July 2012
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Wednesday 18 |
8:30 - EVENT - A Day in the Life of a Chemistry Student : Experience a typical day in the life of a UWA Chemistry Student
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Have you ever wanted to know what it's like to be a Chemistry student at UWA?
"A Day in the Life of a Chemistry Student" gives year 11 and 12 students the opportunity to participate in a wide range of hands-on activities that will be interactive, fun and very rewarding.
Places are strictly limited. Applications close 22 June 2012.
Note: times shown are a guide only and are subject to change. Refer to the respective event brochure/application form for detailed information.
9:00 - CANCELLED - STUDENT EVENT - A Day in the Life of UWA Chemistry Student : A program for activities for high school students in the July school holidays
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Unfortunately this event has been cancelled.
PSO created event - this is a duplicate
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Event to be confirmed - contact us for further details.
‘A day in the life of a UWA Chemistry Student’ gives year 10 and 11 students the opportunity to explore the different areas of chemistry currently available at UWA and to participate in a range of fun activities which will help to explain the wonderful world of chemistry!
Students will have the opportunity to speak with UWA staff and current students to find out more about life as a UWA student, what the campus has to offer, UWA's new course structure, study pathways and career options.
10:00 - VISITING SPEAKER - The Transition from Health to Sickness - the role of plant hormones in underpinning plant pathogen virulence strategies : Speaker will also present at CSIRO Floreat on previous day.
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"Our research focuses upon how the virulent bacterial phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae establishes disease in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. P. syringae delivers a suite of ~ 30 effector proteins into the plant cell." Detailed abstract available [email protected]
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Tuesday 24 |
The course is designed for people with knowledge of basic statistics who want to learn more about regression and analysis of variance (ANOVA).
The course is hosted by the Centre for Applied Statistics and we offer discounted rate fees to UWA Graduate Research Students.
Fee information is available on our website cas.maths.uwa.edu.au. Please register online.
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Wednesday 25 |
12:00 - Competition - Three Minute Thesis Final : 10 PhD students will explain their research and its significance in just 3 minutes each.
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The 3MT competition challenges research students to give a dynamic and engaging presentation about their research and its significance in a way that can be understood by everybody. The audience will select the "People's Choice" winner.
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Thursday 26 |
9:00 - COURSE - Logistic Regression and Survival Analysis : A Short Course using IBM SPSS
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The course is designed for people with knowledge of basic statistics who want to learn more about how to analyse binary or survival data.
The course is hosted by the Centre for Applied Statistics and we offer discounted rate fees to UWA Graduate Research Students.
Fee information is available on our website http://www.cas.maths.uwa.edu.au/courses. Please register online.
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August 2012
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Sunday 12 |
UWA opens up the whole campus to the public.
Come and find out about the courses on offer, career options, scholarship opportunities, our valuable research, community programs and facilities.
There's also residential college tours, hands-on activities, live music and entertainment, and plenty of fun activities for the whole family.
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Thursday 23 |
17:00 - WELCOME - NEW ACADEMIC STAFF MEMBER! "By Way of Introduction" : Dr Mylne is soon to join UWA as an ARC Future Fellow.
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Currently at University of Queensland, Dr Mylne will speak about his past, current and future plans for his Fellowship at UWA. Welcome Dr Mylne!
"At UWA I intend to focus on three areas; 1) study the various genetic ‘innovations’ that create these ultra-stable peptides, 2) hone in on the in vivo biochemical process that produce such biomedically relevant peptides; and 3) develop a new biological system to discover the elusive biochemical targets of important anti-malarials drugs."
DETAILED CV AVAILABLE !!! email [email protected]
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Monday 27 |
12:00 - SEMINAR - LIWA Medical Research Seminar Series : W/Prof David Mackey presents "Genome-wide Association Studies Success in Ophthalmology"
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LIWA invites you to a free seminar on: "Genome-wide Association Studies Success in Ophthalmology" by W/Prof David Mackey, Managing Director, Lions Eye Institute. Time: 12 noon for light lunch with 12.30pm – 1.30pm presentation.
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September 2012
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Tuesday 04 |
17:30 - SCREENING - UPS Screening Night : A screening of "Journey to the Edge of the Universe" and "ATOM"
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As part of a tradition at the University Physics Screening, fortnightly screenings of various Science Fiction Movies, documentaries and famous recorded lectures will continue screening weekly all through this semester.
This week's screening features 'Journey to the Edge of the Universe" by Alec Baldwin and Part 1 of "ATOM" by Jim Al-Khalili
$2 for UPS members
$5 for non-members
Free entry for Physics staff
Free can of soft drink provided with paid entry!
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Wednesday 19 |
16:00 - VISITING SPEAKER - WHAT A PLANT KNOWS : PLEASE NOTE DATE & VENUE CHANGE !!!!!
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How does a Venus flytrap know when to snap shut? How do
flowers know when to show their pretty colours? Can plants actually hear the chatter of the neighbourhood? This seminar is a window open onto the realm of plants, one hour detour into the history of how we perceive them, what we know about them but most importantly, how plants
themselves perceive and sense their world.
Dr Gagliano completed a PhD in marine ecology at James Cook
University in 2007 and was then awarded a postdoctoral research fellowship at Australian Institute of Marine Science, where she studied the physiological effects of climate change on coral reef fishes. In November 2009, she joined the Centre for Evolutionary Biology (CEB) at
The University of Western Australia, where she is currently a postdoctoral research fellow. While continuing her work on marine life. She has since stretched the boundary of her scientific thought and ecological research into new directions, including the behavioural ecology of plants.
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Wednesday 26 |
12:00 - SEMINAR - School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Seminar : When nano meets bio: Interdisciplinary applications of electron microscopy
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As leader of the electron microscopy capability in the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (CMCA), my core role is to support those wanting to apply advanced electron microscopy techniques in their research. With a background in Physics and an interest in the development of microscopy techniques, I have traditionally collaborated with researchers in the physical sciences. The interdisciplinary nature of the CMCA has, however, encouraged collaborations that bridge the physical and biological sciences where my knowledge of electron microscopy complements the discipline-specific expertise within the research groups.
One area where the benefit of this fusion of technique and discipline-specific expertise is readily apparent is when the field of nanomaterials and nanotechnology meets the discipline of biology. From understanding nature’s ability to form minerals at the nanoscale to the interaction of man-made nanomaterials with biological systems, an interdisciplinary combination of physical and biological scientists with experts in characterisation techniques creates distinct advantages. I hope to demonstrate this by presenting data from several ongoing collaborations such as studies of biomineralisation processes in marine molluscs, magnetic nanomaterials for biomedical applications and drug delivery capsules.
The common theme of this research is the application of transmission electron microscopy techniques such as electron diffraction, high resolution imaging, energy-filtered TEM, and electron spectroscopy to extract structural and compositional information down to the nm or atomic scales.
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October 2012
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Wednesday 03 |
12:00 - SEMINAR - School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Seminar : A Tale of Two Metalloenzymes:
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Binuclear metallohydrolases are a functionally diverse class of metalloenzyme whose members require two closely spaced metal ions in their active site to catalyse the hydrolysis of amides and phosphate esters [1].
Purple acid phosphatases (PAPs) are found in animals, plants and fungi. They catalyse the hydrolysis of a broad range of phosphate esters and anhydrides under acidic conditions. PAPs contain an Fe(III) and a divalent metal ion in their active site. In animals, they are responsible for bone resorption in osteoclasts, and there is substantial evidence to support the role of PAPs in osteoporosis, a disease characterised by excessive bone resorption. PAP is, therefore, an attractive target for the development of drugs to treat this debilitating condition [1].
β-Lactam-containing antibiotics such as penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems, are the most widely used drugs for the treatment of bacterial infections. A large number of pathogenic bacteria are now producing metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs), enzymes that hydrolyse the β-lactam rings of nearly all known classes of β-lactam-containing antibiotics, and so make these bacteria resistant to these drugs. MBLs contain two zinc(II) ions in their active sites. As yet, there are no clinically useful antagonists of MBLs, and so bacteria expressing these enzymes pose a significant risk to human health.
This presentation will describe a multidisciplinary approach to the development of drug leads against PAP and MBL. Our approaches to the development of enzyme inhibitors have been twofold. In the first approach we have use the crystal structures of PAPs and MBLs to rationally design ligands to bind to the binuclear metal centre of the active sites, and to maximise non-covalent interactions at locations proximal to the active site [2,3]. In the second approach we have used fragment-based screening to identify small molecule inhibitors of PAP, and we have obtained crystals structures of these complexed in the active site of the enzyme [4]. These studies have led to development of the most potent PAP inhibitors yet reported.
[1] Schenk, Mitic, Gahan, Ollis, McGeary & Guddat, Acc. Chem. Res., 2012, 45, 1593.
[2] Mohd-Pahmi, Hussein, Schenk & McGeary, Bioorg. & Med. Chem. Lett., 2011, 21, 3092.
[3] Faridoon, Hussein, Vella, Ul Islam, Ollis, Schenk & McGeary, Bioorg. & Med. Chem. Lett., 2012, 22, 380.
[4] Feder, Hussein, Clayton, Kan, Schenk, McGeary & Guddat, Chem. Biol. & Drug Des., 2012, In Press. doi: 10.1111/cbdd.12001
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Wednesday 10 |
12:00 - SEMINAR - School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Seminar : Water Oxidation Catalysts Inspired by Photosynthesis
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Our group is interested in developing highly active water oxidation catalysts for incorporation into (photo)-electrochemical water splitting devices. Inspired by the only water oxidation catalyst known to be active in vivo, the Mn4Ca1O5 cluster found in Photosystem II (PSII), we initially imbedded tetranuclear Mn complexes into Nafion films and demonstrated sustained water oxidation catalysis in vitro on illumination with visible light and application of a bias.1 By combining these photoanodes with a ruthenium(II) sensitiser into a photo-electrochemical cell water oxidation was achieved using visible light as the only energy source, as occurs in PSII.2
Examination of the fate of the Mn cluster during catalysis using X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) revealed that it dissociates in Nafion forming MnII species which, on application of a bias, are oxidized to MnOx nanoparticles (detected by TEM). These are reduced on illumination and O2 is concurrently released.3 Recent EPR studies support the catalytic cycle proposed from the XAS studies. Thus, water oxidation catalysis does not involve the original cluster. The observed cycling between photo-reduced MnII species and the Mn-oxide parallels the well-known biogeochemistry of Mn where MnIII/IV oxides, formed by oxidative processes, are photoreduced to Mn2+ in sunlight.
Given that catalysis did not involve the original Mn4O4 cluster, catalytic activity was expected to be independent of the Mn precursor. To our surprise, however, an examination of a series of Mn complexes found that the size, crystallinity and catalytic activity of the MnOx nanoparticles varied with precursor used to generate them. The presentation will also cover our recent research exploring various approaches for the deposition of catalytically active metal oxide films, including the application of ionic liquids.
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Thursday 11 |
13:00 - SEMINAR - Personalised Fluorescent-based Call Analysis from Merck Millipore
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CMCA will be hosting a seminar on cell health by Laura Morley from Merck Millipore on Thursday 11th October 2012 from 1-2pm in the Pharmacology Seminar Room (Rm 1.18, 1st floor, M Block, QEII Medical Centre). The seminar will cover topics including viability, cell cycle and apoptosis assays and will introduce the Muse Cell Analyser instrument.
The seminar will be followed by a demonstration of the Muse Cell Analyser at CMCA@QEII in lab 1.42 at 2pm.
16:00 - SEMINAR - Battling bacterial slime: Bacterial persistence mechanisms in chronic and recurrent respiratory infections
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Respiratory infections (including ear, nose, throat and lung infections) caused by viruses and bacteria are the most common diseases in children (and adults). Some children are particularly vulnerable to these, developing chronic or recurrent disease and reducing their quality of life, educational outcomes and life expectancy. Ways in which bacteria persist particularly in high-risk populations are poorly understood, as are immune responses to these bacteria. This means that many treatments that target the acute infection have little effect on the chronic or recurrent nature of the diseases. Likewise, preventions are difficult to develop in these vulnerable populations.
Our work in the Vaccine Trials Groups and the School of Paediatrics and Child Health focuses on elucidating the role of bacterial biofilms (slime), intracellular infection and host immune response in the development of chronic and recurrent respiratory disease. This presentation will provide an overview of the work we have done and are currently conducting, including both basic research and translational studies.
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Wednesday 17 |
12:00 - SEMINAR - School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Seminar : Luminescent Tetrazolato Complexes:
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Luminescent species find applications in a wide variety of fields, including optical technologies and devices, sensors, biomedical diagnostics and many more. Our group is interested in the design of transition metal and lanthanoid coordination compounds that possess phosphorescent properties, as well as their use in materials and life science. This presentation will illustrate efforts within our research group centred on the synthesis of organometallic tetrazolato metal complexes and the investigation of their photophysical properties. As these complexes exhibit efficient luminescent properties, we have also assessed their cellular incubation and cytotoxicity, and the results highlight these species are promising candidates for the design of improved cellular labels. More recent results on the use of N-heterocyclic carbene ligands for the construction of luminescent metal complexes will also be presented.
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Thursday 18 |
16:00 - VISITING SPEAKER - The mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase complex of plants: Function in respiration and photosynthesis : The mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase complex (complex I) is the largest enzyme complex of the Oxidative Phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system and the main entrance site for electrons into the respiratory electron transfer chain.
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Complex I has several unique features in plants. Most notably, it includes 15 extra subunits, some of which introduce side activities into this respiratory enzyme. For example, subunits resembling an archaebacterial gamma-type carbonic anhydrase form an integral part of complex I in plants. These carbonic anhydrase subunits constitute a spherical extra domain which is attached to the membrane arm of complex I on its matrix exposed side. Furthermore, L-galactono-1,4 dehydrogenase (GLDH), which catalyses the terminal step of ascorbate biosynthesis in plants, is associated with complex I in plants. Novel data on the structure of the NADH dehydrogenase complex and its multiple functions in plant cells will be presented and discussed.
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Wednesday 24 |
12:00 - SEMINAR - School of Chemistry and Biochemistry Seminar : Biomolecular detection via electrochemistry at liquid-liquid interfaces
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The beauty of electrochemistry at liquid-liquid interfaces is that it enables the detection of ions or ionisable species by ion-transfer reactions. As a result, problems associated with the detection of analytes by oxidation/reduction reactions at solid electrodes can be surmounted. These problems may include an inability to easily oxidise/reduce the target analyte(s), the simultaneous oxidation/reduction of interferences, or electrode fouling by reaction products. Proteins are extremely important analytical targets because of their roles in regulating biological processes and the fact that diseases often result in changes in protein behaviour. Such altered protein behaviour leads to these biomacromolecules becoming markers or indicators of that disease, so-called biomarkers. Not all proteins are redox-active and even redox-active proteins cannot always be easily detected by oxidation or reduction at a metal or carbon electrode. For this reason, the electrochemical behaviour and electrochemical detection of proteins via ion-transfer reactions at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES) has been of growing interest. This presentation will discuss the main idea that electrochemistry at liquid-liquid interfaces enables the detection of ions via non-redox reactions, which may be applied to detection of proteins. Recent progress towards achievement of nanomolar detection of proteins as well as formation and characteristics of nanoscale liquid-liquid interfaces will be presented.
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Thursday 25 |
16:00 - VISITING SPEAKER - Wasp Love Got to Do With It? The Evolutionary Implications of Sexual Mimicry in Orchids. : Most flowering plants engage animals to carry out the essential service of pollination. The majority of these plants have evolved flowers that advertise rewards for this service via visual and chemical cues such as petals and scent. There are however a number of species whose false advertisements draw pollinators to rewardless flowers.
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My research shows that the chemical mimicry crucial to sexual deception is responsible for reproductive isolation and potentially even speciation. I also show through mating system analysis and studies of wasp behaviour that this strategy is a superbly adaptive solution to the problem flowers face of simultaneously attracting pollinators before persuading them to leave quickly.
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