What's On at UWA

LIWA invites you to a free seminar on: "Stem cells and lung regeneration" by Professor Geoff Laurent, Director, Centre for Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine, UWA. Time: 12 noon for light lunch with 12.30pm – 1.30pm presentation.

What makes a healthy start to life? This is the single overarching question and focus of the NRCD, a New Zealand government-funded Centre of Research Excellence, bringing together leading scientists from six organisations across New Zealand to answer this question. Acting Director, Prof Hugh Blair, is leading several projects investigating the effects of fetal programming on later life productivity in sheep and cattle and the possibility that these programming effects may be transmitted between generations. His public lecture examines how this applies to sheep, focusing on how a mother's eating habits affect her daughters' milk production.

With the recently acquired IVIS Lumina and Maestro instruments at UWA, researchers now have the ability to longitudinally and non-invasively monitor cancer (and other disease states) in small animal models using optical light. This seminar is intended to provide a high-level overview of the capabilities on the instruments, as well as answer any user specific questions. Focus areas will include: Monitoring tumour growth, Stem Cell research and Atherosclerosis, Tracking gene expression

The Seminar: Fetal glucocorticoid exposure is a key mechanism proposed to underlie prenatal "programming" of adult cardiometabolic and neuropsychiatric disorders. Regulation of fetal glucocorticoid exposure is achieved by the placental and fetal glucocorticoid "barrier," which involves glucocorticoid inactivation by 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 (11beta-HSD2). Mice null for 11beta-HSD2 exhibit altered placental development and function, decreased birth weight, delayed neurodevelopment and increased anxiety and depressive-like behaviour as adults. This raises the question as to whether it is placental or fetal brain 11b-HSD2 that underpins programmed outcomes? Preliminary data suggest that fetal brain 11beta-HSD2 impacts specifically on depressive-like behaviours, but that broader anxiety-related and neurodevelopmental effects are likely to relate to indirect effects of 11-HSD2 in the placenta.

The Speaker: Caitlin completed her PhD at UWA under the supervision of Prof Brendan Waddell and Dr Peter Mark, where she focused on developmental programming and the significance of omega-3 intake in attenuating adverse health outcomes. Caitlin moved to Edinburgh in 2006 to take up a postdoctoral position at The Queen's Medical Research Institute. Here she continued her research interest in developmental programming in the lab of Prof Jonathan Seckl and Prof Megan Holmes. Caitlin then returned to Perth in late 2011 to commence an Assistant Professor position at The School of Anatomy , Phsiology and Human Biology at UWA.

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.

As part of National Science Week, the Science Library is once again hosting the SCINEMA Film Festival

Two collections of short films on selected topics will be screened in the Science Library Foyer during Open Day, and they are as follows:

11:00am - 12:45pm - ‘A Climate for change’

12:50pm - 3:00pm - ‘Space & Astronomy’

Entry to enjoy these two collections of films is free, so come along and enjoy!

In flowering plants, mitochondrial transcriptomes contain some 300–500 RNA editing sites and chloroplast transcriptomes approximately 30 editing sites. In lycophytes, RNA editing is particularly abundant with more than 2100 editing sites in mitochondrial mRNAs and rRNAs of the spikemoss Selaginella moellendorffii. In contrast, only 11 sites are identified in mitochondria of the model plant Physcomitrella patens, making this moss an attractive model for functional studies. Pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) proteins with unique carboxyterminal extensions (E/DYW) encoded by extended nuclear gene families in plants have previously been characterized as specificity factors recognizing editing sites. PPR proteins with the DYW domain in particular were shown to perfectly correlate with the presence of RNA editing in evolution. Our DYW-PPR gene knockout studies in Physcomitrella will contribute to identify the full set of nuclear specificity factors addressing all editing sites in a plant mitochondrial transcriptome. Most surprisingly, we recently also identified DYW-type PPR proteins in the heterolobosean protist Naegleria gruberi. Interestingly, we were now able to identify C-to-U editing in the mitochondrial transcriptome of this protist, which is phylogenetically separated from the plant lineage by more than 1 billion years of evolution.

The Seminar: We have previously reported that treatment with magnesium following global and focal cerebral ischaemia does not reduce brain damage in normothermic rats (1, 2). However we have shown that mild hypothermia (35°C) combined with magnesium is more effective than either treatment used alone following global and focal ischaemia (3). Treatment is effective when commenced 2 hours post global ischaemia and when commenced 2 or 4, but not 6 hours post-permanent focal ischaemia (4). We are currently further defining therapeutic windows following global ischaemia and transient focal ischaemia.

The Speaker: Bruno Meloni obtained his Bachelor of Science degree at Curtin University in 1985 and his PhD degree at Murdoch University in 1993. In 1996, he started a second Postdoctoral position with the newly formed Stroke Research Group, situated at the ANRI and headed by Clinical Professor Neville Knuckey. A/Prof Meloni was responsible for setting up the molecular biology, in vitro cultivation and animal surgery laboratories and has played a major role in overseeing its direction over the last 15 years. A/Prof Meloni's research has focussed on identifying neuroprotective proteins for the development of potential treatments for ischaemic brain injury and assessing the effectiveness of mild hypothermia and magnesium as a neuroprotective therapy following cerebral ischaemia. To this end, his talk will focus on experimental work performed by the Stroke Research Group over the last several years characterising the efficacy of mild hypothermia and magnesium in stroke and global cerebral ischaemia rat models.

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]

CBSM aims to promote biological science in Western Australia by encouraging the interaction of scientists, students and industry representatives from all aspects of life science.

The meeting is designed to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and expertise to keep the life sciences in WA at the cutting edge. This annual meeting includes plenary presentations by national and international scientists and in 2012 will incorporate concurrent specialist symposia each with its own keynote speaker and session of local senior scientists.

CBSM is also geared toward students and the development of students among their peers. Several sessions are set aside for student presentations and for many it represents their first chance to present their work in a conference setting. These honours and post-graduate students work in universities, research institutes, and industry around Western Australia. In this way CBSM offers a unique “snapshot” of what is happening in local biological science and now attracts 250-300 delegates every year, with nearly 40 oral presentations, over 70 scientific posters and 30 trade booths. Check out the program at www.cbsmwa.org.au/program.

So where will you be on Friday the 24th of August? Join us at the University Club, The University of Western Australia for CBSM 2012!

www.cbsmwa.org.au - [email protected]

This workshop is recommended to anyone who is currently using or is thinking of using FlowJo for flow cytometry data analysis. The sessions will be very informative and you will pick up some new tricks! Sessions include: 10.00 am Basic Functionality, Groups Layouts, Tables, Batching, and 11.00am Compensation, Transforms, Advanced Analysis Platforms

The Seminar: The cellular and molecular biology of airway smooth muscle (ASM) is typically studied with single-cell cultures grown on solid, thus extremely stiff, 2D substrates. However cells in vivo exist as part of complex 3D structures and experience a much softer mechanical environment. It is well established in other cell types that altering substrate stiffness or growing cells in 3D exerts potent effects on phenotype and function. These factors may be especially relevant to the study of ASM function in asthma, a disease characterized by structural remodeling of the airway wall and a stiffer microenvironment experienced by ASM.

In this seminar, two key research projects will be presented to demonstrate the importance of the mechanical environment on in vitro ASM function: 1) use of a polyacrylamide hydrogel model used to alter substrate stiffness, and 2) the development and characterisation of a physiologically relevant 3D ‘microtissue’ culture model that allows for in vitro contractile force measurement, and shows great promise to simulate the biomechanical changes associated with asthma.

The Speaker: Adrian West’s scientific career was born and raised at the University of Western Australia. He undertook his BSc, Honours and PhD in the Department of Physiology where he studied the molecular mechanisms of intestinal haem iron absorption under Dr Phillip Oates. A lucky opportunity allowed Adrian to switch fields for his first postdoc to work in Prof Howard Mitchell’s respiratory physiology laboratory. During this time, he studied the effects of dynamic mechanical strain on acute regulation of airway smooth muscle (ASM) force and developed an interest in bridging the gap between whole-organ and cell-level mechanical properties.

Realising that engineers get to play with the coolest toys, Adrian moved to Dalhousie University in Canada for his second postdoc to work with an upcoming biomedical engineer, Dr Geoffrey Maksym. In this current position he is using novel cell culture and tissue engineering techniques to study how chronic changes in the biomechanical environment regulate ASM dysfunction, and how this may contribute to the pathogenesis of asthma.

Phosphorus - a non-renewable resource - is a key element in food production and maintaining sustainable ecosystems. Predictions suggest global P fertiliser production may peak around 2030’s and will be one third of that peak level by the end of the 21st century. This will have a major impact on agriculture, especially heavily fertilised low P sandy soils of Western Australia.

This workshop is a “hands-on” computing exercise and is scheduled to be conducted in the Pharmacology Computing Laboratory (room G17, M block QEII). Class size is strictly limited to 40 participants. Until 5 pm Monday 27th August, priority will be given to those with a current CMCA registration after which participation will be open to all on a “first in” basis. The workshop is free to attend but registration is essential. Please contact CMCA admin ([email protected]) to register. Also note, if you register and then fail to attend the workshop, a $50 non-attendance fee may be levied.

The Speaker: Dr Albertine graduated magna cum laude in biology from Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1975. He graduated with a doctoral degree in human anatomy from Loyola University of Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine, in 1979. He received postdoctoral training at the Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of California, San Francisco (1980-83).

He held faculty appointments at the University of South Florida, the University of Pennsylvania, and Thomas Jefferson University before joining the faculty at the University of Utah, in 1993. The same year he established the Pediatric Fellowship Core Curriculum and continues to lead this training program for all first-year fellows in pediatrics.

Dr Albertine’s research topic is acute and chronic lung disease, with emphasis on neonatal chronic lung disease. His research group created the preterm lamb model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). BPD is the second most prominent pediatric disease in the United States, eclipsed only by pediatric asthma. His large-animal, physiological model is the only such model of BPD. His laboratory has been supported by NIH grants for over 30 years.

He has authored almost 150 peer-reviewed papers and nearly 100 non-peer-reviewed papers, editorials, chapters, and textbooks. He is a reviewer for more than two dozen basic science or clinical journals and is Editor-in-Chief of The Anatomical Record, the flagship journal of the American Association of Anatomists.

Dr Albertine also participates in the Federation of Pediatric Organizations (FOPO), as a member of the Child Health Working Group. The charge of this group is to provide national guidance on approaches to attract physicians-in-training to become academic pediatricians (pediatric scientists).

The Seminar: The field of tissue engineering has seen significant advances in materials and cell biology research over the last twenty years, but most development has been through ‘in vitro’ technologies. Translation of these methods to the clinic will require ‘in vivo’ methods to be advanced and this talk will consider recent progress in two applications: engineering beating heart muscle from stem cells and tissue engineering for rapid repair of tympanic membrane perforations.

The Speaker: Rod Dilley is Head of Molecular and Cellular Otolaryngology at Ear Science Institute Australia and Adjunct Associate Professor in School of Surgery at UWA. In 1986 he completed his PhD in Department of Anatomy and Human Biology at UWA on vascular biology of vein graft arterialisation, with John McGeachie as supervisor. Rod did postdoctoral research training at University of Washington in Seattle USA then at Baker Institute in Melbourne, working on cardiovascular growth in hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis. Since then his research on cardiovascular disease has come to include tissue engineering and applications for adult stem cells. At Melbourne University since 2004 he was Head of the Cardiac Tissue Engineering group at O’Brien Institute and Principal Scientist for the biotechnology company Australian Tissue Engineering Centre. In 2011 he returned to Perth where his new position also takes in regeneration and tissue engineering in the ear.

Research tissue poses a number of issues when it comes to immunohistochemistry. The tissue may be human or non-human in origin, but either way care needs to be taken to obtain robust and reproducible IHC results. During this seminar Jane will try to give you some of the information that you need to make your life easier when you’re dealing with research samples and also some of the tricks that she has learnt during her time as a lab manager of a multi-user research histology lab.

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.

LIWA invites you to a free seminar on: "Patenting for medical researchers the ins and outs" by Mr Gary Cox, Chairman, Partner, Wray and Associates. Time: 12 noon for light lunch with 12.30pm – 1.30pm presentation.

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.