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Today's date is Friday, March 29, 2024
Student Events
 May 2012
Thursday 10
16:00 - SEMINAR - Sending Sharks to School: Brain Evolution in Sharks and Their Relatives : SESE and Oceans Institute Seminar More Information
Cartilaginous fishes are comprised of approximately 1185 species worldwide and occupy a range of niches and primary habitats. It is a widely accepted view that neural development can reflect morphological adaptations and sensory specializations and it has been shown that similar patterns of brain organization, termed cerebrotypes, exist in species of that share certain lifestyle characteristics. Clear patterns of brain organization exist across cartilaginous fishes, irrespective of phylogenetic grouping. Examination of brain size (encephalization, n = 151) and interspecific variation in brain organization (n = 84) across this group suggests that similar patterns of brain organization, termed “cerebrotypes”, exist in species that share certain lifestyle characteristics. Clear patterns of brain organization exist across cartilaginous fishes, irrespective of phylogenetic grouping and, although this study was not a functional analysis, it provides further evidence that chondrichthyan brain structures might have developed in conjunction with specific behaviours or enhanced cognitive capabilities. Larger brains, with well-developed telencephala and large, highly foliated cerebella are reported in species that occupy complex reef or oceanic habitats, such as Prionace glauca and Sphyrna zygaena. In contrast, benthic and benthopelagic demersal species comprise the group with the smallest brains, such as Cephaloscyllium spp. and Squatina californica, with a relatively reduced telencephalon and a smooth cerebellar corpus. There is also evidence of a bathyal cerebrotype; deep-sea benthopelagic sharks, such as Centroselachus crepidater and Harriotta raleighana possess relatively small brains and show a clear relative hypertrophy of the medulla oblongata. Despite the patterns observed and documented, significant gaps in the literature have been highlighted. Brain mass data are only currently available on c. 16% of all chondrichthyan species, and only 8% of species have data available on their brain organization, with far less on subsections of major brain areas that receive distinct sensory input. The interspecific variability in brain organization further stresses the importance of performing functional studies on a greater range of species. Only an expansive data set, comprised of species that span a variety of habitats and taxonomic groups, with widely disparate behavioural repertoires, combined with further functional analyses, will help shed light on the extent to which chondrichthyan brains have evolved as a consequence of behaviour, habitat and lifestyle in addition to phylogeny.

17:30 - PUBLIC LECTURE - Dr Amara Lakhous - "Reforming Islam from the Outside" : Multi-Award Winning Author Dr Amara Lakhous is an Algerian-born Muslim writer. He is the recipient of the Italy’s Premier Literary Award. More Information
Born in 1970 in Algiers in a Berber family, Amara Lakhous is the sixth of nine children. He studied at Koran school for four years where he learned classical Arabic. He learned French at junior school. He was influenced from an early age by authors like Mahfouz, Flaubert and Hemingway, and after finishing school decided to study at the Faculty for Philosophy in Algiers. He moved to Rome in 1995, where he graduated in cultural anthropology from the University la Sapienza, Rome. He recently completed a Ph.D. thesis entitled “Living Islam as a Minority.”

18:00 - SCREENING - Classics Film Screening More Information
Come down and watch classic films by Jean Renoir, Cassavetes, Bergman, Kurosawa and many more every Thursday at 6pm. Venues TBA via http://www.facebook.com/uwafilmsociety and http://www.facebook.com/groups/242259162472394/
Tuesday 15
13:00 - STUDENT EVENT - 2012 Teaching & Learning Month Event - Postgraduate Student Association (PSA) Academic Roasting Website | More Information
In this “academic roasting” the Postgraduate Students Association (PSA) will roast various general areas of the University and associated processes and systems. These will be represented by volunteer academic and senior professional staff members.

A ‘roast’ is an event (usually in the United States) in which an individual is subjected to a public presentation of comedic criticism, praise, stories, and heart-warming tributes.

13:00 - SEMINAR - Nucleic acid sequencing technologies: Wows and Woes : School of Anatomy, Physiology & Human Biology Seminar Series More Information
The Speaker: Dr Watson trained as a molecular biologist in the United Kingdom and conducted his first post doc with Prof Steven Holgate, Prof Newton Morten and Prof. Patricia Jacobs in Southampton , UK performing genetic linkage analysis to Atopy and allergic disease. In 1994 he took up a position as the manager of the Centre for Cell and molecular Biology at the University of Western Australia.

In 1996 he was successful in obtaining NH&MRC funding for a project looking at the molecular aspects of the Murine AIDS virus. Dr Watson then moved to a research position within the WA Health Department at Royal Perth Hospital Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases to study the Hepatitis C Virus which remains one of his main research areas to date.

In 2006 Dr Watson took up the position of Manager of the newly established Geomics Node of the Lotterywset Biomedical facility located within the Department of Immunology and Immunogenetics at Royal Perth Hospital.

Dr Watson has been highly active in organising conferences both local and national (CBSM and ASM) and has previously chaired CBSM 92002-2005). Dr Watson is an ASMWA committee member and is the chair of the WA health Hepatitis C Virus statewide database development group.

He joined the Institute for Immunology and Infectious Diseases as the Laboratory Manager in December 2008. His most active area of current research is in the area of the Hepatitis C virus with particular focus on molecular immunology and antivirals.
Friday 18
12:00 - PUBLIC TALK - What matters to me and why : Conversations with members of the UWA community about what matters to them More Information
'What Matters to me and why' is a series of lunch time talks and conversations with UWA Academics. The talks explore personal stories of family, place, formative influences and how these things continue to shape people's lives and academic work.

The next conversation is with Carol Kaplanian, who's PhD focuses on a social policy analysis of honour killings in Jordan. Carol is also working with the WA Police Department developing cultural awareness training and helping police liaise with migrant communities.

Carol will share some of her story and then there will be the opportunity for questions/conversation. BYO lunch. Tea/Coffee is available in the meeting room (at the request of the Science Library, please do not carry coffee through the library).

The Science Library is towards the southern end of the campus just past the Chemistry and Psychology buildings.

16:00 - SEMINAR - Science Communication Seminar Series : Roaming Reptile Education - Trials and tribulations of starting and running a science communication business More Information
Teaching school children about reptiles sounded like a great, easy idea. I had a snake and a few lizards that were children-friendly, what else did I need? Well, the answer was licensing, business registration, naming rights, website construction, writing fact sheets, linking material to the school curriculum and eating cake. Find out how I've achieved success in the world of environmental education and see some of the lessons I've learned along the way.

19:30 - PERFORMANCE - The vocal program at The School of Music, UWA Presents "The Mikado - in absentia" More Information
What happens when you have a show needing a chorus of men and five major male leads, but only five men and not a tenor in sight, too many women who are all suitable to sing the two major women leads, no budget, no sets, no props, a bare music auditorium and a grand piano?

Answer. UWA Vocal Students condensed version of Gilbert & Sullivan's The Mikado. Arguably the most popular Gilbert & Sullivan opera of all time, this is a Mikado with a difference. Watch as the Mikado never appears. Be stunned at the multi-personalities of Yum Yum, Nanki Poo, as you've never seen him before, Pooh Bah from Glasgow, and Katisha "the cougar". Be amazed at how great the men's chorus sounds ... with women. Look out for the next Lord High Executioner - will it be you? Witty dialogue, new narration, stunning music, and fresh and eager young voices. Why haven't you booked your seat already? A Mikado not to be missed.

Artistic Director Andrew Foote Accompanist and Coach Caroline Badnall

Price - Unreserved Tickets at door Standard: $15 Concession: 10 Students: Free
Tuesday 22
13:00 - SEMINAR - Integrating the fields of neuroscience and ecology to understand animal behaviour : School of Anatomy, Physiology & Human Biology Seminar Series More Information
The Seminar: By investigating the neural basis of behaviour in marine organisms, it is possible to identify the signals that govern a range of behaviours crucial for survival. In this presentation, the fields of neuroscience and ecology are integrated to explore animal behaviour and the processing of environmental signals by both the peripheral and central nervous systems of a range of (predominantly marine) organisms. Within every species’ microhabitat, the ability to detect the physical environment for setting circadian rhythms, avoiding predation, finding food and for reproductive success are often different. We use innovative neurobiological techniques such as molecular genetics, microspectrophotometry, bioimaging, electrophysiology and anatomy to trace the evolution of sensory systems and the detection thresholds for light, chemosensory signals, electric fields, water borne sound and hydrodynamic disturbances. In this way, we hope to understand how we can protect biodiversity and the varied environments each species is adapted to.

The Speaker: Professor Shaun P. Collin is a WA Premiers Research Fellow and Winthrop Professor at The University of Western Australia. He heads a large Neuroecology Group that investigates the neural basis of behaviour in both invertebrates and vertebrates, with special emphasis on sensory systems and vision. Before joining UWA from The University of Queensland, where he was a Professor within the School of Biomedical Sciences for 10 years, he spent appreciable periods of time in Canada, the United States, Germany and Australia on a range of prestigious Research Fellowships (ARC QEII, Fulbright, Alexander von Humboldt, Grass). Using a range of cutting edge techniques, his Group investigates the impacts of light on biodiversity, sustainability and health in a large diversity of animals, including humans. Prof. Collin has published over 170 scientific papers, including 2 books, and sits on the Editorial Boards of 5 international journals. He also sits on the College of Experts Panel for the Australian Research Council (ARC) and is a member of the Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (TIAC) for the WA State Government.

18:00 - EVENT - Shamanism and the origin of creative genius in western Europe : A public lecture by David S Whitley Website | More Information
The start of the European Upper Palaeolithic, about 35,000 years ago, is marked by the dramatic appearance not just of art, but of true creative genius.

World renowned cave art sites like Lascaux, Chauvet and Altamira are widely recognised as artistic masterpieces. Although scientists rarely consider art and genius, the sudden appearance of artistic genius presents an empircal problem that warrants analysis.

Taking an evolutionary approach, archaeological, psychitric ethnographic and genetic evidence are used to develop a hypothesis that may explain this phenomenon, and which provides important insight into the nature of what makes us human.

This lecture will discuss some of these approaches to early examples of creative genius.

20:00 - PERFORMANCE - Women Beware Women : English playwright Howard Barker's re-visioning of Thomas Middleton's Jacobean revenge tragedy More Information
Five nights only. From Tuesday May 22 through to Saturday May 26, at 8pm. $20 full; $15 concession. Tickets at door. Theatre students in English and Cultural Studies present contemporary English playwright Howard Barker’s revisioning of Thomas Middleton’s Jacobean revenge tragedy Women Beware Women. Directed by Assoc. Prof. Steve Chinna. Middleton’s play was last performed at UWA in the Octagon Theatre in 1982, directed by then director-in-residence Timothy West with a cast comprising English Department staff and members of the UWA GRADS and UDS theatre communities.

Barker utilises most of the first four acts and the language of Middleton’s play in its first half, with a second half comprised of Barker’s mixture of vividly poetic and robust vernacular language. While Middleton saw fit to end his play with a conventional revenge tragedy massacre of his troublesome protagonists, Barker takes the trajectories of the protagonists towards a denouement which leaves all but one of the characters surviving, but which shatters the ducal state of greed, misogyny, and moral corruption. Some coarse language.
Wednesday 23
16:00 - SEMINAR - "Investigation of the mechanisms and regulation of RNA binding by the paraspeckle proteins as a route to deciphering paraspeckle function". AND "Investigating the induction mechanism of a long non-coding RNA: NEAT1, and paraspeckles.� Website | More Information
Ellen completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Western Australia in 2009. Following this she did Honours in the lab of Professor Charlie Bond (BBCS, UWA). After completing Honours, Ellen did an Internship at the University of Queensland in Professor John Mattick’s lab, a world leader in the field of non-coding RNA research. Ellen then started her PhD at WAIMR in the lab of Dr Archa Fox and is currently in her second year. Ellen’s PhD project involves investigating the interactions occurring within paraspeckles: an RNA:Protein sub-compartment located in mammalian cell nuclei. This project aims to perform the first detailed analysis of the interactions between the paraspeckle proteins and the RNAs they bind, with the aim of one day utilizing this information to target lncRNA:protein complexes as therapeutic targets.

Ruohan Li finished his undergraduate degree with Honours in biomedical science in UWA. During his Honours and a voluntary research year in the same lab, he worked under Dr. Thomas Martin on the protein-protein interactions and stress responses mediated by 14-3-3 proteins. He then started his PhD with Dr. Archa Fox in April 2011 on a project aimed at investigating the induction mechanism of a 23kb long non-coding RNA called NEAT1 (Nuclear Enriched Abundant Transcript 1). This work seeks to provide insights into the unknown physiological function of paraspeckles, by understanding how NEAT1 is regulated in a variety of normal and diseased cell types.

17:15 - PUBLIC LECTURE - Public Address by Hon. Aburizal Bakrie, Chairman of the Golkar Party of Indonesia : “Indonesia- Australia Relations in a Globalised World” More Information
Honourable Aburizal Bakrie is visiting The University of Western Australia as a distinguished guest and speaker of the Centre for Muslim States and Societies. Mr Bakrie is the Golkar Party's nominee for the Indonesian Presidential elections in 2014. Given that Indonesia is the largest Muslim state in the world and our immediate neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region, his views on the implications of Indonesian politics for Australia-Indonesia relations would be of great value to our country.
Thursday 24
15:00 - SEMINAR - Archaeology Seminar: Sean Winter : Convict consumption in the regions of Western Australia Website | More Information
In the mid 1850s the officers in charge of the convict system in Western Australia engaged in a lengthy debate over the make up of the official convict ration. The debate is captured in a voluminous correspondence, leading to a wide range of documentary evidence that recorded the official convict ration as monotonous and nutritionally limited. However, archaeological research at convict sites demonstrates that convict consumption was more varied than suggested by the official reocrd.

This seminar uses archaeological evidence to assess convict consumption in the regions of Western Australia. The evidence demonstrates that, in contrast to those incarcerated at Fremantle Prison, convicts sent to the regions had greater choice about their consumption of food, alcohol and tobacco. Rather than being passively restricted by the oficial ration, the convicts in regions actively supplemented their diet through the hunting and purchase of goods.


17:15 - SCREENING - Berndt Museum Film Night : Trobriand Cricket: An Ingenious Response to Colonialism (1976, 51 minutes, PG) Website | More Information
The film demonstrates how villagers living in the Trobriand Islands, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, transformed the game of cricket into their own form of ritual and fun. Methodist missionaries introduced cricket to the Trobriand Islands in 1903, the residents then altered the game to represent their own culture. Through the creation of their own version of the sport, the Trobriand Islanders did not lose sight of the competitive nature of cricket – they just extended the game to include dancing, chanting, ritual warfare and feasting!

Come along and see how the Trobriand Islanders changed a game that we all thought we knew so well.

FREE EVENT

RSVP: Bookings essential to Alexandra Tough on [email protected] or (08) 6488 3079
Tuesday 29
13:00 - SEMINAR - The regulation of brain temperature in mammals and factors affecting the daily rhythm of body temperature. : School of Anatomy, Physiology & Human Biology Seminar Series Website | More Information
The Seminar: The seminar will focus on the two main areas of research conducted in the comparative and thermal physiology lab; the mechanism and use of selective brain cooling in some animals, and the variation in the circadian rhythm of core body temperature (and what it might mean). When it was first discovered selective brain cooling was promulgated as an adaptation that protected a thermally vulnerable brain during heat exposure. Over the last few years we have shown that this does not seem to be the case because the only time free-living animals get very hot is during exercise, and during exercise selective brain cooling is not activated. Rather the mechanism seems to have a direct effect on water use for thermoregulation in hot conditions, via panting and sweating. Thus the selective importance of the mechanism is quite subtle and is related to water economy rather than to thermoregulation per se.

Traditionally it is accepted that small mammals have all the machinery required to be homeothermic (maintain a constant, high body temperature), but for reasons of energy economy occasionally abandon homeothermy and enter torpor or hibernation. Large mammals are considered to be strict homeotherms. Data we have collected from a range of ‘large’ mammals suggests that energy balance can effect homeothermy in them too, suggesting that thermoregulatory patterns in animals form a continuum rather than a strict dichotomy. We use these data to show, though, that a better homeotherm performs better on several measures of animal performance, including growth and reproduction. Whether this is a cause and effect relationship remains to be established.

The Speaker: Shane Maloney is a Professor in the School of Anatomy, Physiology, and Human Biology at the University of Western Australia. He did his PhD at the University of New South Wales on thermal biology of the emu followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in the Brain Function Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he focussed on brain temperature regulation in mammals. Since 1999 he has been at the University of Western Australia where his research centres on environmental physiology in man and other animals, with a focus on heat balance, energy use, and the mechanisms of thermoregulation.

13:00 - TALK - Careers Centre: Deloitte Dream Team Competition 2012 Information Session : Deloitte Dream Team Competition 2012 Information Session information session Website | More Information
Find out more about the Deloitte Dream Team, an annual inter-university competition where students compete in university teams to solve realistic business problems and scenarios.Book through Careerhub.

16:00 - EVENT - Same-Sex Relations: A First Century CE Perspective : Three Universities Lecture Series Website | More Information
The next lecture in the ‘Three Universities Lecture Series’ is……

Same-Sex Relations: A First Century CE Perspective, Emeritus Professor Bill Loader

Tuesday 29th May, 4–6pm at Murdoch University, Education and Humanities Building, Room EH1.001. Use Car Park 4 or 5, off South St. (bring coins for ticket machine).

Emeritus Professor Bill Loader recently completed a five year Australian Research Council Professorial Fellowship Project (2005-2010) on Attitudes towards Sexuality in Judaism and Christianity in the Hellenistic Greco-Roman Era. Professor Loader has written numerous books on sexuality in the New Testament period. He is a Minister of the Uniting Church in Australia.

The 'three universities lecture series' aims to share knowledge and build relationships across three Western Australian universities which share an interest in religious studies and/or theology (Murdoch; Notre Dame; UWA). The lectures will be of particular interest to academics and students in the fields of philosophy, religious studies or theology and may also appeal to members of the broader community.

Bill will speak for up to an hour followed by questions and snacks/drinks.

For catering purposes, please RSVP to [email protected] Phone: 6488 4762

http://www.student.uwa.edu.au/life/health/spiritual/events
Wednesday 30
13:00 - SEMINAR - Tumor-specific Regulation of MnSOD: Towards targeted "oxidation therapy" in estrogen negative breast cancer : School of Anatomy, Physiology & Human Biology Seminar Series Website | More Information
The Seminar: Compelling evidence suggests that cancer cells are generally under reactive oxygen species (ROS) stress. As mitochondria respiration is the main source of ROS generation in the cells, MnSOD is of prime importance in maintaining the tumor cellular ROS balance. It has recently been reported that generation of ROS is closely involved in PPAR ligand–induced apoptosis. However, the mechanism by which these ligands induce ROS generation remains unknown. We report the identification of human MnSOD as a PPAR target gene and that activation by PPAR agonists led to downregulation of MnSOD gene expression in vitro and in vivo xenograft model. Futhermore, histopathologic analysis of breast cancer biopsies obtained from patients treated with synthetic PPAR agonists also showed MnSOD repression. Repression of MnSOD expression was accompanied with increase in intracellular superoxide production in breast cancer cells. Suppression of MnSOD levels by small-interfering RNA or activation of PPAR in breast cancer cells increased oxidative stress and enhanced chemo-sensitivity to ROS-inducing drugs such as docetaxel and doxorubicin. Importantly, normal breast cells were completely refractory to these effects. Together, our data not only identifies MnSOD as a novel PPAR target but also provides a molecular mechanism for ROS-manipulation therapy through the intelligent use of PPAR ligands in combination with ROS-inducing drugs to preferentially kill cancer cells.

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. Because pyrimidine biosynthesis is an essential step in the progression of secondary Pseudomonas infections, PyrR presents an attractive anti-pseudomonal drug target. 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 in the transcriptional regulation of human myeloperoxidase, a leukocyte enzyme implicated as causative agent in atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Kumar relocated back to Singapore to join the Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore as an independent Principal Investigator to continue on his expertise on nuclear receptor and cancer biology. 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 to have a greater understanding of these nuclear receptors – aimed at developing newer selective PPAR gamma modulators, drugs with more potent activity and less toxicity. Towards this end, Dr Kumar identified a series of 21 structurally new PPAR gamma activators by computer-aided drug design using a combination of ligand-based and structure-based approaches. In collaboration with GenoMed, Inc, USA, he has recently identified a new tyrosine kinase involved in the progression of ovarian, breast, and prostate cancers. Inhibitors were developed against this kinase using computer-aided drug design. His goal is to use these drugs to demonstrate its effectiveness in a variety of cancer cell lines, mouse xenograft, with intent to clinical trials here in Singapore. 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/Prof Dharmarajan - PH) 6488 2981

13:00 - TALK - Careers Centre: Employer Talk - Birman & Ride Law Cadetships 2012 : Birman & Ride law cadetships: We invite applications from law undergraduates (at any stage of their degrees) interested in a litigation or commercial career with a boutique city law firm. Website | More Information
Applications must be made via our website www.cadetships.birmanride.com.au Closing date - Friday 15 June 2012 Attend our free on-campus information session on Wednesday 30 May 2012 at 1pm at UWA Social Sciences Lecture Room 1 (SSLR1). Book via Careerhub.

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