2011 - Biomedical Research Victoria

Annual Report 2010/2011
Contents
Section 1 Overview
Vision & Mission
2
Objectives & Strategic Themes
2
Highlights 2010-2011
3
Members of the Bio21 Cluster
4
Chairman’s Report
5
CEO Report 6
Section 2 Activities Under Strategic Themes
Theme: Forums for developing ideas and collaborations8
Member Representatives of the Scientific Advisory Council
8
Scientific Advisory Council – Report from the Chair
9
Presentations to the SAC
11
Hospital Research Directors Forum 12
Victorian Clinician Researcher Network
13
NoLIMITS Symposium
14
Business Development Managers Forum
15
Theme: Collaborative resources and platform technologies16
Victorian Platform Technologies Network Report
16
Theme: Capability building through education & training19
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Report
19
Other training
22
Theme: Profile, outcomes, one voice23
Gender Equity
23
Government Submissions
23
Melbourne-Boston Sister City Connection
24
Member Organisations
24
Section 3 Organisation & Governance
Members of the Board
25
Organisational Structure
30
Balance Sheet 31
1
Section 1 Overview
Vision & Mission
Vision
The Bio21 Cluster will facilitate solutions to major
health problems through the collaboration and
innovation of its Members.
Mission
The Bio21 Cluster will support its Members to address
key scientific and health-related issues beyond the reach
of any individual organisation. Via research, education
and healthcare, the Bio21 Cluster will facilitate
collaborative programs, to foster basic and translational
research, with the potential to solve major health
problems and deliver social and economic benefits.
Objectives & Strategic
Themes
Objectives
■To support an environment that facilitates collaborative
research and tackles major problems that require diverse
skill sets and resources
■To improve the interaction between basic research and
its translation to support delivery of evidence-based
and cost-effective health care services of the highest
standard
■To encourage development of biomedical and health
innovations with commercial potential
■To encourage students to seek careers in biomedical
research, its translation and commercialisation
■To provide high level advice, advocacy and response to
issues of significance for and to its Members
Strategic Themes
■Forums for Developing Ideas and Collaborations
■Collaborative Resources and Platform Technologies
■Capability Building via Education and Training
■Profile, Outcomes, One Voice
Value Proposition
The Bio21 Cluster is Victoria’s leading biomedical and health
sciences cluster. It provides independent and collaborative
opportunities for facilitation of projects that support health
and medical research. This enables leverage of multi
disciplinary capabilities, expertise and know-how for
Members to address key scientific and health-related issues
beyond the reach of any individual Member organisation.
The Bio21 Cluster has proven success in facilitating shared
infrastructure, education and business development programs
that provide benefit to all Members and to Victoria more
broadly. Access to the Bio21 Cluster network enables an
individual Member organisation to be seen as part of a
greater whole and to benefit from the collective successes.
2 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Highlights 2010-2011
■
VCCC joins the Bio21 Cluster as its 22nd Member
■
VPTN
expands to 100+ facilities across more than
30 institutions
■
UROP
secures a second Principal Sponsor, VLSCI,
providing 3 years of funding from 2011 in addition to its
support of part-stipends for projects in bioinformatics or
computational biology
■
Mr
Simon McKeon, Australian of the Year 2011,
becomes Patron of UROP
■
Bio21
Cluster Symposium ‘Moving Towards the Next
Generation Biology’ features international, national
and local speakers and attracts an audience of over 200
■
Bio21
Cluster a partner in 3 year ARC Linkage Grant
‘Women in the Scientific Research Workforce’,
by Bell and Yates
■
Approval
for appointment of a Project Officer to support
development of the Victorian Clinician Researcher
Network – commencing July 2011
■
Appointment
to the Board of former Governor of Victoria,
Prof David de Kretser AC and Dr George Morstyn
3
Members of the Bio21
Cluster as at 30 June 2011
Founding Members:
■ Melbourne Health 12
■ The University of Melbourne 6
■ The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research 10
General Members:
■ Austin LifeSciences 21
■ Bionics Institute 2
■ CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering 17
■ Florey Neuroscience Institutes 7
■ Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research 11
■ Mental Health Research Institute 19
■ Murdoch Childrens Research Institute 15
■ NICTA – Victoria Research Laboratory 9
■ Orygen Youth Health Research Centre 20
■ Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre 1
■ St Vincent’s Health 3
■ St Vincent’s Institute 4
■ The Royal Women’s Hospital 13
■Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Monash University 18
Associate Members:
■ Cancer Council Victoria 5
■ Cancer Trials Australia 14
■ Neurosciences Victoria Ltd 8
■ The Royal Children’s Hospital 16
■Victorian Comprehensive Cancer
Centre 22
4 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Chairman’s Report
If a week is a long time in politics, some of those weeks
have made the last year a volatile one for organisations
whose horizons are long term and who rely upon a degree of
certainty about funding.
In the run up to this year’s Federal Budget, a series of leaks
from Canberra suggested that the Government might be
contemplating a significant reduction in the NHMRC’s budget.
A major national campaign “Discoveries Need Dollars”, led
by Board Member and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Director,
Doug Hilton, with the support of numerous others including
many Cluster Members, gained wide exposure and significant
public support. When the budget was delivered, the NHMRC
budget remained intact and the Government announced an
overall review of health and medical research funding in
Australia. The Cluster, on behalf of its Members, responded to
a request to provide input into both the terms of reference of
the review and membership of the review committee.
The episode is a salutary reminder that unlike the USA, where
support for basic research seems to be built into the DNA of
all politicians, in Australia it is often seen as an optional extra.
The Board recognises the need for continued dialogue with
politicians and their advisers, and is exploring a variety of
ways it may be able to improve such communications.
At a State level, the change of government has brought new
Ministers, new lines of responsibility and some new ways
of conducting business. The Cluster has had a number of
discussions with the Minister for Technology and Assistant
Treasurer, Gordon Rich-Phillips and has appreciated his
knowledge and engagement with the sector. Minister
Rich-Phillips has expressed his support for the Victorian
Biosciences Council and signalled the Government’s intention
to create an additional body to advise it on all aspects of the
life sciences sector.
Both the State and Federal Governments (through the NHMRC)
have expressed an interest in improving patients’ access to the
best current treatments by designation of a limited number
of Advanced Health Research Centres (AHRC). In Victoria, two
groups have formed to advance this concept: one South of the
Yarra, involving teaching hospitals, medical research institutes
and Monash University; the other North of the Yarra, with a
similar composition and the University of Melbourne as the
main academic partner.
The Board welcomes this development and has been in
discussion with the North of the Yarra group to determine
whether the Cluster’s structure and skills could be utilised by
the proposed AHRC. These discussions are continuing.
On internal matters, the Board congratulates Professor Jim
McCluskey on his promotion to DVC Research at the University
of Melbourne, though is sad to lose him as a member of
the Board. As his replacement Professor Malcolm McConville
(Deputy Director of the Bio21 Institute) is warmly welcomed,
as are our two new independent directors, Dr George Morstyn
and Professor David de Kretser.
Much of the day to day work of the Cluster is driven by the
Scientific Advisory Council (SAC), ably chaired by Professor Jock
Findlay and reported later herein. In addition, Professor Ingrid
Winship convenes meetings of the Hospital Research Directors
to advance the cause of hospital-based research, while our
CEO chairs regular meetings for the Business Development
Managers, which enables them to share experiences and
upgrade their skills. The work of the Audit Sub-Committee,
chaired by Dr Graeme Woodrow is greatly appreciated.
Finally I would like to pay tribute to two pillars of the Cluster,
Dr Stella Clark, who has announced her intention to retire from
her post as CEO at the end of the year (this may be the first
time that the words “Stella” and “retiring” have been used in
the same sentence) and Professor Dick Smallwood, Deputy
Chair of the SAC.
Dick has been a highly effective member of the SAC and the
Board, where his knowledge, wit and focus on achieving
workable outcomes have been of immense benefit.
Stella was the second CEO of the Cluster, commencing about
18 months after the Company’s formation, and she has led it
admirably for the past 9 years. Her energy, enthusiasm and
unmatched networks have enabled the Cluster to become
greater than the sum of its parts. I take this opportunity to
thank Stella for her dedicated work and on behalf of the
Board, to wish her well with her future plans.
Ian Gust
Chair
5
CEO Report
Year two of the Bio21 Cluster Strategic Plan sees progress
being made in all four of the Strategic Themes as detailed
elsewhere in this report. This ensures the focus of the small
Bio21 Cluster team is on the issues and projects that most
concern Members. In the past year I have had the opportunity
to speak with the Directors of each individual Member
organisation and to hear their perspectives on the directions
that the Bio21 Cluster is taking, how it’s performing and any
issues of concern. In the process I have heard about exciting
plans for individual Members, including a number who are
in the process of building or moving into new facilities; this,
along with the influx of researchers expected as a result,
should ensure the strength of health and biomedical research
across our precinct for a long time to come. The Bio21 Cluster
adds value to the efforts of individual Members enabling
leverage of the multi disciplinary capabilities, expertise and
know-how to address key scientific and health-related issues
beyond the reach of any individual Member organisation.
Access to the Bio21 Cluster network enables an individual
Member organisation to be seen as part of a greater whole
and to benefit from the collective successes.
Two Bio21 Cluster initiatives deserve special mention the
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)
and the Victorian Platform Technologies Network (VPTN).
We were delighted to welcome Mr Simon McKeon (2011
Australian of the year) as the new Patron of UROP and the
Victorian Life Sciences Computational Initiative (VLSCI) as
the second Principal Sponsor of UROP. The VPTN has become
a key part of the research landscape in Victoria providing
professional development for Facilities Managers and, through
its dedicated website, access to the broad range of facilities
available in Victoria. It continues to exceed all its KPIs and has
some exciting new developments in the pipeline. Both these
initiatives are discussed in more detail later in this report.
We were very pleased that a very early “spin out” project
from the Bio21 Cluster, BioGrid, has received interim
funding from the Victorian Government, allowing time to
develop a proper business case for future support. BioGrid
is a unique research platform that provides secure access
to real-time clinical, imaging and biospecimen data across
jurisdictions, institutions and diseases. It has contributed to
the implementation of many successful collaborative research
projects, particularly in cancer research.
The Bio21 Cluster aims to inform its Members, and the wider
scientific community, on a range of topical issues. Successful
events organised and/or supported by the Bio21 Cluster
6 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
during the previous year include: a symposium on Systems
Biology – Moving towards the Next Generation Biology;
the first NoLIMITS Symposium held in conjunction with
the Nossal Institute, focussing on “Clinical issues needing
technical solutions”; and the hosting of two “MBA in a
Day” workshops. We have also become a Silver Sponsor
of the ICT4Lifesciences Forum, which introduces a range of
international and national speakers presenting on topics at
the intersection of IT and Life Sciences.
The issue of gender equity in science and possible practical
solutions to assist everyone to fulfil their potential, regardless
of gender, has been a topic of particular interest during
the year. Both Dr Elizabeth Johnson and I attended the
WiSE (Women in Science and Engineering) summit held
in Parliament House Canberra, convened by the Australian
National Commission for UNESCO, the Australian National
Committee for UN Women and FASTS. I was invited to be
a panel member and facilitator of a discussion group. The
Bio21 Cluster was a proud sponsor of the event. We also
sponsored a WEHI – Women in Science workshop at which
Dr Johnson spoke and at the annual BioMelbourne Network
Women in Biotech lunch, nine women UROP participants
were introduced to the 400 senior women from the biotech
sector attending the event. Finally we are very pleased to be
a partner, along with FASTS and the Royal Australian Chemical
Institute, on a successful ARC Linkage Grant “Women in the
Scientific Workforce: identifying and sustaining the diversity
advantage” (Bell and Yates) valued at $130,000 over 3 years.
We look forward to participating and sharing the results of this
study with all Bio21 Cluster Members and the wider scientific
community.
projects beyond the boundaries of their original partner
organisations. They were interested in possible projects
across the Bio21 Cluster and at the current time are involved
with; (1) A facilities management system for the VPTN to
enable facility booking across organisations and thereby
streamline and improve efficiency. (2) Database upgrades
and extended functionality of the UROP communications
network to ensure better tracking of alumni and better
management of the application process. IBM will have an
increasing presence in Carlton as the IBM R&D lab becomes
fully functional. This will lead to a requirement for research
and technical staff; for instance around 150 PhD positions
are envisaged. While health and biomedical will be only
part of their larger “Smarter Planet” portfolio there will
be substantial opportunities, especially in computational
biology and structural biology. Dr John Wagner (Manager, IBM
Collaboratory) has indicated a strong interest in UROP.
Major research infrastructure is of considerable importance
to all Members of the Bio21 Cluster and there has been
significant involvement with the federal government process
through the Federal Department of Innovation, Industry,
Science and Research (DIISR) to examine the way in which
research infrastructure funding and support has been handled
to date and give directions for the future. I was asked to
present at a DIISR forum on research infrastructure and
the Bio21 Cluster made submissions to both the review
of strategy and the 2011 Strategic Roadmap for Australian
Research Infrastructure. The widely canvassed issue around
ongoing support for experienced people and operational
costs has been picked up and we now await a funding
commitment, hopefully in the next budget cycle.
International visitors are no stranger to the Bio21 Cluster
as many are interested to see the physical institutions that
make up the Cluster, to hear about their projects as well
as understanding how the Cluster operates as a whole.
One of our most notable visitors in the past year was Mr
James Greenwood, President and CEO of the Biotechnology
Industry Organisation (BIO), the world’s largest biotechnology
organisation, based in the USA. Prior to his role at BIO, he
was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 12
years. Mr Greenwood met with a number of Bio21 Cluster
Members and was taken on a tour of the precinct. We were
also glad to welcome back an old friend of the Bio21 Cluster,
Professor Jonathan Rosen, currently Special Advisor to the
Provost at Boston University. Professor Rosen was the 9th
VESKI International Connections Recipient and all events held
over his week long visit were co-badged between VESKI and
the Bio21 Cluster
I would like to end by thanking all the staff at the Bio21
Cluster; they do a marvellous job in running so many diverse
projects and programs with fairly limited resources. I was
fortunate enough to enjoy a period of long service leave
during the year and am very grateful to Dr Elizabeth Johnson
for taking on the role of Acting CEO most ably during my
absence. As always I’ve enjoyed working with the various
subcommittees who provide the ideas for new projects and
with the Board of the Bio21 Cluster, which provides wise
oversight and a great support for me. This will be my last
report as CEO of the Bio21 Cluster as I am planning to leave
at the end of 2011, although I hope I may be indulged with a
small reflective piece in the next Annual Report. This has been
one of the most rewarding roles I have ever taken on and I’m
very proud to have been associated with the Bio21 Cluster
and all its Members over this exciting period of its growth and
development.
On the local front we have been developing relationships
with VeRSI and IBM. VeRSI (the Victorian e-Research Strategic
Initiative) has received funding until June 2012 to undertake
Stella Clark
CEO
7
Section 2 Activities Under Strategic Themes
THEME
Forums for
developing
ideas and
collaborations
The Cluster’s ability to bring together
Members and others in a variety
of forums and to provide symposia
on relevant emerging scientific
topics, is pivotal to identifying
new opportunities and achieving
collaborative goals.
Member Representatives of the
Scientific Advisory Council
Professor Jock Findlay, Chair
Professor Richard Smallwood, Deputy Chair
Professor Roland Scollay (from March 2011)
Dr Stella Clark, CEO, Bio21 Cluster
Dr Elizabeth Johnson, Projects Manager, Bio21 Cluster
Dr Gerard Gibbs, Bio21 Cluster Node Coordinator,
Victorian Platform Technologies Network
Member Representatives
Professor Neville Yeomans, Austin LifeSciences
Professor Peter Blamey, Bionics Institute
Dr Tim Adams, CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering
Professor Geoffrey Donnan, Florey Neuroscience Institutes
Dr Matthias Ernst, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Professor Ingrid Winship, Melbourne Health
Professor Trevor Kilpatrick, Melbourne Health
Professor Colin Masters, Mental Health Research Institute
Professor Terry Dwyer, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (to August 2010)
Prof John Bateman, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (to November 2010)
Prof Andrew Sinclair, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (from December 2010)
Professor Justin Zobel, NICTA – Victoria Research Laboratory
Dr Jane Burns, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre
A/Professor Ricky Johnstone, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Professor Richard Fox, St Vincent’s Health
Professor Tom Kay, St Vincent’s Institute
Professor Arthur Shulkes - University of Melbourne (from November 2010)
Professor Peter McIntyre, The University of Melbourne (to November 2010)
Professor Tony Bacic, The University of Melbourne
Professor Colin Pouton, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
Monash University
Professor Phil Hodgkin, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Dr David Huang, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
(from October 2010)
Co-opted Members
Professor Peter Ebeling, The University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine
(Western Health)
Professor Graham Brown, Nossal Institute for Global Health
Professor James Best, The University of Melbourne
Dr Andrew Milner, Neurosciences Victoria (from October 2010)
8 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Scientific Advisory Council - Report from the Chair
The Bio21 Cluster members meet monthly at the Scientific
Advisory Council (SAC) to discuss matters of common interest,
raise ideas for projects and hear presentations relating to
key developments. A list of those presentations follows. It
evident that a topic of major interest has been and remains
e-Research. Others concern different resources required
to enhance research. The SAC also monitors the activities
of the Victorian Platform Technologies Network, the UROP
scheme and BioGrid, and has been a strong advocate in the
establishment of the Victorian Clinician Researcher Network.
All of these topics fall within the responsibility of the SAC for
aspects of the Bio21 Cluster Strategic Plan.
In November the SAC supported the highly successful Systems
Biology Symposium. The symposium was well attended and
brought a sharp focus on topics of interest of the members
and their institutions. In July 2010, a symposium entitled
NoLIMITS was held to explore health issues in developing
world and potential low cost solutions. The symposium arose
from initial discussions at the SAC and has been repeated in
2011.
A major strength of the SAC is the breadth of its membership
and the willingness of individual members to share ideas
and expertise and to collaborate and support projects and
programs beyond any one member organisation. This allows
the SAC, and through it the Cluster, to represent a stronger
view on topics than any individual institution would do alone.
In doing so, it has been able to make a number of strong
submissions in response to State and Federal Government
initiatives around the research agenda.
I want to thank Stella Clark and the team at the Bio21
Cluster for supporting our meetings and Professor Dick
Smallwood who ably chaired meetings in my absence. Dick
has indicated a desire to step down as Deputy Chair so I
take this opportunity of thanking him for his support and
encouragement and wish him well. To replace Dick as Deputy
Chair, we welcome experienced biotechnology and drug
development executive Dr Roland Scollay.
Jock Findlay
SAC Chair
9
10 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Presentations to the SAC
July 2010
■ Dr Jane Burns, Orygen Youth Health Research Centre
August 2010
■Professor Richard Sinnott, Director E-Research,
University of Melbourne
September 2010
■Professor Arnan Mitchell, Leader, Microplatforms
Research Group, School of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, RMIT University
October 2010
■Dr George Morstyn, Deputy Chairman of Board,
Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre
November 2010
■Professor Ian Smith, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research
and Research Infrastructure, Monash University –
Victorian Joint Bioresources Initiative
■Dr John Wagner – Manager and Research Staff
Member, IBM Research Collaboratory for Life
Sciences, University of Melbourne
March 2011
■Mr Bob Atwill, CEO, and Ms Maureen Turner, General
Manager, BioGrid Australia
May 2011
■Professor Fernando Martin Sanchez, Professor and
Chair of Health Informatics, University of Melbourne
■Professor Richard Sinnott, Director E-Research,
University of Melbourne and Dr Steven Manos,
Manager of Research Services, ITS University of
Melbourne – Research Data Storage Infrastructure
(RDSI) Project, University of Melbourne
11
Hospital Research
Directors Forum
The Hospital Research Directors Forum (HRDF) has continued
its focus on the research needs specific to the hospital
sector in Victoria, with our 17 members representing all the
research-active hospitals in Melbourne, as well as regional
and rural centres, and two private hospitals. Key issues include
research governance, funding and effective translation of
research findings into policy and practice.
A highlight from the past year was a facilitated workshop
held with the assistance of the Victorian Government through
the then Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional
Development, on November 29, 2010. A major outcome
from the workshop has been the Translational Research
Summit, which will be held in October 2011. Preparations
for the Summit are well under way, with confirmed speakers
including Dame Sally Davies, Professor Sir Peter Gluckman and
Professors Hiroo Imura, Jan Karlstedt Duke, and John Wong.
The HRDF members have provided information for the
consultant to the Federal Government as part of their
briefing for the research component of the Government’s
Health reform agenda. They have also assisted the Victorian
Department of Health with their data collection on research
in hospitals.
Research is strong across our Victorian hospitals, with
commitment from all of our members of the HRDF to the
profile and quality of research in hospitals.
We are indebted to Dr Stella Clark and Ms Paula Misiewicz
at the Bio21 Cluster for their tireless support, and to our
Executive Officer, Ms Angela Magira.
Ingrid Winship
Chair, HRDF
12 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Victorian Clinician
Researcher Network
Following on from its successful symposium held in March
2010 at which the Network was formally launched, the
VCRN has held two further meetings this year. At the Clinical
Research Excellence 2010 Conference in August in Melbourne,
a full session was devoted to the issues faced by early career
clinician researchers. Then in November, the Epworth Hospital
generously hosted an evening forum for the VCRN.
Dr Andrew Wilson, a cardiologist at St Vincent’s Hospital, and
Dr Harriet Hiscock, a paediatrician at the Royal Children’s
Hospital, have been appointed as co-convenors of the VCRN.
To help integrate early career researchers with senior hospitalbased researchers, the VCRN now reports to the HRDF.
Approval has been obtained from the Bio21 Cluster to appoint
a VCRN coordinator to help the Network develop. One of the
early tasks for the coordinator is to develop a needs analysis
survey for distribution to early career researchers.
Systems Biology:
‘Moving towards the next
generation biology’
This symposium on 4 November, attracted over 200
registrants. Professor Peter Hunter, gave the keynote speech.
Peter is Professor of Engineering Science and Director of
the Bioengineering Institute, University of Auckland, New
Zealand, and also the Director of Computational Physiology
at Oxford University. He gave an excellent overview of the
Virtual Physiological Human/Physiome Project and the
Computational Physiology of the Heart. Other presentations
by interstate experts described the systems biology initiative
in New South Wales and the use of systems biology by the
wine industry, South Australia. Local presenters in clinicial
and basic biology covered the application of systems biology
approaches to:
■ Drug discovery
■Clinical outcomes – neuroscience, precision medicine,
cancer and immunology
■Basic research – stem cells, yeast genetics and modelling
of the kidney
The symposium day was followed by a facilitated discussion
with the goal of developing a broad Victorian-wide proposal
around systems biology. Clearly identified issues from the
session were the need for further investment in infrastructure
that will enable research, and improved linkage between
research groups.
Tea break at the Systems Biology symposium at the Bio21 Institute
13
NoLIMITS Symposium
The concept of the NoLIMITS Symposium arose from
discussions at the SAC and is based on the model used
by CIMIT, USA, where clinical problems are presented to a
multidisciplinary group. The group comprises professionals
who may not normally meet in the usual course of their
work: e.g. health professionals, engineers and physicists.
At the NoLIMITS Symposium, conducted collaboratively
by the Bio21 Cluster and the Nossal Institute for Global
Health, real-world health problems in developing countries
are discussed with those who can provide potential
technical solutions. Those solutions must be appropriate for
conditions in developing countries: ideally they require no
consumables, maintenance or conventional power sources
and must be low in cost.
The first symposium was held in July last year and two
problems were taken up by the Physics Department at the
University of Melbourne, headed by Drs Roger Rassool and
Bryn Sobott with continued input from Dr Jim Black of the
Nossal Institute. We report here on one project that has
progressed to prototype stage. Anaemia is a significant
problem in malaria-susceptible communities. The aim of the
project is to produce a hand-held device for use in the field
to make accurate measurements of haemoglobin, noninvasively. Dr Rassool’s team are experts in designing and
building detectors. They normally work at the highest end of
technology. In Roger’s words, ‘the challenge of the low cost
project and not being able to rely on high-energy requiring
technology and technological support for instruments,
has enhanced the group’s research and stretched our
inventiveness through thinking outside the square’.
There is evident enthusiasm among the group when
demonstrating their prototype detector. It uses a simple
LED torch to pass light through the skin, such as through
a finger tip. The light passing through the skin is analysed
by a low-cost optical spectrometer constructed from a
prism and a simple detector such as found in a webcam.
By examining the response at different wavelengths, the
amount of oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin can
be determined. The device is connected to a mobile phone
to allow readings. Surprisingly, this simple device provides
wavelength resolution to 4 nm. The group is looking forward
to testing the device against conventional haemoglobin
detectors later this year and then in the field.
Following the success of the first symposium, a second was
organised for 2011, this time involving the group Global
Health Gateway and Engineers Without Borders, in addition
to the Nossal Institute and School of Engineering at the
University of Melbourne.
14 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
L-R: The development team, David Peake holding the prototype haemoglobin
detector, Dr Roger Rassool, Dr Bryn Sobott and Vivien Lee, in Physics at the
University of Melbourne
Demonstration of the detector and mobile phone application
Business Development
Managers Forum
The Business Development Managers (BDM) group meets
quarterly to discuss and share expertise on a wide range of
issues and ideas that support the commercial and business
development side of Bio21 Cluster Members’ activities.
The Cluster can assist through provision of shared business
development services and networks.
Key discussions and projects for 2010/2011
■The terms of reference for the group have been reviewed
to ensure they match the expected activities and
outcomes, in summary they are:
1. To discuss, investigate and review matters of mutual
interest with respect to business development and
research commercialisation.
2. To develop strong relationships involving cooperation
and collaboration across the business development
managers of the Bio21 Cluster.
3. To promote the commercial and business activity of
Bio21 Cluster Members
4. To advise the Board of the Bio21 Cluster on issues
related to business development and commercialisation
of health and biomedical research.
arrangements, provided an example of a somewhat
different way of approaching that issue.
■Presentations from individual Bio21 Cluster Members
usually occur at each BDM meeting. This provides an
opportunity to showcase more commercially oriented
projects and also to present current projects that may be
seeking other academic partners.
■Being able to easily keep track of, manage and report
on commercial activity across an organisation can be
difficult. During the year the BDMs have been investigating
potential software solutions to address these issues. If a
single platform is agreed on it may be able to be used
across a number of organisations and the Bio21 Cluster
would most likely assist in its implementation.
■During the year presentations to BDM meetings
have included Commercialisation Australia and
Enterprise Connect – Researchers in Business program.
Representatives from both programs outlined how they are
designed to assist commercialisation of research even at
its earliest stage and how to access the relevant programs.
Finally, I take this opportunity to thank all the BDMs for
their support over the past year. Their willingness to share
expertise and best practice enables all Bio21 Cluster Members
to benefit and improve business development outcomes.
Stella Clark
Chair BDM
■The “MBA in a Day” forum has been run twice in the past
year, the first pilot program was almost fully subsidised
by the Bio21 Cluster and the second at 50% of the cost.
The workshop is about business basics for bioscientists
and provides non-business professionals with an intensive
introduction to the key concepts, the language and the
business principles underpinning management and the
commercialisation of science. It is intended to strengthen
their ability to understand how business people think,
to communicate effectively in business negotiations and
to take the right strategic actions needed to successfully
commercialise the innovations they themselves or
their organisations are developing. Over 60 participants
have attended the two workshops and the positive and
constructive feedback has led to improvements between
the first and second workshops. We are very grateful to
BioMentoring Australia, who deliver the program.
■Sharing of knowhow is an important part of the activities
of the group. A presentation from the Bionics Institute,
on their Intellectual Property Policy and revenue sharing
Attendees at the 2010 ‘MBA in a Day’ workshop
15
THEME
Collaborative resources and
platforms technologies
Historically, the Bio21 Cluster came together to support
development of a series of collaborative projects that
provided critical infrastructure to serve Members and the
sector more broadly. The benefits from those investments
continue but from the collaborative technology concept
has emerged the Victorian Platform Technologies Network,
supported by the Victorian Government, which aims to build
infrastructure capacity and access for the sector.
Victorian Platform
Technologies Network
Report
At 2 years of age at the 31st June the combined VPTN
facilities between the Bio21 Cluster and Southern nodes now
exceed 100. The Bio21 Cluster node of the VPTN comprises 69
facilities distributed across 21 organisations. Those facilities
provide a diversity of expertise across the whole spectrum of
biomedical research, from basic biology, to computing, to drug
discovery and clinical trials. Fifty seven facilities are located
within the Central precinct (Parkville, Fitzroy, East Melbourne)
with twelve located across the Northern Precinct (Heidelberg,
Bundoora). Over the last year the VPTN has focussed
upon continuing its database building activities, delivering
workshops for facility managers. However, with the current
VPTN funding period ending on 31st June 2012, attention has
now shifted to preparing a sustainability plan for continuation
and developing a major new initiative, the core facilities
software management tool.
Professional development Workshops
Training and development workshops are a major activity
for the VPTN. Over the year, the VPTN held 6 workshops. All
workshops are focused upon operational and management
aspects of running a core facility and provided free of charge.
To quote Eric Hanssen from the Bio21 Institute Advanced
Microscopy Facility, ‘These workshops are great, but it always
results in more work for me!’ I was encouraged to hear this
as I consider it an indication that we are providing useful and
relevant information. Workshops offered in the last year were:
■Costing and pricing for platforms: Activity Based Costing
■Quality systems and quality accreditation
■Quality Risk Management
■Negotiation & Equipment purchasing strategies
■Marketing 2.0: Social media and web communications
■Understanding industry expectations of a service provider
Conferences
The VPTN hosted a stand for 12 facilities at the AusBiotech
Conference in Melbourne in September and the VPTN
“Capability Menu” was included in each conference delegate’s
bag. The Capability Menu was also distributed to the 1000+
attendees of the Australian Society for Medical Research
National Scientific Conference and to attendees at the
Genome and the Infection & Immunity conferences held in
Lorne in Feb 2011.
16 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Platform categories
- nmr
- synchrotron
- x-ray crystallography
- x-ray spectroscopy
- crystal screening
- functional
assays
- peptide
synthesis
- properties &
interactions
- purification
- recombinant
- amino acid analysis
- comparative analysis
- gel electrophoresis
- protein identification
- quantitation
- conjugation
- monoclonal Abs
- polyclonal Abs
- purification
- screening assays
- animal models
- animal services
- molecular libraries
- biobanks
- assay development
- electrophysiology
- elisa
- flipr
- luminescence
- preclinical assays
- cell culture
- flow cytometry & facs
- high-content analysis
- histology
- knockdown (sirna, rnai)
- pathology
antibodies
structural biology
bioassay
proteomics
bioinformatics
proteins
bioresources
microscopy
metabolomics
VPTN:
>100 platforms
across 30 research
institutions
cells & tissues
clean rooms
clinical services & trials
in-vivo imaging
computational
genomics
drug development
devices
diagnostics
- dna sequencing
- expression
analysis
- microarray
- mutation analysis
- nextgen
sequencing
- small/large
animal
- human
- MRI/CT/opical/
PET/multi modal
- adme
- delivery
- discovery
- formulation
- medicinal
chemistry
- pharmokinetics
- gc
- lipids analysis
- mass
spectroscopy
- sample
preparation
- design &
prototyping
- lab-on-chip
- microfluidics
- production
- afm
- confocal
- electron
- fluorescence
- light
- live-cell
- two photon
- biohazard
(class 3+)
- manufacturing
- tissue & sample
preparation
- preclinical
assays
- analytical
assays
- clinical trials
- immunological
assays
- biostatistics
- data storage
- high performance
computing
- image analysis
- molecular
modelling
17
Website: www.platformtechnologies.org
Over the reporting period the VPTN website,
platformtechnologies.org, has received strong traffic,
indicating the usefulness of the site. A total of 6,239 visits to
the site were recorded, on average 4 pages were viewed per
visit and around 6 minutes were spent on the site.
New activities: Scientific Core Facilities
Management Software.
The VPTN (both Bio21 Cluster and its sister Southern node,
based at Monash University) has initiated a project to identify
and implement an advanced web based software tool for
the management of scientific core facilities. This project is an
exciting opportunity to provide a vastly improved software
tool that will be of use to a majority of facilities. The principle
is to provide a tool that allows each facility complete control
over their own services, pricing and access policy, and
integrates major core facility management functions. The
integrated activities so enabled include:
■User management
■Booking instrumentation
■Submitting samples to a workflow with milestone
reporting
■Advanced reporting on facility services
Seven software systems in operation throughout the world
have been identified, four of which have been selected for
comprehensive testing. These have been provided to three
facilities in the network for comprehensive evaluation and
specification and the VPTN has also partnered with the Victorian
e-Research Strategic Initiative (VeRSI) to help assess and to
assist with the IT components of the implementation of this
software. Three of the four vendors have visited Melbourne
to demonstrate their software. These visits alone indicate the
value these vendors see in such a large and diverse network
and they have indicated that they see it as a world leading
opportunity for the integration of core facilities across multiple
institutions. Such opinion reinforces the important role that
the VPTN can have for the benefit of the entire research
community. A vendor is expected to be selected and software
implemented in the first quarter of 2012.
With the VPTN and through the Victorian Bioportal, the
research community has a resource that really is equal to the
best in the world in creating an environment for identifying
resources required for your research. As the VPTN looks
forward to the next year of its activity and beyond, it will be
focussed on refining and implementing its plans to extend the
network and to provide a new range of tools for improved
management of a facility and improved and streamlined
tools for researchers wishing to access them. It will set a
benchmark for core facilities networks.
■Invoicing
These features should substantially improve efficiency and
productivity for facilities and for the institutions that host
them. By hosting on a single server, a single user account and
login from a single website as well as the ability to switch
between facilities from a single login could be provided,
further improving access for researchers.
18 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Gerard Gibbs
VPTN Coordinator
Bio21 Cluster Node
THEME
Capability building
through education &
training
Goals under this theme are to facilitate career development
opportunities for students, researchers and others. The flagship
program is the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
(UROP), a scheme that aims to capture the best and brightest
young minds to biomedical research. Increasingly, UROP is
working in cross-disciplinary training to support development
of a computationally skilled workforce.
Undergraduate Research
Opportunities Program
Report
This valuable Program provides undergraduate students with
first hand experience of research in the biomedical sciences,
through paid casual employment in research teams. The last
year has seen a bumper number of projects offered through
the program, particularly in the Winter 2011 round. We have
now clocked up 365 student placements since the Cluster
assumed responsibility for UROP in 2004.
It has been an extraordinary year for UROP. Firstly, we are
delighted that the Victorian Life Sciences Computation
Initiative (VLSCI) has chosen to extend its support of UROP by
becoming a co-principal sponsor of the Program’s operations.
This is in addition to the part-stipend support already
provided for students in selected bioinformatics projects,
spurring an increase in bioinformatics training. Ten positions
are supported on a rolling basis.
CSL, who became the first principal sponsor last year,
continues to be an active partner in the scheme. In
September, they provided valuable publicity for UROP through
newspaper and radio. In addition, Bio21 Cluster CEO Dr
Stella Clark and UROP student Francis Heil were interviewed
on ABC Radio National’s Life Matters program discussing
Bioinformatics as a 21st century job. Long-term backer, the
Victorian Government remains a supporting sponsor.
With the retirement of Professor David de Kretser, AC, as
Governor of Victoria, a change of UROP Patron occurred. We
thank Professor de Kretser warmly for his support and look
forward to keeping him apprised of progress in his new role
on the Bio21 Cluster Board.
As new UROP Patron, we are delighted to welcome Mr
Simon McKeon, Executive Chairman of Macquarie Bank in
Melbourne and Australian of the Year 2011.
Last year we reported on the early career progress of students
who have participated in UROP. However, the statistics
provide only a partial picture of the impact that UROP makes
on students’ future careers. Most report that their UROP
experience gave them a great head start in honours and
postgraduate work, decisions, provided networks and insights
into research domains that they would not have found
otherwise, essentially shaping their careers.
19
These outstanding students also go on to win postgraduate
scholarships and prizes. This year it was gratifying to see two
former UROP students awarded with major prizes. Kyle Slater,
a UROP alumnus at the Bionics Institute, won the global final
of the 2010 Present Around the World competition, held by
the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), for his oral
presentation about his work designing a directional hearing
device. Davis McCarthy, a UROP alumnus in the Bioinformatics
Division at WEHI, was awarded a prestigious Sir John Monash
scholarship to travel overseas for his PhD. Congratulations to
them both.
In July, around 100 attendees at the UROP Conference Day
heard presentations from 25 current and former UROP
students and a keynote presentation from Prof Loane Skene,
on the ethics of human embryo and stem cell research.
Former Cabinet Secretary Mr Tony Lupton MP, attended on
behalf of the Victorian Government. Co-principal sponsors CSL
and VLSCI inaugurated awards for best presentations at the
2010 UROP Conference Day. The prizes provided $800 to each
winner to be used towards attending a conference or training
in their field. This year, the winner for the CSL Award for best
presentation in Biomedicine or Biotechnology was Yen Huynh,
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, for her presentation ‘Is G-CSF
a therapeutic target for gout?’ Kimberley McLean, Monash
Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, won the VLSCI Award for
her presentation ‘PCs and GPCRs: computer-aided design of
muscarinic G-protein coupled receptors (CPCRs)’.
In September, we were grateful to Professor Harvey Lodish,
Professor of Biology and Bioengineering, Whitehead Institute
for Biomedical Research, USA, for making time during his
visit to Melbourne, to give a lecture entitled ‘The education
of undergraduate and graduate students in the biomedical
sciences’. Hosted by WEHI, the lecture was attended by many
UROP students, some of whom brought their biochemistry
textbooks along to be autographed by him as chief author!
Harvey was generous with his time with the students and his
international insights were most interesting. In particular he
highlighted the crucial role of research experience, through
programs like UROP, in inspiring future researchers. VESKI
visitor Dr Jonathan Rosen, Boston University, also participated
in the event.
4
7
6
Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the many supporters of
UROP, supervisors, students, the UROP Committee, the UROP
Administrative Assistant Debbie Dorfan, and colleagues in our
sponsor organisations.
Tam Nguyen
UROP Manager
20 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
10
1
3
2
5
8
9
11
1-3 Current UROP Allison Irvin, and Former UROPs Dr Rony Duncan and Dr Sally Gras at
the BioMelbourne Network ‘Connecting Women in Biotechnology’ lunch Photo courtesy
BioMelbourne Network 4 UROP Manager Dr Tam Nguyen with 2010 Conference Day prize winners
Kimberley McLean (L) and Yen Huynh (R) 5-6 Morning tea at the UROP Conference Day and later
Panel Discussion 7 UROP Patron, Mr Simon McKeon, 2011 Australian of the Year Photo courtesy
Macquarie Group 8 Research Director at CSL, Dr Andrew Nash addressing students at the UROP
Welcome Forum 9 Keynote speaker, Dr Loane Skene presenting at the UROP Conference Day
Photo courtesy CSL 10 UROP Manager, Dr Tam Nguyen (at left) and Dr Andrew Nash, CSL (4th
from left, back row) with UROP ‘Freshers’ at the Conference Day 11 Davis McCarthy receiving
a Sir John Monash Award from the Governor General, Ms Quentin Bryce, AC Photo courtesy
Government House, Canberra
21
UROP Highlights
2010/11
■VLSCI extends support to join CSL as
a co-principal sponsor, in addition to
continuing stipend support for UROP
positions in bioinformatics
■Number of students placed in the
scheme since 2004 reaches 365
■M
r Simon McKeon, Australian of the
Year 2011, becomes Patron of UROP
■M
ajor awards won by former
UROP students: Davis McCarthy,
Bioinformatics Division, WEHI
awarded a Sir John Monash PhD
Scholarship and Kyle Slater, Bionics
Institute, won the IET ‘Present
around the World’ prize
■ U
ROP features at the BioMelbourne
Network ‘Connecting Women
in Biotechnology’ luncheon in
Melbourne on 3 June. Nine UROP
women attending
■ U
SA visitors Prof Harvey Lodish,
Whitehead Institute, and Dr
Jonathan Rosen, Boston University,
support UROP-style programs in
biomedical education
■ E pworth Hospital joins UROP as
a host organisation, offering
clinical projects
Farewell Dr Tam Nguyen
As we conclude this financial year, we regretfully farewell
Tam, who has accepted a post as Research Manager at
Western Health, where he plans to reactivate his research in
biomechanics. We are most grateful to Tam for his excellent
stewardship of UROP over the last two years, and his role
in forging the relationship with the VLSCI that led to their
sponsorship of the Program. Tam’s engineering background
was of great value in this time of growing emphasis on
bioinformatics training. We extend best wishes to Tam for the
next stage of his career.
Other Training
The Bio21 Cluster supported other training initiatives during
the year including the inauguration of the ‘MBA in a Day’
course that is designed to introduce scientists to the basics
of commercialisation of discoveries. Mike Vitale and Tom
Williams of BioMentoring Australia put the program together
and based on the success of the pilot course in 2010, the
course ran again in 2011. It is reported in the Business
Development Managers Report.
An important aspect of the VPTN is the delivery of further
training and relevant professional development courses to
the managers of facilities in the VPTN. Together with the
Monash node of the VPTN, the Bio21 Cluster node organised
several training sessions. The popularity of these courses
demonstrates their value to participants. Further information
about the training sessions is reported in the VPTN Report.
Former UROP student Kyle Slater, now PhD student at the Bionics Institute,
with the directional hearing device SoundBeam Photo courtesy Bionics
Institute
22 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
THEME
Profile, outcomes,
one voice
The Bio21 Cluster represents a collection of some of the
nation’s most important biomedical research organisations.
Its collaborative nature and regular face-to-face meetings
give it the opportunity to act as a think tank, identify
forward-thinking, strategic goals for the sector and devise
ways of achieving them.
Advanced Health Research Centres (AHRC)
Both the NHMRC and the Victorian Government propose
the development of collaborative networks of hospitals and
research institutions. The aim is to integrate research more
closely with health service delivery, enabling patients to benefit
sooner from health and medical research activities. The Bio21
Cluster submitted a response to the Federal Government’s
discussion paper on the topic. In many ways, the Bio21 Cluster
already represents such a collaborative structure.
Research Infrastructure
Gender Equity
The issue of gender equity in the sciences is important to the
Bio21 Cluster, not only for fairness and equality of opportunity
but to safeguard the future of the biomedical research
workforce. The past year has provided several opportunities
to make a practical contribution to the issue. Two events were
sponsored by the Cluster: the first, the Women in Science and
Engineering (WiSE) Summit at Parliament House, Canberra
on 11 April. The summit was organised by the UN Women
National Committee and the Federation of Australian Scientific
Societies (FASTS) and brought together leaders from science
and engineering, industry and academia to find solutions
to the specific difficulties faced by women in the sector and
improve participation rates at all levels. Dr Stella Clark, CEO
of the Bio21 Cluster participated in a roundtable discussion.
The outcomes of the summit were collated to be presented
to the Federal Government as a communiqué outlining
specific achievable and practical measures. The second event
was the the Gender Equity Workshop on 17 June, hosted by
WEHI. Again the workshop focussed on practical solutions and
attracted approximately 90 attendees.
At the end of May, we were delighted to receive advice that
the ARC Linkage Grant ‘Women in the Scientific Research
Workforce: Identifying and Sustaining the Diversity Advantage’
by Professors Sharon Bell and Lyn Yates, was successful in
receiving funding. The Bio21 Cluster will participate in the
project as a partner organisation, along with FASTS and the
Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI). We look forward to
working with the team on this important project, which aims
to provide fine-grained detail about the attrition of women in
scientific career roles and to provide practical ways institutions
can support their workforce.
CEO Dr Stella Clark and VPTN Coordinator, Dr Gerard Gibbs
made several submissions to the Federal Government
regarding research infrastructure planning: the NRIC Strategic
Framework for Research Infrastructure Investment, the
Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research
(DIISR) Infrastructure Roadmap Discussion paper and the
response to the Infrastructure Roadmap Exposure draft.
DIISR is to be commended on their recognition of the value
of investment in research infrastructure to the research
community as a whole and acknowledgement that support is
required to sustain such infrastructure in the medium to long
term. The Cluster advocated that existing local infrastructure
networks, like the VPTN, be recognised in a national scheme,
as they contribute significant expertise and resources of value
at a national level.
In addition, through direct consultation with the convenor of
the Translating Health Discovery Superscience Initiative, Gerard
was able to identify gaps in infrastructure relevant to the drug
discovery pipeline. As a result, substantial new investment of
~$700K was provided to the Florey Neuroscience Institutes to
purchase a medium-throughout automated mammalian cell
electrophysiology system, allowing for improved screening
of drugs targeted to ion channels, as well as a range of drug
safety testing capabilities.
Government Submissions
The Bio21 Cluster engages regularly at political and
government levels to advocate on behalf of its Members and
this year has made a number of submissions to State and
Federal Government initiatives around the research agenda.
L-R: Dr Stella Clark, Prof Bryan Gaensler and Prof Caroline Crosthwaite
in discussion at the WiSE Summit Photo courtesy Science in Public
23
Medical Services Advisory Committee
(MSAC)
Member Organisations
Applications for public funding for new medical technologies,
devices and procedures by the Department of Health and
Ageing go via MSAC. Following a review, changes to the
application process were implemented this year. The aim
of the changes, to improve efficiency and transparency of
the review process, was welcomed. However, the Cluster
advocated that changes should go further, to facilitate
consultation with recognised health professionals and improve
coordination with the processes for new drug approval
through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee
(PBAC), to accommodate an expected increase in the number
of linked drug and technology applications.
It is with great pleasure we welcome the Victorian
Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) as the newest Associate
Member of the Bio21 Cluster. The VCCC is a joint venture of
seven cancer care and research organisations, which aims
to better integrate clinical care and research to facilitate
improved outcomes for patients. All seven members of the
joint venture are individual members of the Cluster: the Peter
MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne Health, the University
of Melbourne, the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
Melbourne - Parkville Branch, the Walter and Eliza Hall
Institute of Medical Research, the Royal Women’s Hospital
and the Royal Children’s Hospital. Under the plans for the
VCCC, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre will relocate from its
present site in East Melbourne to the former Dental Hospital
site opposite the Royal Melbourne Hospital. While building
is yet to commence on the cleared site, the collaborative
research and cancer care groups are already coming together.
Melbourne-Boston Sister
City Connection
The Bio21 Cluster has a relationship of some years’ standing
with Dr Jonathan Rosen, established during his time at the
Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology
(CIMIT), Boston, USA. Dr Rosen is now Special Assistant
for Entrepreneurial Studies, Office of the Provost, Boston
University. The Cluster previously hosted a visit by Dr Rosen to
Melbourne in 2006, and Dr Stella Clark, has since visited him
in Boston. It was a welcome opportunity, therefore, to revisit
the contacts with Melbourne’s sister city through Dr Rosen’s
week long visit to Melbourne as the 9th VESKI International
Connections Recipient in June. Amidst a demanding schedule
of meetings, Jonathan made time to meet with Bio21 Cluster
staff and Member organisations, attend the Cluster’s annual
general meeting and present a lecture at the Bio21 Institute
on ‘The role of student mentoring in accelerating new venture
formation’. He also participated in the UROP forum at WEHI
with Professor Harvey Lodish of the Whitehead Institute,
Cambridge, USA.
We extend congratulations to the Bionic Ear Institute
on its re-launch in June as the Bionics Institute. The
renaming of the Institute better represents its expanded
research program that includes the bionic eye project and
neurobionics research, which aims to discover new devices
to monitor and stimulate neural activity in a variety of
neurological and psychiatric disorders.
June also saw the opening of the Austin Health node of the
Melbourne Brain Centre, a purpose-built facility that will
enable enhanced clinical research activity into diseases of the
brain and mind and improve patient access to clinical trials.
The Parkville node of the Melbourne Brain Centre is due to
open in late 2011.
Finally, congratulations to Bio21 Cluster Members that are
part of two health-related Cooperative Research Centres (CRC)
announced in the past year:
■The $27 million CRC for Young People, Technology and
Wellbeing (YAW-CRC) will study how technology can help
prevent and treat mental illness in our youth
■The $23 million CRC for Mental Health will develop better
diagnostic tools for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s
disease and schizophrenia and contribute to better
treatment
L-R: Ms Julia Page, CEO VESKI; Dr Marcus Powe, Entrepreneur in Residence,
RMIT University; Dr Jonathan Rosen, Boston University; Dr Stella Clark, CEO
Bio21 Cluster Photo courtesy VESKI
24 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Section 3 Organisation & Governance
Members of the Board
of Bio21 Australia Ltd
2010-2011
Chairman Professor Ian David Gust, AO
Mrs Sally Campbell
■Professorial Fellow, Department of Microbiology and
Immunology, University of Melbourne 2000-present
■Executive Director of Corporate and Information Services,
Chief Information Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Board
Secretary, Melbourne Health
■Non Executive Director, Biota Holdings 2002-present
■Non Executive Director, OPAL Therapeutics Pty Ltd
2005-present
■Member of Board, Australian International Health Institute
2002-2011
■Member of Board, Nossal Institute for Global Health 20102011
■Member Board, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
2002-present
■Chair: Melbourne Health IMT Steering Committee;
Melbourne Health Business Development and
Commercialisation Steering Committee
■Chair and Executive responsible for Melbourne Health
Capital Works and Infrastructure
■Previous roles include senior management roles and Board
positions with the NHS United Kingdom; the health sector
New Zealand; telecommunications and IT in Australia; legal
roles as partner and consultant in Victorian law firms
■Member Board of Trustees, International Vaccine Institute
2000-2006
■Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Influenza 1990-2006
■R & D Director, CSL Ltd 1990-2000
■Director, Burnet Institute 1986-1990
25
Professor Douglas James Hilton
Professor Malcolm McConville
■Director, The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical
Research
■Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University
of Melbourne
■Head, Division of Molecular Medicine, The Walter & Eliza
Hall Institute of Medical Research
■Deputy Director and Structural Biology theme leader, Bio21
Institute of Molecular Science and Biotechnology, University
of Melbourne
■Professor, Medical Biology, University of Melbourne
■Head, Bio21 Institute node of Metabolomics Australia
Changes to the Board
■Professor James McCluskey, University of Melbourne, resigned from the Board in April 2011,
replaced by Professor Malcolm McConville in the same month
■Dr George Morstyn joined the Board in April 2011
■Professor David de Kretser, AC, joined the Board in May 2011
26 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Professor John Kerr (Jock) Findlay, AO
Professor Jeffrey Zajac
■Director of Research, Royal Women’s Hospital, Carlton,
Victoria 2007-present
■Head, Department of Medicine, The University of
Melbourne, Austin Health/Northern Health 2000-present
■Head of Female Reproductive Endocrinology Group, Prince
Henry’s Institute of Medical Research 1979-present
■Secretary, Victorian Committee of the Royal Australasian
College of Physicians 1996-present
■Adjunct Professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology,
Monash University 1993-present
■Chairman, Division of Medicine, Austin Health
2000-present
■Hon Professor Dept of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University
of Melbourne 2009-present
■Director, Department of Endocrinology, Austin Health
2009-present
■Chair, Embryo Research Licensing Committee of the NHMRC
(the NHMRC Licensing Committee) 2003-2012
■Member, Endocrine Society of America, Development
Committee 2011-present
■Chair, Infertility Treatment Authority of Victoria 2001-2009
■Chair, Austin Health & Northern Health Academic Centre
2007-2010
■Deputy Chair of Patient Review Panel, Victoria 2010-2012
■Board Member and Chair, Scientific Advisory Committee
2007-2011 and President of Board 2011-present, Victorian
Breast Cancer Research Consortium
■Director, Department of General Medicine, Austin Health
2000-2009
■President, Endocrine Society of Australia 2005-2006
■Member, International Society of Endocrinology,
Programming Committee 2007-2008
27
Professor David Copolov, OAM
Dr Graeme Woodrow
■Pro Vice Chancellor, Office of the Vice Chancellor and
Professor of Psychiatry, Monash University 2009-present
■CSIRO, Health Strategy Advisor 2010-present
■Senior Advisor, Office of the Vice Chancellor and Professor
of Psychiatry, Monash University 2004-present
■Board Director, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
2004-present, Deputy Chair 2007-present
■Director, Board of Management, Peter Mac Foundation and
Member of Grants Allocation Committee of the Foundation
2004-present
■Chairman of the Research Advisory Committee, Peter
MacCallum Cancer Centre 2005-2010
■Director and Member of Audit and Cyclotron Committees,
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology
Organisation (ANSTO) 2008-present
■Director, Governing Board, Cooperative Research Centre on
Water Quality and Treatment 2004-2008
■ Trustee, Finkel Philanthropic Foundation 2002-present
28 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
■Council Member, EMBL Australia 2009-present
■Member, Biosciences Victoria Collaborative 2010-present
■Chair, Infrastructure Working Group, Victorian Government’s
Biotechnology Strategy Development Plan 2007-2010
■Director (alternate), Food Science Australia 2007-2009
■Director, Nanotechnology Victoria Ltd 2004-2005
■Director, Ascentia Pty Ltd 2003-2004
■Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and
Engineering
■Fellow, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Professor David de Kretser, AC
Dr George Morstyn
■Founding Director of Monash Institute of Medical Research
■Member Australian Institute of Company Directors
■Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor
■Chair of the Board of GBS Bioventures
■28th Governor of Victoria 2006 to 2011
■Deputy Chair of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre
■Companion of the Order of Australia
■Board Member and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of
Symbio (Japan)
■Served on the Boards of Companies, Educational and
Research Institutes including the Committee of the Human
Reproduction Program at the World Health Organisation
and the Executive Council of the International Society of
Andrology, including a term as its President
■Board Member of Proacta, Neuprotect, Therapeutic
Innovation Australia
■Member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of Circadian
■Previous roles include Senior Vice President of
Development at Amgen (USA) and Head of Clinical
Program Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (Melbourne)
29
Organisational Structure
Governance Structure
Members of the Bio21 Cluster
BOARD
Business
Development
Managers
Scientific
Advisory Council
Undergraduate
Research
Opportunities
Program
Hospital Research
Directors Forum
Victorian Clinician
Researcher
Network
Working Group
Staff Structure
CEO
EA/Office
Manager
Victorian Platform
Technologies
Network: Bio21
Cluster Node
Coordinator
Projects
Manager
UROP Manager
UROP Assistant
30 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Bio21 Australia Limited ABN 80 096 058 025
Balance Sheet as at 30 June 2011
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
Trade and other receivables
Other assets
Total current assets
20112010
$
$
1,425.141
1,269,352
28,188
31,833
7,127
6,494
1,40,456
1,307,679
31,203
23,638
31,203
23,638
1,491,659
1,331,317
86,663
51,022
202,688
102,278
70,800
77,486
360,151
230,786
20,152
20,678
20,152
20,678
380,303
251,464
1,111,356
1,079,853
150
150
1,111,206
1,079,703
1,111,356
1,079,853
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment
Total non-current assets
Total assets
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables
Other current liabilities
Employee provisions
Total current liabilities
Non-current liabilities
Employee provisions
Total non-current liabilities
Total liabilities
Net assets
Equity
Contributed equity
Retained surplus
Total equity
Detailed financials are available to Members of the Bio21 Cluster.
The current situation of the Company underpins continuing operation of the Bio21 Cluster at the current
level for between one and two years.
31
Glossary
MHRI Mental Health Research Institute www.mhri.edu.au
AHRC Advanced Health Research Centres
MSAC Medical Services Advisory Committee
ARC Australian Research Council
NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council
Austin LifeSciences Research Division of Austin Health
www.austin.org.au
NICTA-VRL National ICT Australia - Victoria Research
Laboratory www.nicta.com.au
BDM Business Development Managers
NRIC National Research Infrastructure Council
BIO Biotechnology Industry Organization, USA
NSV Neurosciences Victoria Ltd
www.neurosciencesvic.com.au
BioGrid Networked Data Platform for Clinical Research
Bionics Institute www.bionicsinstitute.org
CCV Cancer Council Victoria www.cancervic.org.au
CIMIT Centre for Integration of Medicine and Innovative
Technology, USA
OYH Orygen Youth Health oyh.org.au
PBAC Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee
PMCC Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre www.petermac.org
RACI Royal Australian Chemical Institute
CRC Co-operative Research Centre
RCH Royal Children’s Hospital www.rch.org.au
CSF Colony Stimulating Factor
RDSI Research Data Storage Infrastructure
CSIRO-MSE CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering
www.csiro.au/org/CMSE.html
RWH Royal Women’s Hospital www.thewomens.org.au
CTA Cancer Trials Australia www.cancertrialsaustralia.com
DBI Department of Business and Innovation, Victorian
Government
SAC Scientific Advisory Council
SVH St Vincent’s Health www.stvincents.com.au
SVI St Vincent’s Institute www.svi.edu.au
DIISR Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and
Research, Australian Government
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation
FASTS Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological
Societies
UOM University of Melbourne www.unimelb.edu.au
FNI Florey Neuroscience Institutes www.fni.edu.au
FPPS Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
(Monash University) www.pharm.monash.edu.au
HRDF Hospital Research Directors Forum
ICT Information Communication Technology
IET Institution of Engineering and Technology
UROP Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
VBC Victorian BioSciences Council
VCCC Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre
www.health.vic.gov.au/victorianccc
VCRN Victorian Clinician Researcher Network
VeRSI Victorian e-Research Strategic Initiative
IT Information Technology
VESKI Victorian Endowment for Science, Knowledge and
Innovation
KPI Key Performance Indicator
VLSCI Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative
LICR Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
www.ludwig.edu.au
VPTN Victorian Platform Technologies Network
MBA Masters of Business Administration
VSA Victorian Science Agenda, Victorian Government
MCRI Murdoch Childrens Research Institute www.mcri.edu.au
WEHI The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
www.wehi.edu.au
MH Melbourne Health www.mh.org.au
WiSE Women in Science and Engineering
32 Bio21 Cluster Annual Report 2010/2011
Graphic Design: Coombes Whitechurch Design
Bio21 Australia Limited ACN 096 058 025 trading as the Bio21 Cluster
157 Barry Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053 Australia
Telephone +61 3 8344 1936, Facsimile +61 3 9347 9823, www.bio21.com.au