The Robinson InstituteResearch in reproductive health & regenerative medicine

MEMBER NEWSLETTER

Professor Rob Norman, Professor Alastair MacLennan and Healthy Development Adelaide have all been recognised as finalists in the 2009 South Australian Science Excellence Awards.

Institute Director, Professor Rob Norman, is one of three finalists for the prestigious South

Australian Scientist of the Year.

This award recognises an individual for outstanding achievement in science that has significantly advanced knowledge and benefited the community.

Science and Information Minister, Michael O’Brien said that “These outstanding scientists epitomise the exceptional talent we have in South Australia and its through award programs such as the South Australia Science Excellence Awards that we are able to offer recognition and acknowledgement.”

Professor Alastair MacLennan’s research in improving birth outcomes for women, managing menopause and generating insight into the causes of cerebral palsy has been recognised in the Excellence in Research for Public Good category.

This award highlights the importance of individuals who conduct research and

development which has delivered strong social, environmental and other non-commercial benefits.

Healthy Development Adelaide has also been recognised for their close links between industry and the research community in the area of developmental health research

through their nomination in the Excellence in Research Collaboration Award.

The winners will be announced at an Awards Gala Dinner to be held on Thursday 20th August.

For further information visit: www.scienceawards.sa.gov.au

Issue No. 3, August 2009

SCIENCE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

The Robinson Institute Newsletter I Issue No. 3, August 2009 I

The World

Around Us

Science

Excellence

Awards

Research

Developments

News &

Events

INSIDE THIS EDITION

The Robinson Institute Newsletter I Issue No. 3, August 2009 I

A BOLD NEW APPROACH

FROM THE DIRECTOR

Some of us attended the 50th celebration of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology which was a great reminder of what can be achieved with an ambitious vision. In many ways, we have started again from that point, albeit at a much higher plane.

The institute provides a new structure and new-found enthusiasm to take our research to another level. In the last couple of months we have been further clarifying and articulating that vision. We are talking to our membership,

creating a presence, and establishing the principles for our operations.

We have recently held Roadshows at the Medical School and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital to explain our strategic

plans and open discussions with our members. Another Roadshow is scheduled later in the year at the Basil Hetzel Institute.

Our strategic plan is focused on four main areas that we see as

key drivers for our ongoing success:

• an outstanding research profile

• strong funding base to support our activities

• quality staff and students

• a dynamic working environment.

We are creating a professional organisation and working with our members to deliver these goals to create an institute that has longevity beyond the University’s initial investment.

We are focussed on quality research with translational

outcomes, and we are focused on providing the support needed to achieve that. We value our staff and our students and recognise that a current significant limitation of our research productivity is our need for new infrastructure, and administrative burden that is placed upon us.

The institute is taking new bold steps to address these issues: we have appointed professional staff to provide targeted and relevant support for research, we have acquired space at The Norwich Centre, we are engaging in discussions at every level

regarding new building works, we are building a brand and a strategy to position ourselves as a leading research group in our area, we are attempting to recruit the best students and we are investing in bold projects that have the potentialto make significant change.

The institute should be seen as a driver for change for us all to further raise our standards. We need to work together to achieve this and we need to be committed to a bold, new approach.

NEW STUDY TO TEST CONTRACEPTIVE PATCHES

Researchers from the Robinson Institute and the Women's and

Children's Hospital are conducting a study which may decide

whether a new contraceptive patch is made available to Australian

women.

The researchers will investigate the patches' contraceptive

effectiveness and menstrual control. Contraceptive patches are

widely available overseas but are not currently approved for use in

Australia.

Helen Alvino, Clinical Research Coordinator at the University of

Adelaide and the Royal Adelaide Hospital, says contraceptive

patches potentially offer an improved method of taking hormonal

contraception for some women and, importantly, another choice for

Australian women. The study will investigate if skin patches provide

less side effects than oral contraceptives.

"Transdermal therapies, which means the drugs are absorbed

though the skin, avoid the digestive system and therefore it is

possible the patch may decrease some side effects of the oral

contraceptive pill," says Ms Alvino.

The study is inviting women aged between 18 and 35 years who

are in need of contraception to participate. Through their

involvement in six clinic visits over one year, participants will

receive free medical care by an experienced health specialist and

contraceptive patches which are applied weekly.

Participation in the study provides an opportunity to contribute to

women's health and increase the reproductive choices available to

them.

Ms Alvino says there are currently many contraceptive options on

the market but some women find none are suitable. The patch may

in the future provide Australian women with another option.

The study is being conducted in collaboration with the Women's

and Children's Hospital and the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

SCIENCE EXCELLENCE AWARDS

The Robinson Institute Newsletter I Issue No. 3, August 2009 I

THE WORLD AROUND US

July saw a record breaking $50 million donation made to the newly formed Translational Research Institute Queensland (TRI Queensland).

The donation, from The Atlantic Philanthropies, is the largest ever from a non-government source to a single Australian medical research/higher education institute.

The $354 million TRI Queensland will be one of the largest medical research institutes in the southern hemisphere integrated into a clinical campus and focused on translational research.

The core focus of the Institute will include cancers, diabetes, inflammatory diseases, bone and joint disease, and obesity.

The Institute will be located at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and will link to a clinical research node at the Mater Hospital campus.

The donation was made by philanthropist Chuck Feeney whose total commitment to medical research in Queensland was $102.5 million.

The donation was split three ways with $50m for the Translational Research Institute, $27.5m for the Queensland Institute of Medical Research’s Smart State medical research centre, and $25m for the Queensland University of Technology’s hub for sustainable and secure infrastructure.

The Robinson Institute is currently in the process of establishing a foundation which will drive fundraising initiatives for our research.

RECORD BREAKING DONATION FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH

A HEALTHIER FUTURE FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS

The Federal Government’s National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission have released their final report “A Healthier Future for All Australians”. The report presents more than 100 recommendations to transform the Australian health system.

An important goal of the plan is to redesign the health system to meet emerging challenges. Some key

elements of the report:

Embed prevention and early intervention into every aspect of the health system:

• Establishment of an independent National Health Promotion & Prevention Agency

• To drive a shift in how Australians, and our health system, think and act about health and keeping well, including better education, evidence & research

• Healthy start to life ensuring children and parents get access to the right mix of universal and targeted servicesStrengthened consumer engagement and voice through:

• Building health literacy

• Fostering community participation

• Empowering consumers Smart use of data, information and communication;

• Access to good information for measuring and monitoring the health of our population

• Health Performance Reporting; systems to provide comparative clinical performance data back to health services and hospitals,

clinical units and cliniciansKnowledge-led continuous improvement, innovation and research:

• Investing in health services, public health, health policy and health system research, including ongoing evaluation of health reforms

• Establishing clinical research fellowships across hospitals, aged care and primary health care settings so that research is valued

and enabled as a normal part of providing health services.

For a copy of “A Healthier Future for all Australians” visit: http://www.nhhrc.org.au/internet/nhhrc/publishing.nsf/Content/nhhrc-report

VISITING PROFESSOR

DR ALI AKOUM

The Robinson Institute Newsletter I Issue No. 3, August 2009 I

The Robinson Institute welcomes Dr Ali Akoum, a visiting professor from the Faculty of Medicine at Laval University in Quebec, Canada.

Dr Akoum will spend 6 months with the Research Centre for Reproductive Health and will undertake a research study in collaboration with

A/Prof Sarah Robertson and Dr Louise Hull to study expression of key inflammatory genes in human endometriosis tissue.

He is an international leader in the field of endometriosis. He is highly published with 72 articles and his research programs in endometriosis

pathophysiology, female infertility and embryonic implantation are supported by prestigious Canadian research organisations including the

CIHR and NSERC.

The studies that will be carried out during Dr Akoum’s sabbatical research in Adelaide have two major objectives:

1) To compare, using genome-wide approaches, laser capture microscopy (LCM) and IL1R2 deficiency as a marker, the gene

expression profile of eutopic endometrial tissue from women with initial endometriosis stages, matched ectopic endometrial tissue

and eutopic endometrial tissue from normal healthy women, and

2) To investigate at the time of the implantation window the gene expression profile of endometriosis-associated and infertility-related

specific proteins differentially expressed in both eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues using proteomics approaches.

During his stay in Adelaide, Dr Akoum will also be giving two lectures on endometriosis.

Pregnancy rates after IVF in humans have shown substantial

improvement over the past decade, especially in laboratories with

high quality management systems. In a woman under 38 years of

age, some units report implantation of the embryo occurs in around

50% of embryo transfers. Despite this high rate, it is well below that

expected in other animals. This drops with increasing age of the

woman and many reports suggest a high rate of chromosome

abnormality in human embryos (aneuploidy).

Clinics have developed chromosome painting techniques (called

FISH) that identify a few target chromosomes that are abnormal in

an embryo and so-called preimplantation genetic screening (PGS)

has become common to select “normal” embryos. This comes with

a high price tag for the customer and is enthusiastically endorsed

by some high profile clinics.

At least 2 randomised controlled trials have shown no benefit to

pregnancy rates from the use of PGS but this has not stopped

some clinics from continuing to promote PGS. A recent study in

Nature Medicine (Vaneeste et al 15:577) has further shown PGS of

the early IVF embryo (around 8 cells) from young women to be

valueless and reveals that most embryos are chromosomally

abnormal at this stage. Using a sophisticated new technology

called comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) which identifies all

chromosomes in a single cell, the researchers showed that only 9%

of all embryos had every cell with a normal chromosome

complement and only 40% of embryos had at least one normal cell.

Yet all the fertilised eggs (before cell division) were normal.

If the vast majority of embryos from IVF are abnormal, how do IVF

units get high pregnancy rates and chromosomally normal babies?

It seems as if there is a self-correction mechanism built-in to the

embryo whereby normal cells survive and abnormal ones do not

i.e. survival of the fittest. Whether this occurs in natural conceptions

is impossible to prove but it does show that early PGS of the

embryo uncovers embryonic chaos but does not predict those

embryos destined to survive. The developing human embryo in the

IVF laboratory should be protected from invasive sampling and

expensive genetic testing until we work out whether chromosome

abnormalities at this stage of development tell us anything.

FROM THE BLOG

CHAOS IN THE EMBRYO - SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST?

MEET THE BOARD

PROFESSOR TANYA MONRO

Professor Tanya Monro is the Director of the University of Adelaide's new Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing and Director of the

Centre of Expertise in Photonics.

This year she was awarded Australia’s top emerging leader by The Weekend Australian Magazine’s Next 100 Emerging Leaders series in

the Science category.

Last year she was named Physical Scientist of the Year - one of the five Prime Minister's Science Prizes - after earlier in the year being

awarded one of the 2008 Australian Research Council Federation Fellowships.

Her work has received support from both state and federal governments, as well as the Defence Science & Technology Organisation.

The University's new Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing brings together research in optical fibres, lasers, luminescence,

chemistry, proteomics and virology to develop new technologies focusing on some of the big problems in health, the environment, industrial

processes and defence.

Professor Monro is a member of the South Australian Premier's Science & Research Council, a founding steering member of the Royal

Institution of Australia, and member of the 2008 community consultation panel for the Defence White Paper. In 2007, she was awarded the

`Women in Physics Lecture' by the Australian Institute of Physics and, in 2006, a Bright Spark award for Australia's Top 10 Scientific Minds

under 45 by Cosmos Magazine.

The Robinson Institute Newsletter I Issue No. 3, August 2009 I

There is now hope for treatment for the thousands of Australians who suffer brain damage after stroke. Exciting advancements made at the Centre for Stem Cell Research demonstrate significant potential to improve thousands of lives.

Assoc Prof Simon Koblar, Director of the stroke research

programme, says “a major challenge before neuroscience is how to repair the brain following a stroke.”

His research shows promising results using adult stem cells from teeth to improve the brain functionality of stroke victims.

Various organs of the body such as bone marrow, skin or teeth

have small numbers of adult stem cells which are able to regenerate specific organs’ tissues. Preliminary research has shown that adult dental pulp stem cells have an intrinsic ability to produce brain cells and make a range of growth factors which is likely to help repair the brain.

Assoc Prof Stan Gronthos, co-director of the Centre for Stem Cell Research at The Robinson Institute, was one of the first to isolate stem cells from the adult human tooth. This discovery laid the foundation here in Adelaide to use dental pulp stem cells for brain repair.

“The best cell-therapy is one which is derived from the patient as no treatment is required to reduce the immune system and stop rejection” said Assoc Prof Koblar.

“By using dental pulp stem cells we are able to use the patient’s own cells to regenerate new tissue.”

The research to date has focused on animal studies, with the team aiming to investigate the safety of this treatment for humans in the next five years if continued benefits are found in two animal species.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney awarded the group $100,000

through a competitive grant to progress the research using adult stem cells.

The importance of this research is significant, with stroke being the most common neurological disease in Australia. More than 270,000 Australians continue to live with a neurological disability

following a stroke.

Further support for the research is expected to come through the formation of the Peter Couche Foundation. The foundation has been lead by Peter Couche, a successful stockbroker who at 41 suffered an irreversible brain-stem stroke that left him paralysed

but with an active and alert brain. His book, “Lifelines”, documents his life and the importance of discoveries such as stem cells to

improve the lives of people affected by stroke.

STEM CELLS PROVIDE HOPE FOR STROKE VICTIMS

The Robinson Institute Newsletter I Issue No. 3, August 2009 I

50 years of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at The University of Adelaide was celebrated in July with a black tie dinner at The Wine Centre.

The event, co-ordinated and hosted by Professor Alastair MacLennan, Head of the Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, attracted more than 150 researchers, clinicians and government representatives.

The audience learnt of the history of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from those who had been there through its development, from the humble beginnings at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital to the now thriving research areas in the Medical School.

Professor Bob Seamark emphasised the creative thought, commitment and dedication that had been demonstrated by Professor Lloyd Cox when the department had been first established.

The department grew from the bold decisions that were made. They were the first department to appoint a scientist in an academic position and conducted research that tested the boundaries of reproductive health.

Professor Robert Norman went on to explain the bright future that can be achieved through the collaborations between scientists and clinicians.

The celebration was topped off with an entertaining performance by The 3 Waiters, who intrigued and delighted the audience with their hilarious antics and boasting operatic voices.

The event was a reminder of the achievements of our history, the importance of our leadership and bold thought, and an opportunity for all to gather and have some fun!

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO A THRIVING RESEARCH CONCENTRATION

The voyage of discovery is ultimately defined by the ambition to delve in to the unknown and seek out knowledge that is uncertain.

This is the creed of science. We postulate and hypothesise based

on insight and predictions that we believe to be enlightened and

accurate, and armed with this we stroll into previously uncharted

territory to try and confirm what we think to be true.

However we often find that despite our best laid plans and inspired

theories, what we discover is not what we expect. This should

come as no surprise. If what we hypothesised to be true typically

turned out to be so then there would be no need for science. We

could simply form our view of the world and the way in which it functions purely through theory. Such a notion however, is

obviously fanciful.

Despite the necessity for uncertainty in science I think that

sometimes we fail to truly acknowledge this. I know that I did.

Largely as a result of necessity we start our PhD with a bold

hypothesis and set of aims and experiments that we believe will lead us to our desired insight.

And whilst we outwardly acknowledge that this is only a theory,

and that these are only proposed experiments, inwardly I think we

fail to heed our own statement. Perhaps this is as a result of

optimism, or naivety, or because the alternative of recognising that we have limited control over the destination of the next three years

of our life, is simply too daunting.

But ultimately when you are coming to the end of a PhD like I am,

and looking back over your path you realise that you can never

dictate the results that you generate but instead your path is dictated to you by the results.

For those at the start of this journey the uncertainty shouldn’t be

feared but should be embraced. The true value of discovery is

finding that that is truly novel and previously unheralded.

Leigh Guerin - PhD Student

RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE - THE UNEXPECTED ROAD OF A PHD

The Robinson Institute Newsletter I Issue No. 3, August 2009 I

Upcoming Events

Obstetrics & Gynecology SeminarsWednesdays, 12:00pm-1:00pm* Check calendar for speakers, topics & venues

School of Paediatrics & Reproductive Health SeminarsFridays, 4:00pm-5:00pm* Check calendar for speakers, topics & venues

Discipline of Paediatrics SeminarThursdays, 12:30pm - 1:30pm* Check calender for further details

2009 Australian Epidemiological Association ConferenceFriday, August 14th, 12:00pm-4:00pmEquinox, Union Building, The University of Adelaide

Australian Society for Medical Research Professional Dev. DayWednesday, 19th AugustMelbourne Rydges Hotel

Faculty Health Sciences - Learning & Teaching SeminarAssociate Professor Sandra Carr, Deputy Director,Education Centre, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health SciencesUniversity of Western AustraliaFriday, August 21st, 12:00pm - 1:00pmObstetrics & Gynecology Seminar Room, 2nd Floor, MSN

Industry - Linked Funding Opportunities: Information SessionFriday, August 21st, 3pm - 5pmArt Gallery Function Room 2

ESA-SRB 2009Endocrine Society of Australia - Society of Reproductive BiologyAugust 23 - 26thAdelaide Convention Centre, North Terrace, AdelaideFurther details: www.esa-srb.org.au

HDA Career Development SeminarTuesday, August 25th, 9:45am-1:00pmUnion House, Level 4, Eclipse Room, The University of Adelaide

Donation of Human Embryos to Stem Cell ResearchEthics Centre of South AustraliaThursday 3rd September, 3-4pm, Scots Centre, Cnr North Terrace & Pultney Street

ARACY 2009: Australian Research Alliance for Children & YouthSeptember 2-4th, 2009Melbourne Convention & Exhibition CentreFurther details: www.aracyconference.org.au

Stem Cell & Immunity ConferenceOctober 1-3rdKuala Lumpur Convention Centre, MalaysiaFurther details: www.stemcellimmunity2009.org

OUR FUNDING PROGRAMS

CONTACT THE INSTITUTE

The Robinson Institute

Norwich Centre, Ground Floor

55 King William Road

North Adelaide SA 5006

P: (08) 8303 8166

E: robinsoninstitute@adelaide.edu.au

W: www.adelaide.edu.au/robinson-institute

Emily Alvino was awarded second price in the Trainee

Research Platform Competition at the Society for the

Study of Reproduction annual meeting in Pittsburgh, PA.

Tom Cundy, currently undertaking part-time Honours in

Paediatrics with Dr Leanne Sutherland and Prof Brian

Freeman as well as his 6th year of the

MBBS, was awarded this year's Florey Bachelor of

Medical Science Scholarship, for an MBBS student

undertaking Honours.

Congratulations also to Angela Chua, who received a

first-class Honours degree last year for her work with Dr

Wendy Ingman on immune cells in breast cancer, and

who has just been awarded a prestigious University

Medal for her outstanding results throughout her

undergraduate degree including Honours.

CONGRATULATIONS

Professor Pawel Zarzycki from the Technical

University of Koszalin in Poland will be joining the

Robinson Institute in August as part of the Visiting

Professors Program.

Professor Zarzycki will be working in the area of

separation science with A/Prof Vicki Clifton and the

Maternal Fetal and Neonatal Research Group.