What's On at UWA

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The Seminar: Human breastmilk is the gold standard for the nutrition of the human infant at the early stages of life. In addition to its valuable nutritional components, breastmilk also contains maternal cells, the properties and role of which are largely unknown. Among those cells, immune cells are thought to confer immunity to the infant, but their relation to infection and various lactation parameters are not well understood. At the same time, stem-like cells have been shown to be present in breastmilk. This presentation will focus on recent discoveries on (a) the immune cell content of breastmilk and how it responds to mother/infant health; and (b) the stem cells of breastmilk and first evidence for a pluripotent character. Finally, the significance of these cells for the breastfed infant will be discussed.

The Speaker: Foteini graduated from the Aristotle University of Greece in 2005 with a B.Sc. in Biology and First Class Honours in Microbiology and Physiology. She then migrated to Perth with her husband and shortly started a PhD in Physiology at the University of Western Australia, which she completed in 2009. She then joined the Human Lactation Research Group of the University of Western Australia conducting research into the physiology of breastfeeding. Foteini’s research has a dual focus, concentrating on (a) the properties of the maternal cells that are present in breastmilk and their biological role, and (b) mammary stem cells in health and disease.

In the course of undertaking a number of complex molecule total synthesis campaigns (target orientated synthesis) our group was forced by the nature of these projects to push literature methodology to its limits and purpose design new methods. In other examples synthetic methodology was developed for an intended purpose, but ultimately did not live up to the task, or equated to new methods discovered accidentally. Short stories encompassing these methods and how they arose will be discussed.

Recent advances in environmental monitoring and modelling have led to improved knowledge on how aquatic environments function. The Centre for Water Research at The University of Western Australia has developed a software suite, the Aquatic Real-time Management System and the Real-time Management System Online (ARMS-RMSO, http://www.rmso.com.au/), as a tool for the sustainable management of rivers, lakes, estuaries and coastal seas.

  Such a tool provides an understanding of questions about important processes and their controlling factors, contributes to assessment of management needs and effectiveness and aids in direct human benefits from the aquatic environment under study. It combines the integration of a number of technologies and approaches to enable the extraction of new levels of knowledge using arrays of sensors encompassing physical, chemical and biological measurements, providing data in real time, models and continuous information display to be used for scientific research, education, management and environmental policy-related applications.

This talk will present the overall concept of the tool and its implementation in several aquatic environments to understand and assess the risks associated with flooding, local stagnant zones, pathogen source to fate and nutrient to algae cycling. Current limitations and future developments will be also presented.

****All Welcome****

Interested in finding out more about Student Exchange? It's not too late!

The next deadline for applications is FRIDAY 2nd December (for exchange in Semester 2, 2012). Come along to a helpful info session and talk to a friendly Exchange Adviser and your Faculty's Academic Student Adviser. Get all the info you need about studying abroad in 2012 or beyond!

The UWA Student Exchange program offers you an opportunity to study at one of over 108 partner Universities in 22 countries. Study for one or two semesters and receive credit towards your UWA degree at the same time!

The Seminar: Dr Tsang’s research program covers the broad area of cell fate regulation in women’s reproductive health and diseases. During the past thirty years Professor Tsang has examined the cell signalling pathways involved in these regulation of ovarian cell survival and apoptosis and his seminal observations not only helped to define the basic mechanisms governing normal ovarian follicular growth but offered important insights into the pathophysiology of various ovarian disorders associated with infertility, including polycystic ovarian disease and premature ovarian failure. In addition, his research on the molecular and cellular basis of chemoresistance in ovarian cancer has provided key information for the development of new therapy for chemoresistant ovarian cancer, a most lethal cancer of the reproductive track in women. To date, he has contributed over 180 full-length original publications and 19 reviews/book chapters. He holds four US patents on his work on the regulation of IAPs as a diagnostics and therapeutics for proliferative diseases and has filed five additional ones in the last 10 years.

The Speaker: Dr Ben Tsang is Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa and Senior Scientist, Ottawa Health Research Institute. He completed his undergraduate training in chemistry at Bemidji State College in 1971, received MSc (Biochemistry; 1973) from the University of Iowa, and Ph.D. (Pharmacology; 1976) from the University of Ottawa. In 1980, Dr Tsang joined the University of Ottawa as the Director, Reproductive Biology Unit and has been instrumental in developing a research-intensive academic program in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. He also served as Associate Chair (Research) of the Department, and has developed in Ottawa of a multi-disciplinary research program in reproductive health. Professor Tsang is internationally recognized as an outstanding ovarian biologist, who has the insight and ability in bringing fundamental research into the clinical context. He is a recipient of the 2011 OCRI Research Award from the Ottawa Centre of Research and Innovations, 2008 Award of Excellence in Reproductive Medicine from the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society, the J David Grimes Research Career Achievement Award at the Ottawa Health Research Institute, the Award of Excellence for his outstanding contributions in research, scholarship and education at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine (1996) and the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine Recognition Award for Outstanding Contributions in Medical Education (2002). In 2008, he was also honoured as an “Outstanding Alumnus” of the Bemidji State University, Minnesota.

Host: Professor Dharmarajan – PH) 6488 2981

Presentations from across the spectrum of health professions A platform for health practitioners to share their expertise Network opportunities with other health professionals Develop and strengthen collaboration and referral pathways AHPRA CPD and Medicare requirements Online availability of presentations

Livia Vo is the Cellular Analysis Specialist with Life Technologies and will be presenting a seminar covering some of the labelling technologies available in the biological science field. Topics will include organelle stains, apoptosis, autophagy and reactive oxygen species (ROS) for both cells and tissues. Livia will also highlight the online tools available through Life Technologies to aid in experiment planning and design.

Morning tea will be provided and the winner of the Life Technologies Microscopy Imaging competition will be announced. This competition is open to all West Australian researchers and will be awarded to the best fluorescent image captured using either a wide field or confocal microscope . The prize will be a framed print of the winning image and a $250 Life Technologies voucher. Entries close Wednesday 19th October.

CMCA@Physics has recently installed the latest PANalytical Empyrean X-Ray Diffraction system, which is available to all researchers.

This talk will cover the hardware and software modules available with the installed system. Various application capabilities are possible - such as thin film epitaxy, reflectometry, phase analysis, and powder diffraction with the existing configuration of the system. The special optical components used for these applications will be discussed such as mirrors, monochromators, cradles and an insight on the latest all in one detector the PIXCEL.

Also a brief overview of what other applications can be performed in future if the system is upgraded with hardware and softwares will be highlighted.

Tuesday 25 October @ 4pm CMCA Seminar Room ALL welcome, refreshments provided Please promote and circulate to interested colleagues

Primarily on continuum mechanics problems that  arise out of  industrial contexts  where the objectives are clear cut,  and the results are usually of limited general interest.

Sometimes, however, the investigations lead to results that are both unexpected and of much broader and even fundamental interest.

 I will describe two such investigations;  one arising out of the   defense industry (a visual image inversion problem) and  the other out of the  electronics industry (a capillarity problem associated with the production of capacitors). The relevant mathematics is simple, an added bonus.

****All Welcome****

A/Prof Ros Francis is a Nuclear Medicine Physician in the Department of Nuclear Medicine / WA Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Service at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and has an academic appointment as Associate Professor of Molecular Imaging, UWA (School of Medicine and Pharmacology). A/Prof Francis has a particular interest in Nuclear Oncology and PET. She has a strong research interest in new tracer development, especially in mesothelioma.

The world's leading authority on MS research, he'd be embarrassed to be called Mr MS, but this would certainly befit the Professor of Neurology and HOD Clinical Neurosciences at Cambridge and Editor of Brain. Prof Alastair Compston Lecture is Visiting Professor at Royal Perth Hospital, he is an outstanding lecturer and in great demand! Join us for his Lecture on Neuromyelitis Optica, a Q. and A. session and Drinks following.

The Seminar: The current world wide accepted consensus criteria for neuropathological staging of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases (AD & PD) have been developed in his Anatomy lab in Germany (Braak stages). In the seminar, Estifanos will briefly introduce these staging systems and emphasize the current search for the preclinical stages of PD & AD.

The Speaker: Estifanos earned his medical degree from the University of Göttingen, Germany, in 1993. In Germany, he worked as a general pathologist and neuropathologist for almost three years and as clinical neuroanatomist for 12 years. He started working at the University of Queensland (School of Biomedical Sciences, Department of Anatomy & Developmental Biology) in 2009 as a senior lecturer for anatomy. His primary research interests include understanding the genetic risk profiles and the heterogeneity of the pathological and clinical features of neurodegenerative diseases (including Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body diseases, e.g. Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies).

Host: Winthrop Professor Alan Harvey

The Seminar: Nanotechnology is a valuable tool for optimizing the delivery of a drug that is disadvantaged by poor in vivo solubility and specificity of drug action. In this lecture, Lee Yong will share how her laboratory has utilized nanotechnology to promote the efficacy and specificity of the anticancer drug, paclitaxel.

The Speaker: Lee Yong obtained a BSc (Pharmacy) Hons degree at the National University of Singapore and PhD degree in pharmaceutics from the University of Manchester, UK. After 15 years with the Pharmacy Department at the National University of Singapore, she joined UWA in May 2005 to teach in the Master of Pharmacy programme. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms and constraints of drug delivery across biological barriers, and developing methodologies to overcome these barriers. Nanotechnology is the main enabling technology for the development of drug delivery systems in her laboratory.

Launched in March 2011, The Conversation is an independent source of information, analysis and commentary from the university and research sector.

Speaker Bio: Andrew is a co-founder The Conversation. He previously edited The Age, The Observer (London), The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday. He was Editor-in-Chief of The Big Issue (London), and he founded and edited the Sunday Herald in Scotland. He is the Asia-Pacific Director for Innovation Media.

Prof Ming-Hao Zheng is the Winthrop Professor and Director of Research at the Translational Orthopaedic Research Centre, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth and the Associate Dean (International) of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, the University of Western Australia. He is also the Chung Kong Scholar Lecturing Professor and the Deputy Director of Australia-China Cooperative Research Centre for Biotherapeutics and Regenerative Medicine at the Zhejiang University, China, Director for UWA-Nanjing Bone and Joint Research Centre at Nanjing University. He has served on the editorial board for numbers of Orthopaedics and Pathology journals.

Prof Zheng completed his Bachelor of Medicine in 1983, Master of Medicine (Pathology) in 1987 in China, PhD in 1993 and Doctor of Medicine in 2000 at the University of Western Australia. Prof Zheng is a fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. He has focused on the development of an academic career in bone and joint research and regenerative medicine. His productivity is evidenced by the quality of publications and patents, and his ability to transform laboratory research into clinical practice. He has published over 120 peer-reviewed papers in journals including Nature Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Molecular Cellular Biology, Journal of Biological Chemistry, American Journal of Pathology and Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

His major achievements include studies in the molecular and cellular biology of the osteoclast, clinical and laboratory evaluation of human bone allograft, development of cellscaffold technology for cartilage, tendon and bone regeneration and regulatory framework in human tissue and cellular products. His work on Giant Cell Tumour of bone (GCT) has been used by WHO for classification of bone tumours and has been recorded in the textbook “Ackermans Surgical Pathology”. He has 7 patents in the field of Orthopaedics and has introduced the concept and technology of autologous biotherapy in orthopaedics. His research results in the development of autologous stem cell and progenitor cell therapy in bone, cartilage and tendon. He has transformed the benchwork of Matrix-induced Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (MACI) and Autologous Tencoyte Therapy (ATT) into clinical practices. In 2009, he was specially awarded by Genzyme in Boston for his leadership, commitment and dedication to the advancement of MACI. To date, more than 120 hospitals across Australia and over 8000 patients in the world have used MACI for the treatment of cartilage defects. Prof Zheng has actively supervised and nursed quality postgraduate students andpostdoctoral fellows with 21 PhD and 15 Master of Medical sciences students completing their degree in the last 15 years. Many of them have won awards at the national and international meetings for their research work and become high profile independent researchers. These include Prof Hiroshi Fujie, Prof Jiake Xu, and Asst/Prof Nathan Pavlos.

Prof Zheng is actively involved in the organisation of national and international societies in bone and cartilage research, and has held positions such as Councillor of the Australia & New Zealand Bone & Mineral Research Society (1999 - 2001), Treasurer/Secretary of the Australia & New Zealand Orthopaedic Research Society (2000 – 2003), member of the scientific committee of the International Bone and Mineral Society (2003), Chair of the Organising Committee of the Australian Biotherapeutics & Tissue Regeneration Forum (2003) and the International Cartilage Repair Society (2004), Session Chair of the 6th Combined Orthopaedic Meeting (2007) in Hawaii and The BIO 2008 in San Diego. Prof Zheng is also the Conveyor of the four Australian Biotherapeutic & Regenerative Medicine Forums. He is currently a member of the Therapeutics Goods Committee (Biologics) at the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) appointed by the Minister of Health in Canberra.

The II International Congress of Environmental Medicine will have its focus towards recognising those there environmental factors which causes diseases to individual beings and that it can be diagnosed, treated and prevented

Join us for our II International Congress of Environmental Medicine – November 19-20 - Sao Paulo – Brazil

Summit your abstract until 23/10

The Seminar: Mortality from breast cancer is almost entirely the result of invasion and metastasis of neoplastic cells; therefore, understanding gene products involved in breast cancer metastasis is an important research goal. Prompted by a recent study showing increased expression of a DEAD-box family member, DDX20, in microarray data from lymphoma patients, a total of 194 breast tissue samples (97 breast cancers and 97 paired normal breast tissue) were retrieved. A high proportion of specimens show positive DDX20 (2+, 3+) expression in the tumor cores and negative (1+, 0) in their paired normal cores (p<0.001). Since positive MMP9 expression is closely associated with poor prognosis, same cohort was stained for MMP9. When grouping patients with positive DDX20 expression to MMP9 expression, Kaplan-Meier correlation analysis show patients with positive DDX20 and MMP9 expression have poorer survival outcomes (p=0.029). To explore a link between DDX20 and MMP9, we screened a panel of breast cancer cell lines for DDX20 and MMP9 expression. Interestingly, highly metastatic cell lines such as MDA-MB-231, BT549, and Hs578t have high expression levels of DDX20 and MMP9. Herein, we will present data for a functional consequence to decreased DDX20 in metastatic breast cancer cells. Together, our study identifies DDX20 as a new prognostic marker that is needed to identify patients who are at the highest risk for developing metastases, which might enable oncologists to begin tailoring treatment strategies to individual patients. This work is supported by grants from National Medical Research Council of Singapore (Grant R-713-000-119-275) and Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, Experimental Therapeutics I Program (Grant R-713-001-011-271) to APK.

The Speaker: Dr. Alan Prem Kumar earned his Ph.D. from University of North Texas, USA. From his Ph.D. work, he discovered a novel regulatory protein, PyrR for the pyrimidine biosynthetic pathway in Pseudomonas. Dr. Kumar then pursued Postdoctoral training in Cancer Research at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, California, USA. He was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship for his work on the role of nuclear receptors. Dr. Kumar relocated back to Singapore to join Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore as an independent Principal Investigator to continue on his expertise on nuclear receptor and cancer pharmacology. His current research interest includes the role of nuclear receptors involved in the regulation of target genes and to elucidate mechanism and associated signal pathways. Another area of interest is aimed at developing new derivative drugs with hopefully fewer side effects. Over the years, Dr. Kumar and his laboratory have forged relationships with scientists in cancer research and with cancer advocacy groups in Singapore.

Host: E/Professor Dharmarajan – PH) 6488 2981

What research can be performed at a synchrotron? What are WA scientists achieving at synchrotrons? What opportunities are there for cutting edge research in MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES, and for WA's INDUSTRY?

This one-day symposium, 23rd November at UWA's University Club, is suited for novices and experts alike, with focussed sessions aimed at

* HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND RESEARCHERS *

* ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS *

* INDUSTRY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT *

covering topics including:

* Medical therapy * Imaging for Cystic Fibrosis gene therapy development * Iron distribution in the heart * Structural Biology * Metalloproteins * Imaging of fossils * Forensics applications * Photoelectron spectroscopy * Corrosion Science * Meteorite studies * Precious metal ore depostion *

Prof David Parsons, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide; Dr Mel Lintern, CSIRO Exploration and Mining; Prof Keith Nugent, University of Melbourne and Prof Andrew Peele, Latrobe University; plus 9 WA speakers

Come and find out how the Australian Synchrotron can revolutionise YOUR research.

There is no charge, but registration is essential. RSVP to [email protected] by Fri 11 November 2011.

T cells are the shock troops of the human immune system – they can be ordered to kill what they recognise. Remarkably nearly every T cell is uniquely different to each other due to mutations that occur during the synthesis of their T cell receptor (TCR). It is the highly specific binding of a T cell receptor to a molecular shape expressed on the surface of other cells, that mediates their function. To study the development and specificity of an immune response to a new immune target we are endeavouring to determine the structure of the TCR's of the T cells involved. This talk will describe the approach taken to select the reactive T cells from a donor's blood cells and then grow from them clones. In the process amplifying in culture a single T cell into a bulk population of millions, thus enabling subsequent sequence analysis and functional assays.

This unit focuses on the application of epidemiologic research principles to questions relating to clinical diagnosis, prognosis and the efficacy of therapeutic interventions.

This five-day unit considers: * design, conduct and analysis of clinical trials * non-experimental study designs in the evaluation of clinical outcomes * systematic reviews and meta-analysis * evaluation of diagnostic tests * economic analysis * ethical issues in clinical research

Within an evidence-based practice framework, emphasis will be placed on the critical appraisal of the scientific research evidence that underpins clinical practice (from primary studies to clinical practice guidelines).

Overall, the course aims to improve the participant's knowledge of clinical research methods and to develop a critical approach to the incorporation of research into clinical care decisions. In addition to formal lectures and 'hands-on' tutorials, the course will promote discussion and debate about clinical research and the sharing of clinical research experiences.

One of the outcomes of the unit will be an increased level of competence in preparing a competitive research grant proposal. As such participants will be required to work within a multidisciplinary research team to develop a (hypothetical) clinical research proposal, from the refinement of the research question, to study design, data collection, statistical analysis, ethical issues and budget.

This five-day unit will consist of a combination of lectures, small-group tutorials, practical demonstrations, discussion and ‘hands-on’ experience in research proposal development.

In preparation for the teaching week, you will be sent pre-reading on 18 November 2011.

Who should attend? Health professionals and health researchers interested in gaining a better understanding of clinical research methods and critical appraisal of the scientific literature related to clinical practice.

Please note: this is a full unit with associated enrolment and fee requirements. Please visit our website for more details.