton
Susan Perlen
Nadia Petruccelli
Lauren Pigdon
Dr Zeffie Poulakis
Elke Power
Anna Price
Dr Jenny Proimos
Jon Quach
Dr Sophie Reid
Trudie Renowden
Candice Roberts
Rachel Robinson
Lucy Rogers
Dr Katherine Rowe
Steffie Ruppin
Charmaine
Sambathkumar
A/Professor
Ann Sanson
Mary Sayers
Tina Scalzo
Kate Scalzo
Emma Sciberras
Ian Seal
Dr Jillian Sewell
Jane Sheehan
Joanne Sheppard
Helen Shoemark
Dr Jemma Skeat
Angela Sloan
Katherine Smith
Libby Smith
Rachel Smith
Daniel Strachan
Leonie Symes
Angelina
Tabuteau-Moore
Inge Timmerman
Sherryn Tobin
Lynette Tollit
Michelle Tollit
Lea Trafford
Paras Tsiamis
Kerry Ttofari Eecen
Charlotte van der Hulst
Carly Veness
Ruby Walter
Jane Watson
Amy Watts
Jan Wiebe
Debra Williams
Dr Joanne Williams
Ian Williams
Lara Williamson
Holly Wilson
Karen Wirth
Andrea Wong
Hannah Woolhouse
Dr Jane Yelland
Dr Michele Yeo
Addressing infectious disease, asthma, allergies, vaccine development, genetic epidemiology, gastrointestinal disease and dysfunction and global child health.
Professor Julie Bines (until July 2007)
Professor Andy Giraud (from July 2007) andrew.giraud@mcri.edu.au
Our expert laboratory scientists, clinicians and public health researchers translate basic research findings from the laboratory to the clinic thereby improving the health of young people nationally and internationally.
This is best seen by our work producing a vaccine against gastrointestinal and respiratory viruses, our improved understanding of the role of foods and allergens in allergic disease, and in the advances in treatment of infectious and environmentally generated disease in children around the world.
Research highlights
• Completed advanced testing of the Human Papilloma virus vaccine developed to prevent cervical cancer in girls.
• Conducted a study of genetic screening and environmental factors contributing to hereditary haemochromatosis. Led by A/Professor Katie Allen, the results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine’s e-publication
• Current sun exposure guidelines do not seem to fully prevent vitamin D insufficiency, with an investigation into sun exposure and vitamin D deficiencies finding low levels are common even in different latitudinal regions around Australia. Neither regional nor seasonal exposure to sun could account for variations in vitamin D levels
• The Gastrointestinal Research in Inflammation & Pathology team led by Professor Andy Giraud and Dr Louise Judd joined the institute from Western Hospital to conduct research into the mechanisms underlying diseases of the gut including inflammatory bowel disease and gastric cancer
• Population geneticist Dr Justine Ellis was appointed to expand a collaborative program examining the genetics of common diseases
including juvenile arthritis (with Musculoskeletal Disorders) and childhood leukaemia (with Early Development & Disease)
Major achievements
• NHMRC grants received in 2007 included numerous project grants, four postdoctoral researchers fellowships and five postgraduate scholarships
• A Research Fellowship was awarded to Dr Bridget Southwell
• The Australian Crohn’s and Colitis Association awarded Dr Josef Wagner its Young Investigator Award
• A/Professor Katie Allen received an NHMRC project grant to study the environmental and genetic causes of food allergies in children
• Following the 1973 discovery of rotavirus by Professor Ruth Bishop and RCH colleagues, our team has worked to develop a vaccine against this major cause of gastroenteritis that is affordable
to developing countries. An NHMRC grant announced in 2007 will allow us to conduct the vaccine trials, although separate funds are required to produce enough vaccine for the trial
Our research strategy
Funds are used to support strategic research and emerging research leaders including:
• A/Professor Katie Allen – genetic screening for haemochromatosis
• A/Professors Katie Allen and Mimi Tang – immunotherapy for peanut allergy
• Dr Catherine Satzke and Professor Roy RobinsBrowne – Pneumocarr project
• Dr Justine Ellis and A/Professor Anne-Louise Ponsonby – genetic studies in juvenile arthritis
• Dr Peter Vuillermin, Professor Colin Robertson – The Barwon Infant Asthma Study
The future: our objectives for 2008
• Further develop an affordable rotavirus vaccine to prevent gastroenteritis
• Establish biobanks for juvenile arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases
• Continue vaccine trials for pandemic influenza, rheumatic fever and group A streptococcal diseases and pneumococcal infections in developing countries
• Establish the early life environmental determinants of asthma and multiple sclerosis
Publications
The theme published 125 peer-reviewed papers. Highlights included:
• Garland SM, Hernandez-Avila M, Wheeler CM, Perez G, Harper DM, Leodolter S, Tang GW, Ferris DG, Steben M, Bryan J, Taddeo FJ, Railkar R, Esser MT, Sings HL, Nelson M, Boslego J, Sattler C, Barr E and Koutsky LA. Quadrivalent vaccine against human papillomavirus to prevent anogenital diseases. New England Journal of Medicine 356(19): 1928–1943 (2007)
• Grimwood K, Buttery JP. Clinical update: rotavirus gastroenteritis and its prevention. Lancet 370(9584):302–304 (2007)
• Pearce N, Aït-Khaled N, Beasley R, Mallol J, Keil U, Mitchell E and Robertson C. Worldwide trends in the prevalence of asthma symptoms: Phase III of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies. Childhood Thorax 62(9):758–66 (2007)
• Visvanathan K, Skinner NA, Thompson AJ, Riordan SM, Sozzi V, Edwards R, Rodgers S, Kurtovic J, Chang J, Lewin S, Desmond P and Locarnini S. Regulation of toll-like receptor-2 expression in chronic hepatitis B by the precore protein. Hepatology 45(1):102–110 (2007)
• Wei BP, Clark GM, O’Leary SJ, Shepherd RK and Robins-Browne RM. Meningitis after cochlear implantation. British Medical Journal 335(7629):1058 (2007)
Staff list
THEME DIRECTOR
Professor
Julie Bines (until July 2007)
Professor
Andrew Giraud (from July 2007)
Kerrie Alexander
Personal Assistant to Theme Director
THEME
ADVISORY GROUP
A/Professor
Katie Allen
Gut and Liver
Professor
Julie Bines
Intestinal Failure and Clinical Nutrition
A/Professor
Noel Cranswick
Clinical Paediatrics and Therapeutics
A/Professor
Nigel Curtis
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
A/Professor
Trevor Duke
International Child Health
Professor
Andrew Giraud
Gastrointestinal Research in Inflammation and Pathology (GRIP)
Dr Ralf Heine
Allergy and Immune Disorders
Dr Louise Judd
Gastrointestinal Research in Inflammation and Pathology (GRIP)
Dr Carl Kirkwood
Enteric Viruses
Professor
Terry Nolan Immunisation Research (VIRGo/ Immunisation CCRE)
Professor AnneLouise Ponsonby
Environmental and Genetic Epidemiology Research
Dr Sarath Ranganathan Respiratory Diseases
Professor Colin Robertson Respiratory Diseases
Professor Roy Robins-Browne Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
Professor
Mike South
Clinical Paediatrics and Therapeutics
Dr Bridget Southwell
Surgical Research
A/Professor
Mimi Tang
Allergy and Immune Disorders
THEME MEMBERS
Golsa Adabi
Ahmed Ahmed
Annette Alafaci
Dr George Alex
Dr Karyn Alexander
Yasir Alshareef
Lisa Anderson
A/Professor
Ross Andrews
Abraham Arkadio
Santino Aru
Amy Augé
Nicole Austin
Christine Axelrad
Kristy Azzopardi
Dr Debbie Baldi
Anne Balloch
Professor
Graeme Barnes
Dr Aleya Begum
Vicki
Bennett-Wood
Andrea Bigham
Professor Ruth
Bishop
Nada BogdanovicSakran
Michelle Boglis
Dr Tamara Bonney
Janet Briggs
Clare Brophy
Dr Mirjam Bueno
do Mesquita
Maria Bufalino
Silverton Buraundi
Dr Jim Buttery
A/Professor
Don Cameron
David Cannan
Professor
Jonathan Carapetis
Rosemary Carzino
A/Professor
Tony Catto-Smith
Rebecca Cerbu
Janet Chase
Bin (Amy) Chen
Christina Cicuto
Donna Clarke
Melanie Clarke
Nadeene Clarke
Emma Clifton
Samantha Colquhoun
Dr Tom Connell
Dr Nigel Crawford
Lyn Crellin
Dr Gabriel Dabscheck
Dr Andrew Daley
Dr Margaret Danchin
Jenny Davey
David Delaney
Vinodini
Dissanayake
Dr Con Dogovski
Nicole Donker
Dr Justine Ellis
Pam Farmer
Kate Ferguson
Dr Suzanne Garland
Timothy Gemetzis
Deborah Gercovich
Susie Germano
Dr Susie Gibb
Anne-Marie Gibson
Margaret Gibson
Judith Glazner
Rebecca Gorrell
Dean Gosling
Maha Habib
Peter Halasz
A/Professor
Winita Hardikar
Andrea Harrington
Dr Jo Harrison
Dawn Harwood
Dr David Hill
Erin Hill
Dianna Hocking
Alice Holloway
Dr Lana Horng
Meegan Howlett
Kim Huett
Professor John Hutson
Cameron Jackson
Yasmin Jayasinghe Thusyanthi Jaysinghe
Fran Justice
Anastasia Kalantzis
Johanna Kappers
Marita Kefford
Dr Julian Kelly
Jennifer Kendall
Dr Sebastian King
Alicia Koek
Jennifer Koplin
Dr Danijela Krmek
Dr Richard Kwok
Dr Sophie La Vincente
Jennifer Lade
Dr Irwin Law
Stephanie Lenko
Georgina Lewis
Paul Licciardi
Betty Lim
Xiu Fang (Clarice) Lim
Catherine Lloyd-Johnsen
Li-Jeen Mah
Jackie Mahar
Jessica Martin
Dr John Massie
Professor
John Mathews
AnnMarie McEvoy
Elizabeth McGrath
Dr Jodie McVernon
Dr Trevelyan Menheniott
Helen Milton
Sarah Moberley
Sally Moore
Professor
Kim Mulholland
Nigisti Mulholland
Brian Muller
Jane Nelson
Jessica Nia
Elanna Nolan
Amanda O’Brien
A/Professor
Mark Oliver
Paula O’Malley
Frances Oppedisano
Dr Nick Osborne
Dr Charnchai
Panthongviriyakul
Dr Georgia Paxton
Anne Peace
Cristal Peck
Dr Prue
Pereira-Fantini
Anthony Peterson
Angela Pezic
Mairead Phelan
Naveen Pillarisetti
Marisol Pineiro
Sarah Pitts
Dr Briony Price
Julie-Anne Quinn
Dr Nicole Ritz
Mary Roberts
Alexandra Robinson
Phil Robinson
Susi Rogers
Dr Nicole Rose
Dr Simon Royce
Dr Fiona Russell
Jane Ryrie
Charan Sandhu
Catherine Satzke
Deborah Saunders
Clare Savage
Dr Vered
Schildkraut
Gowri Selvaraj
Sally Sheridan
Winnie Sim
Di Simpson
Billy Skoric
Dr Joanne Smart
Dr Arnold Smith
Julie Smith
Natalie Smith
Jacinta Sonego
Dr Manuel
Soto-Martinez
Magdy Sourial
Judith Spotswood
Dr Andrew Steer
Madeleine Strach
Dayna Swiatek
Dr Sepehr Tabrizi
Andrew Tai
Andre Tan
Dr Marija Tauschek
Dr Marc Tebruegge
Leone Thiele
Sarah Thomas (Vaughan)
Loretta Thorn
Haily Tran
Rina Triasih
Dr Kumar Visvanathan
Dr Peter Vuilerman
Dr Josef Wagner
Kate Wall
Amy Wark
Dr Annette Webb
Marie West
Dr Elizabeth Williamson
Evan Willis
Dr Victor Wong
Danielle Wurzel
Ji Yang
Tiam Yap
A/Professor Mimi Tang meets a patient
Understanding the genetic and epigenetic basis of diseases including muscular dystrophy, ataxia, haemochromatosis, thalassaemia, mitochondrial and chromosome disorders.
Professor Andy Choo andy.choo@mcri.edu.au
Based on our collective strengths and past successes, there are five priority areas for which our theme leads the world in research. These are chromosome-related disease, mitochondrial and metabolic disease, community genetics and screening, neurogenetics and disease, genetic therapy.
Our researchers are gaining a better understanding of how these diseases develop in children, in order to improve detection, prevention and management.
Research highlights
• Defined a key role of histone H3.3, a specialised protein in chromosomes, in keeping stem cells vital
• Piloted population carrier screening for fragile X syndrome, the most common form of inherited mental impairment
• Co-authored the first national genetics resource for General Practitioners
• Identified new genes that cause inherited metabolic disease
• Demonstrated the benefits of expanded newborn screening programs in Australia
• Initiated a screening program for the preventable iron-overload disorder, haemochromatosis, specifically for Year 10 and 11 students
Major achievements
• Awarded over $5.2 million of competitive funding and over 10 travel and PhD scholarships
• Formed new Ethics Group headed by A/Professor Lynn Gillam
• Recruited the Germ & Stem Cell Epigenetics Research group led by A/Professor Jeff Mann
• Published research in prestigious journals including Lancet, JAMA, Nature Genetics, Genome Research, and the American Journal of Human Genetics
• A/Professor David Thorburn became president of Human Genetics Society of Australia (HGSA) and two other theme members joined the HGSA executive committee
• Secured international competitive funding from the March of Dimes Foundation, USA to study the effects of folate and diet on genome function
Our key aim was to drive new research initiatives and growth. Theme funding was used to support new, potentially higher impact, higher risk projects and research that required preliminary data before applying for external grants. We encouraged collaboration between groups and recruitment of new scientists who have the potential to enhance our research and attract new external funding. A smaller proportion of our theme investment was used to maintain general research activities and to support existing staff.
We will continue to combine the theme’s strong molecular and cell biological skills with clinical and community genetics expertise to address key research questions that impact on the health of children with genetic conditions.
The theme published 82 peer-reviewed papers. Highlights included:
• Ahimastos AA, Aggarwal A, D’Orsa KM, Formosa MF, White AJ, Savarirayan R and Dart AM, Kingwell BA. Effect of perindopril on large artery stiffness and aortic root diameter in patients with Marfan syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association Oct 298(13):1539–1547 (2007)
• Dunning CJ, McKenzie M, Sugiana C, Lazarou M, Silke J, Connelly A, Fletcher JM, Kirby DM, Thorburn DR and Ryan MT. Human CIA30 is involved in the early assembly of mitochondrial complex I and mutations in its gene cause disease. EMBO Journal 26(13):3227–3237 (2007)
• Guo DC, Pannu H, Tran-Fadulu V, Papke CL, Yu RK, Avidan N, Bourgeois S, Estrera AL, Safi HJ, Sparks E, Amor D, Ades L, McConnell V, Willoughby CE, Abuelo D, Willing M, Lewis RA, Kim DH, Scherer S, Tung PP, Ahn C, Buja LM, Raman CS, Shete SS and Milewicz DM. Mutations in smooth muscle alpha-actin (ACTA2) lead to thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections. Nature Genetics 39(12):1488–1493 (2007)
• Loupatty FJ, Clayton PT, Ruiter JP, Ofman R, Ijlst L, Brown GK, Thorburn DR, Harris RA, Duran M, Desousa C, Krywawych S, Heales SJ and Wanders RJ. Mutations in the gene encoding 3-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA hydrolase results in progressive infantile neurodegeneration. American Journal of Human Genetics 80(1): 195–199 (2007)
• Wilcken B, Haas M, Joy P, Wiley V, Chaplin M, Black C, Fletcher J, McGill J and Boneh A. Outcome of neonatal screening for mediumchain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency in Australia: a cohort study. Lancet ;369(9555): 37–42 (2007)
THEME DIRECTOR
Professor
KH Andy Choo
Talitha Fraser
Personal Assistant to Theme Director
THEME ADVISORY GROUP
Dr MaryAnne Aitken
Genetics
Education and Health Research
A/Professor David Amor Clinical Genetics Research
Professor KH Andy Choo
Chromosome and Chromatin Research
A/Professor Martin Delatycki Genetic Health Research (Bruce Lefroy Centre)
Dr Desiree du Sart
Cyto-Molecular Diagnostics Research
A/Professor Lynn Gillam
Ethics
A/Professor Jane Halliday Public Health
Genetics
A/Professor Sylvia Metcalfe Genetics
Education & Health Research
Dr Heidi Peters
Cell & Gene Therapy
A/Professor
Howard Slater Cyto-Molecular Diagnostics Research
A/Professor David Thorburn Mitochondrial & Metabolic Research
Dr Jim Vadolas Cell & Gene Therapy
Invited to attend Avihu Boneh Mitochondrial and Metabolic Research
Paul Kalitsis Chromosome and Chromatin Research
Paul Lockhart Genetic Health Research (Bruce Lefroy Centre)
Lee Wong
Chromosome and Chromatin Research
THEME MEMBERS
Soyeon Ahn
Melissa Anderson
Alison Archibald
Alison Arvaj
Sheena Bailey
Professor Agnes Bankier
Varlli Beetham
Michelle Bishop
Dr Kate BrettinghamMoore
Kate Brody
Damien Bruno
Dr Nicole Buck
Yasmin Bylstra
Karen Canavan
Dr Kylie Cane
Breana Cham
Lyn Chan
Kasey Chan
Sherry Chang
Austen Chen
Dr Belinda Chong
Anderly Chueh
Dr Veronica Collins
Phoebe Connell
Jeremy Cook
Louise Corben
Lisette Curnow
Tlamelo Daman
Debbie Davis
Dr Lesley Donelan
Elizabeth Earle
Dr Michael Fahey
Sue Fawcett
Robin Forbes
Laura Forrest
Rosanne
Freak-Poli
Dr Clara Gaff
Lydia Gaffney
Devika
Ganesamoorthy
A/Professor
Mac Gardner
Anne Glynn
Dr David Godler
Alison Graham
Lydia Green
Belinda Hardman
Dr Marion Harris
Barbara Hayes
Amy Herlihy
Chriselle
Hickerton
Dr Sara Howden
Dr Ruimei Hu
Dr Damien
Hudson
Dr Matt Hunter
Yoshimi Inaba
Liane Ioannou
Dr Paul James
Dr Alice Jaques
Dr Peter Kannu
Dr Mahmoud
Khaniani
Dr Denise Kirby
Jenny Koslovski
Caroline Lambert
Adrienne Laskowski
Dr Sharon Lewis
Lingli Li
Sze Chern Lim
Lara Lipton
Jenni Livingstone
Danuta Loesch
Ivan Macciocca
Cara Mand
Dr Sima Mansooriderakhshan
Patrice Marriott
Owen Marshall
Justine Marum
Belinda McClaren
Ros McDougall
James McGhie
Dr George McGillivray
Melody Menezes
Chelsea Monk
Clarrisa Moreira
Evelyne Muggli
Steven Nasioulas
Amy Nisselle
Emma Northrop
Erin Oldaker
Annette Opat
Dr Nick Pachter
Sam Pennel
Mark Pertile
Vicki Petrou
James Pitt
Heather Ploeger
Novita Puspasari
Dr Hua Ren
Dr Claudine
Riubland
Dr John Rogers
Nurwahyuna Rosli
Simone Rowley
Margaret Sahhar
Renato Salemi
Dr Joseph Sarsero
A/Professor
Ravi Savarirayan
Jaclyn Sceneay
Dr Jacqueline
Schoumans
Adrienne Sexton
A/Professor
Les Sheffield
Amanda Sherwen
Marcus Sim
Stacey Smith
Dr Merle Spriggs
Zornitza Stark
Sarah Stephenson
Jildou
Sterkenburgh
Canny Sugiana
Cynthia Susanto
Angela Tam
Dr Tiong Tan
Ros Tassicker
Dr Juliet Taylor
Simone Tregoning
Dr Kaye Trembath
Michiel
van Werkhoven
Liz Varley
Adam Vogel
Joanna Voon
Dr Samantha Wake
Jane Wallace
Hady Wardan
Dr Sue White
Evan Williams
Cate Wilson
Gabrielle Wilson
Michelle Wolthuizen
Dr Leonie Wood
Jessie Xu
Joy Yaplito-Lee
Dr Alison Yeung
Dr Eppie Yiu
Mary-Anne Young
Maria Zarkadoulas
Firman
Zulkifli Amin
With an exciting synergy between laboratory, clinical and public health research, we aim to improve the lives of children affected by musculoskeletal conditions.
Professor John Bateman john.bateman@mcri.edu.au
we do
We aim to understand the causes of inherited and acquired musculoskeletal, craniofacial and oral disorders. Our research into conditions including arthritis, bone and craniofacial abnormalities, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy will help us discover new and improved prevention and treatment strategies.
Research highlights
• New research into the role of aggrecan enzymes on cartilage destruction in arthritis was published in the prestigious Journal of Clinical Investigation. The work by A/Professor Amanda Fosang and her group built on previous research published in Nature
• A program to determine the genetics of juvenile arthritis was initiated in collaboration with the Infection, Immunity & Environment theme
• Research on inherited cartilage and bone disorders and muscular dystrophy defined new disease mechanisms and therapies
• Oral Health developed research on the sociocultural determinants of child dental health
• Gait Centre for Clinical Research Excellence improved outcomes for children with cerebral palsy and neurological disorders
Major achievements
• A total of $1,926,279 in new grants was received in 2007, including NHMRC project grants awarded to Theme groups
• An NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship was awarded to Dr Shireen Lamandé for research into muscular dystrophy
• A/Professor Amanda Fosang (arthritis research) received the University of Melbourne’s SelwynSmith Medical Research Prize
• NHMRC awarded grants to investigate genes involved in craniofacial development, the mechanisms of cartilage degradation and mechanisms involved in muscular dystrophies
Our research strategy
Our investment strategies help to fund research equipment, technologies and core facilities and use seed funding to establish new research directions including:
• Defining causes of inherited and acquired musculoskeletal disease
• Understanding birth defects including cleft lip and palate and the impact on children and their families
• Understanding the biomechanics of walking in children with musculoskeletal injury or disease, such as cerebral palsy
The future: our objectives for 2008
• Increase external competitive funding received with improved strategies for obtaining seed funding and grants
• Enhance the size of current research groups and recruit new groups to further our research expertise
• Foster collaborations that capitalise on our strengths to further impact on the health and happiness of children
The theme published 44 peer-reviewed papers. Highlights included:
• Ahimastos AA, Aggarwal A, D’Orsa KM, Formosa MF, White AJ, Savarirayan R and Dart AM, Kingwell BA. Effect of perindopril on large artery stiffness and aortic root diameter in patients with Marfan syndrome: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association Oct 298(13):1539–1547 (2007)
• Baker NL, Mörgelin M, Pace RA, Peat RA, Adams NE, Gardner RJ, Rowland LP, Miller G, De Jonghe P, Ceulemans B, Hannibal MC, Edwards M, Thompson EM, Jacobson R, Quinlivan RC, Aftimos S, Kornberg AJ, North KN, Bateman JF and Lamandé SR. Molecular consequences of dominant Bethlem myopathy collagen VI mutations. Annals of Neurology 62(4): 390–405 (2007)
• East CJ, Stanton H, Golub SB, Rogerson FM and Fosang AJ. ADAMTS-5 deficiency does not block aggrecanolysis at preferred cleavage sites in the chondroitin sulfate-rich region of aggrecan. Journal of Biological Chemistry 282(12):8632–8640 (2007)
• Harvey A, Graham HK, Morris ME, Baker R, Wolfe R. The Functional Mobility Scale: ability to detect change following single event multilevel surgery. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology 49: 603–607 (2007)
• Little CB, Meeker CT, Golub SB, Lawlor KE, Farmer PJ, Smith SM and Fosang AJ. Blocking aggrecanase cleavage in the aggrecan interglobular domain abrogates cartilage erosion and promotes cartilage repair. Journal of Clinical Investigation 117(6):1627–1636 (2007)
THEME DIRECTOR
Professor
John Bateman
Shirley D’Cruz Personal Assistant to Theme Director
THEME ADVISORY GROUP
Dr Roger Allen
A/Professor
Amanda Fosang
Dr Jane Munro Arthritis & Rheumatology
Dr Peter Farlie Craniofacial Research
A/Professor
Nicky Kilpatrick Oral Health Research
Dr Shireen Lamande Muscular Dystrophy
Dr Richard Baker
Mr Leo Donnan
Professor
H Kerr Graham Orthopaedics and Gait Analysis
Professor
John Bateman
A/Professor
Ravi Savarirayan
Skeletal Biology & Disease
THEME MEMBERS
Jonathan Akikusa
Dr Justin Allen
Dr Firas Alsoleihat
Anne Augustine
Dr Naomi Baker
Dr Richard Baker
Jitendra Balakumar
Dr Edward Bastow
Daniele Belluoccio
Bianca Bernardo
Cvetanka
Bogoeska
Jo Buckle
Glen Burke
Dianne Cabrie
Trevor Cameron
Dr Ashley Carr
Dr Kar Mun Chan
Janina Chapman
Dr Felicity Crombie
Nicole Davidson
Cheryl Dingey
Dr Fiona Dobson
Leo Donnan
Charlotte East
Bev Eldridge
Adrienne Fosang
Stephanie Gauci
Suzanne Golub
Dr Christopher Gordon
Professor Kerr Graham
Dr Irma Gresshoff
Mark Gussy
Adrienne Harvey Tandy
Hastings-Ison
Melita Irving
Michael Johnson
Julie Jones
Dr Peter Kannu
Karla Kelly
Abhay Khot
Karena Last
Helen Lescesen
Susan Liew
A/Professor
Christopher Little
Sarah Macnee
Theodora Mamora
Jennifer McGinley
Dr Michael McMullan
Melody Menezes
Dr Benjamin Miller
Gary Nattrass
Dr Ana Neumann
Joanne Noonan
Nicholas Opie
Mark O’Sullivan
Rishika Pace
Arpit Patel
Alana Peters
Dr Christopher Poon
Dr Rohan Price
Dr Gerald Quan
Dr Lochana Ramalingham
Dr Julie Reid
Elisha Riggs
Felicity Rodda
Jill Rodda
Dr John Rogers
Dr Fraser
Rogerson
Lynn Rowley
Morgan Sageux
Paulo Selber
Mary Sheedy
Dr Brendan Soo
Heather Stanton
Dr Sean Symons
Dr Jacqueline Tan
Dr Tiong Yang Tan
Kate Taylor
Pamela Thomason
Dr Oren Tirosh
Leona Tooley
Leonie Tutolo
Sharon Vladusic
Professor
Elizabeth Waters
Prue Weigall
Tria Williams
Dr Richard Wilson
Dr Xavier Yu
Laura Zamurs
Supporting our research themes and groups by providing expertise in the areas of clinical trials and biostatistics.
Clinical epidemiology & biostatistics unit
The Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit (CEBU) provides training and methodological expertise, assisting researchers at Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and The Royal Children’s Hospital with study design, statistics and data management.
What we do
CEBU contributed to research across the six themes of MCRI and beyond, providing advice and collaboration on studies large and small ranging from clinical trials to communitybased studies.
We worked with more than 50 research groups, engaging in more than 150 different projects, including studies on childhood obesity, early language development and adolescent predictors of health in early adulthood.
Our program of nine short courses attracted more than 400 attendees.
Highlights
• CEBU staff were co-authors on 40 publications in scientific journals
• Professor John Carlin collaborated on a large international study with the World Health Organization on signs and symptoms that predict severe illness in very young infants, which was accepted for publication in the Lancet
• Professor John Carlin visited the University of Bristol for research discussions and led a short course on Methods of Dealing with Missing Data in Epidemiological Studies
• Pollyanna Hardy was closely involved in the commencement of a multi-centre international trial on the effects of anaesthesia on the neurodevelopment of young children
Major achievements
• Professor John Carlin, Susan Donath and Pollyanna Hardy were chief investigators on three successful National Health & Medical Research Council project grant applications
• Reflecting its growing international reputation, CEBU recruited three new PhD-level biostatisticians from the UK with funding support from within MCRI
Staff list
Professor John Carlin Director
Claudine Chionh Research Assistant
Patty Chondros PhD student
Donna DeSair Administrative Officer
Susan Donath
Senior Biostatistician/ Epidemiologist
Dr John Galati Research Officer
Pollyanna Hardy Biostatistician
Dr Katherine Lee Biostatistician
Jonathon Little Data Clerk
Brooke Scantleton Data Clerk
Dr Rajalingan
Sivakumaran Research Officer
Katherine Smith
Junior Biostatistician
Dr Obioha Ukoumunne
Biostatistician
Suzanna Vidmar
Senior Research Officer
Dr Elizabeth Williamson
Biostatistician
The Bioinformatics unit uses state-of-the-art technology to assist researchers to process and analyse biological data.
In 2007 we provided key support for a number of National Health and Medical Research Council project grant applications and conducted data analysis for more than 40 major projects.
Our research activities included sequence analysis, genetic epidemiology, protein folding, comparative genomics, molecular evolution and statistical analysis of micro array data. The unit provided an introductory course for the Department of Paediatrics Honours degree, training in specific software and produced guides to the major genomic technologies.
Staff list
Dr Katrina Bell
Bioinformatics Officer
Lavinia Gordon
Bioinformatics Officer
The Australian Paediatric Pharmacology Research Unit (APPRU) conducts clinical trials to investigate the effectiveness of prescription drugs and medications typically developed for adults to ensure they are safe for treating children.
Group Leader, A/Professor Noel Cranswick
The primary focus of APPRU is the use of medicines in children. We perform high quality and timely clinical diagnosis that complies with local and international good clinical practice guidelines.
APPRU provides staff who are highly experienced in phase I to phase IV clinical trials, and issues relating to good clinical practice, Case Report Form (CRF) management and recruitment.
We assist with pharmacology, research and development, trial design, protocol development, compliance, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modelling, and regulatory affairs strategy for clinical trials.
Highlights
• Conducted clinical drug and/or device early phase studies in: – respiratory
psychiatry – dermatology – allergy
– infectious disease
– musculoskeletal disease
– nephrology
– neurology
• Established the first World Health Organization (WHO) Essential Medicines List for children
• Involved in the instigation of Medicines & Guidelines for Children internationally
Major achievements
• A/Professor Noel Cranswick became a full member of the WHO 16th Expert Committee on the Selection and Use of Essential Medicines
• In collaboration with Professor Paul Monagle from Critical Care & Neurosciences, A/Professor Noel Cranswick received a $273,000 project grant from National Health & Medical Research Council for impact of developmental haemostasis on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of Heparin in children
• WHO awarded a $US5000 grant for the assessment of Essential Medicines in Children
Staff list
A/Professor Noel Cranswick
Group Leader
Dr Jonathan Akikusa
Clinical Associate
Rebecca Cerbu
Administration Assistant
Shannon Power
Clinical Trial Coordinator
Dr Andrew Rechtman
Research Fellow
The Victorian Clinical Genetics Services (VCGS) provide clinical and laboratory testing, counselling and support to help people with genetic conditions make informed decisions about their health and wellbeing. Our internationally recognised centres of clinical and laboratory genetics are known as Genetic Health Services Victoria and VCGS Pathology.
As Victoria’s primary provider of clinical and laboratory diagnosis of genetic conditions, we help more than 10,000 families every year and are committed to education, training and research.
Professor Agnes Bankier agnes.bankier@ghsv.org.au
Director’s report
It has been a very good year for the Victorian Clinical Genetics Services (VCGS). Increase in the Victorian birth rate by 12 per cent and increased demand for new tests generated greater service needs, which were met. We also celebrated a number of milestones.
VCGS Pathology is the first diagnostic lab in Australia to introduce the Sequenome.
To ensure continued delivery of accessible clinical genetic services, we commenced a new genetic counselling service for Monash IVF and clinics in Sunshine Hospital, Northern Health and Sale as well as expanded genetic services at Austin Health.
The higher birth rate increased the need for maternal serum screening, newborn screening for all babies born in Victoria and Tasmania, cytogenetics tests during pregnancy and chromosome tests for a range of conditions including leukaemia and other cancers.
New laboratory tests were introduced including expanded cystic fibrosis screening of newborns, establishment of gene testing for LQT genes that can cause sudden cardiac death, collagen gene tests and tests for Pyridoxine-dependent seizures.
We invested in state-of-the-art laboratory equipment including the Sequenome purchased together with Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI).
Rather than testing individual samples for one genetic change at a time, the Sequenome can simultaneously test multiple samples for multiple mutations in different genes. This has the potential to enhance service delivery as well as research at MCRI. We also invested in muchneeded office and laboratory redevelopment.
The VCGS implemented a new communication strategy with the assistance of Fenton Communications; this included the A Year in Review report and a new website for Genetic Health Services Victoria.
Staff training, education & academic recognition
• Accreditation as a training centre for clinical geneticists for five years by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians
• Laboratory accreditation through the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA)
• Further academic recognition of Associate Professors Clara Gaff and David Amor
International colleagues came to work in the VCGS including Professor Maurizio Genuardi, Dr Claudine Rieubland, Dr Ngoc, Ms Phuong Thi Maim, Mrs Chen Bee Chin and Ms Claire de Luen.
Successful new and renewed service agreements with hospitals in Victoria and Tasmania.
New two-year Masters Program for Genetic Counsellors was accepted for delivery with MCRI, under the auspices of the University of Melbourne
Research at VCGS focuses on creating greater knowledge and understanding of genetic conditions, with the aim of improving diagnosis, counselling and treatment to benefit individuals and families with these conditions. The VCGS have three research groups within MCRI and have established important national and international collaborations.
In 2007 VCGS staff published 60 scientific publications, obtained more than $2.2 million in research grants and attracted a number of new students and research staff.
We celebrated the retirements of Dr Samantha Wake, Associate Professor Mac Gardner and Dr Lucille Voullaire and welcomed the return of Professor Maurizio Genuardi.
After contributing to our growth and success for many years, Mr Bill Hodgson and Professor
Professor Agnes Bankier
Graham Barnes retired from the VCGS Board.
Bill’s mentorship has been of great value and I look forward to it continuing. We welcomed two new Board members: Professor Andrew Kornberg from The Royal Children’s Hospital and Professor Paul Mitchell from Austin Health.
Sincere thanks to all our staff for their expertise, dedication and energy, and to Ms Anne Cronin and her team for their operational support. We look forward to the development of the new Royal Children’s Hospital and the redevelopment of space for the VCGS with MCRI.
Professor Agnes Bankier Director
Victorian Clinical Genetic Services
Genetic Health Services Victoria www.genetichealthvic.net.au 03 8341 6201
VCGS Pathology
www.vcgspathology.com.au 03 8341 6201
Staff
Director
Professor
Agnes Bankier
Executive Assistant to Director
Lena Anderson
Alison van Bree
GENETIC HEALTH SERVICES
VICTORIA
Clinical Geneticists
A/Professor
David Amor
Professor
Agnes Bankier
A/Professor
Martin Delatycki
A/Professor
Mac Gardner
Dr Maurizio
Genuardi
Dr Marion Harris
Dr Melita Irving
Dr Paul James
Dr Peter Kannu
Dr George McGillivray
Dr Heidi Peters
Dr John Rogers
A/Professor
Ravi Savarirayan
A/Professor
Les Sheffield
Dr Tiong Yang Tan
Dr Sue White
Metabolic Physicians
Dr Avihu Boneh
Dr Heidi Peters
Dr Joy Yapilto-Lee
Clinical Genetics Fellows
Dr David Coman
Dr Matthew Hunter
Dr Nicholas Pachter
Dr Claudine
Rieubland
Dr Alison Yeung
Metabolic Fellows
Dr Alison Cozens
Dr David Coman
POSSUM Project
Professor
Agnes Bankier
Anne Cronin
Dr Catherine Rose
Mr Michael Black
Senior Genetic Counsellor
A/Professor
Clara Gaff
Dr Sam Wake
Genetic Counsellors
Lisette Curnow
Susan Fawcett
A/Professor
Clara Gaff
Lisa Gordon
Ivan Macciocca
Margaret Ross
Michelle Sproule
Helen Upton
Jane Wallace
Associate Genetic Counsellors
Michael Bogwitz
Erica Brown
Carolyn Cameron
Sophie Devery
Renee Dow
Robin Forbes
Lydia Gaffney
Nikki Gelfand
Krystle Giuffrida
Jacqueline
Greenberg
Andrea Leibler
Elly Lynch
Linda Hodgkin
Jo Kelley
Vicki Petrou
Katherine Ruivenkamp
Adrienne Sexton
Alison Thornton
Senior Social Worker
Margaret Sahhar
Social Workers
Flora Pearce
Ross Tassicker
Metabolic Dieticians
Maureen Humphrey
Jemma Watkins
Metabolic Nurse
Helen Upton
Laboratory Quality Assurance/Privacy Officer
Anne Robertson
Clinical Administration Manager
David Blake
Clinical Administrative Assistants
Souzy Boukas
Jennifer Culverwell
Kim Cunningham
Debbie Davis
Irene Fernandez
Sharon Grosvenor
Sue Hilton
Elvina Johnson
Liz Kanellos
Katherine MacDonald
Maureen Ralph
James Shaw
Lucy Shaw
Helen Smith
Nikki Weekes
Maria Lagoulis
Receptionist
Vicki Hirt
Fiona McColl
Liz Varley
VCGS
PATHOLOGY CYTOGENETICS
LABORATORY
Head
A/Professor
Howard Slater
Deputy Head
Mark Pertile
Section Leaders
Trent Burgess
David Francis
Fiona Norris
Administration
Fiona Keltie
Rebecca Manser
Emma Payne
Scientists
Alley Arvaj
Amber Boys
Antonia Chiappi
Con Ngo
Damien Bruno
Dao Xuon Nguyen
Essra Bartlett
Helen Reigman
Ian Brooks
Jackie Challis
Julie Hammer
Kathy Butler
Lily Gowans
Louise Hills
Lynda Phillips
Michael Cronin
Olivia Giouzeppos
Paula Lall
Phung La
Dr Prabhakara
Krishnamurthy
Dr Priya Padman
Ralph Oertel
Sam Connors
Sara Nouri
Selga Cirulis
Sylvea Corrie
Dr Tie Lan Han
Vida Petrovic
Wali Drummond
Wendy Francis
Laboratory
Technicians
Bronwyn Kenney
Ian Burns
Anna Rymer
Jolanta Karpowicz
Holly Loncaric
Students
Damien Bruno
Davika
Ganesamoorthy
Ouda Khammy
Dr Mamoud
Khaniani
Nurwahyuna Rosli
Visiting Scientist
De Valere Cacheux
NEWBORN
SCREENING
LABORATORY
Head
Dr James Pitt
Section Leaders
Nick Tzanakos
Ivan Francis (IT)
Scientists
Thanh Nguyen
Manal Ibrahim
Lan Trieu
Linda Wilson
Laboratory
Technician
Marisa Caruso
Jo Karlecik
MATERNAL SERUM
SCREENING LABORATORY
Head
Programming:
Ivan Francis
Laboratory:
Leonard Bonacquisto
Clinical Support/ Phlebotomists
Deborah Dalton
Sara Grant
Yssa Reyes
Scientists
Gregoria Luna
Stephen Dobie
Vicki Katsonis
Vivienne Iaschi
Alison Hunter
Laboratory
Technicians
Marina
Nakonechnaya
Monique Te-Haara
Ash Mali
Lauren Perry
Laboratory
Assistants
Rina Marinucci
Patricia Snell
Mark Corkill
VCGS SPECIMEN RECEPTION
Head
Leonard
Bonacquisto
Laboratory
Assistants
Evelina Pelle
Yvette Grant
METABOLIC SCREENING
LABORATORY
Head
Dr James Pitt
Section Leader
Mary Eggington
Scientists
Avantika Mishra
Thao Nguyen
Michiel van
Werkhoven
MOLECULAR GENETICS
LABORATORY
Head
Dr Desirée du Sart
Senior Scientists
Belinda Chong
Steven Nasioulas
Melanie Smith
Administration
Fiona Keltie
Scientists
Vanessa Calabro
Shannon Cowie
Maria Kaps
Sarah Pantaleo
Dean Phelan
Anna Richie
Justin Hassel
Andrew Bjorksten
Laboratory
Technicians
Angela De Marco
Karina Sandoval
Students
Jan Riley
Timmy Chan
Maggie Soliman
GENETIC SUPPORT
NETWORK
VICTORIA
Penny Dodds
Leah Lonsdale
Catherine McLean
A review of research support (corporate and scientific) was conducted to determine where change was needed to support the anticipated growth of MCRI. The review resulted in a restructure of service delivery and in senior managers taking on greater responsibility for team structure at both strategic and operational levels.
Highlights
• Restructured corporate services and developed a strategic plan
• Established a new role to manage the areas of Engineering and Information Technology
• Appointed a Business Development Manager to assist in the commercialisation of MCRI research
• Completed fit out of the 10th floor research building with state of the art research laboratories and offices
• Introduced an electronic purchasing for IT and stationery requirements
• Established a Sequenom platform facility jointly with Victorian Clinical Genetics Service
• Rolled out a revamped career mentoring program
Human Resources & Industrial Relations
MCRI’s continued growth resulted in high levels of recruitment and human resource management of staff. A revamped career mentoring program was rolled out in collaboration with the Research Strategy & Communications team and new communication strategies following the corporate services restructure coordinated.
New procedures for management of MCRI staff by honorary colleagues within RCH and The University of Melbourne were developed to improve staff performance and relationships with campus partners.
For the fifth consecutive year, MCRI was awarded an ‘Employer of Choice for Women’ by the Equal Opportunity for Women Agency. Only 99 Australian organisations received this citation.
The occupational health and safety (OHS) team implemented a manual handling risk assessment and training plan and developed new policies relating to staff consultation, return to work issues, radiation and general laboratory safety.
Work commenced to identify a new accounting and financial management information system for MCRI. A new electronic purchasing system for IT and stationery requirements was implemented and a senior purchasing officer recruited. Payroll functions were streamlined and resources improved to increase efficiency.
MCRI achieved its best ever results for NHMRC project grants, with funding announced for 17 projects valued at $9.5 million. To ensure continued success in future years, a seminar series was introduced to develop researcher’s skills to obtain NHMRC funding.
Dr Hassan Sadafi was appointed as head of Engineering and Information Technology. The team liaised with RCH, architects and designers to communicate MCRI’s needs during planning of the RCH redevelopment and continued to manage and improve existing facilities and infrastructure, including major renovations of some office and laboratory areas and expansion to offsite office space. Another major achievement included a new data system to audit MCRI’s building facilities and equipment, vital for future planning.
Dr Angeline Bartholomeusz was appointed as Business Development Manager to develop commercialisation of MCRI research. MCRI now manages a portfolio of 60 patents which includes 11 granted patents and 52 national and international patents. Eight invention disclosures and 8 new provisional applications were submitted in 2007.
Provisional filed patents increased from two to eight and included patents for a rotavirus vaccine, Thalassaemia treatments, technology for the detection of Down syndrome and biomarkers for depression.
International patent applications were filed for cancer therapeutics and for hepatitis research (commercial partnership with Melbourne Health and Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory).
Eight new patents were granted for research relating to human artificial chromosomes and a genetic deafness chip. POSSUM Web, a software tool used to diagnose genetic conditions was launched and showcased to doctors at three international meetings and 134 licenses were puchased. Let’s Read, a national program to promote literacy in children was also successful with 52 license agreements signed throughout the country.
Seminars and workshops were held to educate staff on the importance of commercialisation, patents and intellectual property and a web based patent database management system was implemented.
Head of scientific services Dr Kerry Fowler led a working party to develop guidelines to deal with the increasing number for access to frozen cell lines and cell cultures from clinicians, researchers and diagnostic laboratories.
The Flow Cytometry and Confocal Microscopy laboratory, headed by Dr Matt Burton was incorporated into the scientific services team. A Sequenom platform facility headed by Dr Benjamin Ong was established in collaboration with VCGS. The facility uses mass spectrometry and robotics to analyse DNA and RNA at a high-performance level.
Laboratory support services, headed by Dini Disint were expanded to assist existing and new research laboratories. A new waste management policy resulted in a 60 per cent reduction of laboratory waste. Scientific services were expanded to provide a centralised shipping service for laboratory goods and documents.
The Disease model unit continued to take care of genetically modified mice for researchers studying diseases such as thalassaemia, arthritis and asthma. Several team members undertook training in mouse colony management and technology and have joint appointments with relevant research groups which work with mice.
Chief Operating Officer
CHIEF
OPERATING OFFICER
Anne Cronin
Colleen King Personal Assistant to COO
Helen Raschella Administration Support
Vicki Hirt Administration Assistant
ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Dr Hassan Sadafi Engineering & Technology Manager
Andrew Grimes Facility & Technical Services Manager
Dr Ross McKenzie Redevelopment and Planning Officer
Thomas Miskella Maintenance Technician
George Teng Information Technology Manager
Joe Nuchthapho Network Officer
Michael Mariani Network Support Officer
Jim Ristevski Information Technology Support Officer
Jason Gibson Information Technology Support Officer
Shilpa Shah Information Technology Support Officer
Stanley Ho Computer Programmer
Michael Black Computer Programmer
Hilianty Tardjono Web Administrator
Jason Elliott Web Developer
FINANCE
Viren Abeyasinghe Finance manager
Geraldine Allen Accountant (VCGS)
Alysa Johnson Accountant
Joanne Le Accountant
Maria Telford Accountant
Rayvathi Velusamy Accountant
Neofita Hajigeorgi Accounts Administrative Assistant
Christine Keenan Patient Accounts
Jade Knapp Patient Accounts
Caroline Schram Patient Accounts PAYROLL
Debbie Zombolas Payroll Manager
Peter Mclay Senior Payroll Officer
Sharon Dughetti Payroll Officer
Maggie Fu Payroll Officer
Sandra Nield Payroll Officer
FINANCE & SPECIAL PROJECTS
Neil Harker
PURCHASING
Konstantine Gogos
Purchasing Officer
Deborah Ford
Purchasing Assistant
Sonja Geers
Purchasing Assistant GRANTS
Julia Malone
Grants office manager
Myles Gaffney Grants Assistant
HUMAN RESOURCES
Kathryn Bellion
Human Resources Manager
Andrea Frigo
Human Resources Officer
Nicki Hockley Human Resources Officer
Yvette Mueller OH&S Coordinator
Melinda Gercovich OH&S Administrative Assistant
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & COMMERCIAL -ISATION
Dr Angeline Bartholomeusz Business Development Manager
SCIENTIFIC SERVICES
Dr Kerry Fowler Scientific Services Manager
Disease models
Sophie Gazeas
Senior Technical Officer
Amanda Blaik
Technical Assistant
Sarah Christie
Technical Assistant
Shelley McCaig
Technical Assistant
Amy Pope
Technical Assistant
Lana Ninkovic
Technical Assistant
Leonie Kurth
Technical Assistant
Anna Piper Technical Assistant
Meagan Thornton Technical Assistant
Carly Turner Technical Assistant
Frances Voth Technical Assistant
Flow Cytometry & Confocal Microscopy Facility
Dr Matt Burton Manager
Laboratory Support
Dino Disint
Technical Officer
Tom Milovac
Technical Officer
Thanuja Bandara Technical Assistant
Laura Barnard
Technical Assistant
Roseanna Bhagwandas Technical Assistant
Blanche Dekker
Technical Assistant
Karina De La Cruz
Technical Assistant
Sophie Kotsakidis
Technical Assistant
Paul Lau
Technical Assistant
Alyson Moore
Technical Assistant
Ruby Pham Trainee Technical Assistant
Wendy Salter
Technical Assistant
Alicia Torres Technical Assistant
Sequenom Platform Facility
Dr Ben Ong Manager
Tissue Culture Laboratory
John Waddington Head of laboratory
Shan Li Head of laboratory
Alan Corral Team Leader
Karen Canavan
Technical Assistant
Jo Carpenter
Technical Assistant
Anna Czajko
Technical Assistant
Justine Marum
Technical Assistant
Lucy Perez
Technical Assistant
GRAPHICS
Voula Boukouvalas
Graphic Artis
Michele Winsor
Graphic Artist
DIRECTOR’S OFFICE
Justine Spark Executive Assistant to Director
RESEARCH STRATEGY & COMMUNICATIONS
Dr MaryAnne Aitken Adivsor
Dr Moira Clay Policy Advisor
Cathy Schapper Policy Project Officer
PR & DEVELOPMENT
Dr Narelle Curtis PR & Development Manager
Rebecca Harford Development Officer
Alyssa Jones
Marketing & Corporate Communications
Kellie Furey Media & Communications
Tiffyn Smilie Development Officer
Daniela Moreira Donor Relations Officer
Alix Fletcher
PR & Development Assistant
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and its controlled entities
i ncome Statement for the year ended 31 d ecember 2007
StatementS of recogniSed income and expenSe for the year ended 31 december 2007
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and its controlled entities
balance Sheet aS at 31 december 2007
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and its controlled entities
Statement of caSh flowS for the year ended 31 december 2007
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute relies on private support to seed fund innovative research into the big health issues currently affecting Australian children including premature birth, obesity, allergies, diabetes and mental health problems.
With your support, we can continue to discover ways to help children live happier, healthier lives.
Please donate today. Visit www.mcri.edu.au or phone 1300 766 439.
Thanks to the following organisations who generously assisted in the production of this report.
Design
News Custom Publishing
Printing
Southern Colour
Paper stock Paperlinx
Edited by Kellie Furey & Alyssa Jones (pr@mcri.edu.au)
Cover photograph
Tim Bauer mychildmagazine.com.au