What's On at UWA

Investigation into the atmospheric degradation of a-phellandrene: A computational, experimental and modelling study

In a malarial infection, there is a competition between the malaria parasite and the host. If the malarial parasite can reproduce sufficiently rapidly, it can reach a level of parasitaemia that is lethal to the host. However, if its rate of growth is slowed, the host’s adaptive immune response can kill the parasites before the lethal level of parasitaemia kills the host. The host response that controls the growth of malarial parasites has been largely thought to be the adaptive immune response. This talk will introduce the concept that perhaps as important is the innate immune response as mediated by platelets. Platelets are able to recognise infected red cells, bind to them, activate and kill malarial parasites. This talk will describe the research underpinning this observation. It will also introduce a large-scale ENU screen that has been performed to identify host molecules that are important in the host response to malaria.

Professor Simon Foote is a molecular geneticist. He is the Director of The John Curtin School of Medical Research at The Australian National University. He has been Dean of The Australian School of Medicine at Macquarie University, Director of the Menzies Research Institute at the University of Tasmania and Divisional Head at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor Foote has a medical degree and PhD from Melbourne University and a DSc from the University of Tasmania. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Academy of Technological Science and Engineering and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Research. Professor Foote is interested in the genetic control of susceptibility to disease, with particular focus on infectious disease. His laboratory has identified loci governing the response to leishmaniasis and malaria. However the major focus of the laboratory is on trying to identify new drugs to combat malaria. By using the example of natural mutations that affect the red cell and making it difficult for the parasite to grow, his laboratory has found genes, that when mutated, prevent growth of malarial parasites. These genetic changes point the way to the creation of a new type of treatment that will be steadfast against the development of drug resistance. His laboratory is also interested in the genetic susceptibility to other diseases of humans. He is currently working on investigating the reasons that renal disease is so common in Aboriginal communities and in the genetic changes that underpin the familial nature of some of the common cancers.

*Requires ticket - pruchase via Eventbrite or Chuffed (links at end)*

Join Team WA Homeward Bound 2018 for a lively evening of conversation and celebration on behalf of WA women in science. In a provocative moderated discussion, panelists share stories and insights from their leadership journey. Live music, silent auction, wine and canapés included (tickets $100). Cocktail attire.

Panelists: Professor Lyn Beazley (Science Ambassador), Diana Jones (WA Museum), Professor Carolyn Oldham (UWA), Professor Melinda Fitzgerald (Curtin U.)

Proceeds support Team WA Homeward Bound 2018 as we embark on a leadership journey to Antarctica for gender equity and environmental sustainability action.

Team WA Homeward Bound 2018: Rachel Zombor, School of Psychological Science UWA & Neurosciences Unit WA Health; Veronique Florec, Post-doctoral Researcher, UWA; Anais Pages, Research Scientist, CSIRO; Jessica Brainard, Curator, New Museum Project, Western Australian Museum; Valérie Sage, Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO

Chuffed: https://chuffed.org/project/homewardboundwa-2018

Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/from-perth-to-antarctica-a-leadership-journey-for-women-in-science-tickets-37326152527

This symposium brings together a panel of experts from across Australia to discuss ways to support regional and remote students to succeed in higher education. The purpose is to explore the value of investing in higher education from the perspective of the individual, community and the university sector and to question what we need to do to become a truly ‘clever country'.

The symposium will feature the following panel of experts:

Professor Grady Venville Chair (Dean of Coursework Studies, The University of Western Australia)

Tim Shanahan (Chair, WA Regional Development Trust)

Professor Sally Kift PFHEA (President, Australian Learning and Teaching Fellows, Former DVC – Academic, James Cook University)

Professor Steven Larkin (Pro Vice-Chancellor, Indigenous Education and Research, University of Newcastle)

Vicki Ratliff (Director, Equity Policy and Programmes, Australian Government Department of Education and Training)

Professor Sue Trinidad (Director, National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education)

The symposium will be held in The University Club of Western Australia Auditorium, and refreshments will be provided. Attendance is free, but tickets are limited so RSVP is essential. Reserve your ticket here: http://bit.ly/2xunNxe

12.30pm – lunch 1.00pm – 2.00pm – presentation

William Cookson is Professor of Genomic Medicine at Imperial College London and Head of Respiratory Sciences for the College. He is Head of the Asmarley Centre for Genomic Medicine at the National Heart and Lung Institute. He won a Joint Welcome Senior Investigator Award with Professor Miriam Moffatt in 2011 and was elected to the College of NIHR Senior Investigators in 2013.

You are invited to the 2017 Wesfarmers’ Harry Perkins Oration. The 2017 Orator is Professor Christina Mitchell, Dean of Medicine at Monash University.

Professor Mitchell trained as a physician scientist specialising in clinical haematology. She received her medical training from Melbourne University and consultant training in Haematology at the Alfred Hospital. Her advanced clinical training in Haematology included a Ph.D. characterizing the natural anticoagulants protein C and protein S. Her post-doctoral studies were undertaken in the field of intracellular signalling in Prof. Phil Majerus' laboratory at Washington University Medical School, St Louis USA.

On her return to Australia in 1991, Professor Mitchell became an independent investigator at the Department of Medicine, Box Hill Hospital. In 1999 she was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and in 2006 was appointed Head of School of Biomedical Sciences.

The research group led by Professor Mitchell is currently pursuing the identification and characterisation of novel proteins that regulate cell growth and differentiation.