School of Pharmacy & Molecular Sciences NEWSLETTER August 2013

1. School of Pharmacy & Molecular Sciences NEWSLETTER August 2013 Dear Colleagues, At this mid-year point, I want to thank you all for your many contributions to the School and highlight some recent developments. In addition to the important items reported in this half-yearly Newsletter, I would also like to highlight the PVC’s and JCU’s success in obtaining Coalition support for the future of AITHM which will be vital to this Faculty. Thank you again for all your great work, Juergen • IMPORTANT DATES • 7th October 2013 Labour Day Public Holiday • 29th July 2013 Start Study Period 2 • 30th September 2013 Lecture Recess • 4th November 2013 Start Study Vacation • 11th November 2013 Start Examinations • 25th November 2013 Start Student Vacation • 11th December 2013 School Christmas Party • 25th December 2013 Christmas Day • 26th December 2013 Boxing Day • 1st January 2014 New Years Day

2. School of Pharmacy & Molecular Sciences NEWSLETTER August 2013 Fellowship Award T he Betty Cuthbert Fellowship awarded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia (MSRA) is a highly prestigious award that supports researchers to pursue MS research in the areas of biomedical, clinical or population health with a focus on improving our understanding of the biomedical causes of MS or improving its ongoing management. This award recognizes Dr Jordan’s achievements to date and funds her for the next four years to study the effects of MS genes on the immune system. The project applies modern genomic techniques to identify how MS genes affect the white blood cells of the immune system. While a large number of genetic risk factors have to date been identified in a worldwide effort this project will attempt to identify how these genes contribute to risk. The first phase will take specific types of immune cells, known as natural killer cells and monocytes, from people with MS and people without disease and compare different versions of each gene and different levels of gene activity in the different cell types to determine what kind of effect this has on function. The second phase will use animal models with specific versions of each gene to test how this affects susceptibility to MS. This new knowledge will enable us to develop better predictive and diagnostic tools and may lead to new therapies. This work is part of the Lions Clubs of Australia MS Research Program, which has been operating since 2008. Coordinated from James Cook University in Townsville, the program involves researchers at the University of Tasmania, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Florey Institute and the Comparative Genomics Centre. Dr Jordan has 15 years of experience in the field of Immunogenetics and has produced a substantial body of novel work dissecting the genetic causes of autoimmunity. She obtained her PhD in 2011 from James Cook University, Townsville, having originally attained a BSc degree at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa in 1987 and an Honours degree in Human Cytogenetics in 1997. She worked as a Medical Scientist in Cytogenetics at the South African Institute for Medical Research for 11 years and was instrumental in setting up the Fluorescence in situ Hybridisation (FISH) node of the Cytogenetic Unit which permitted further research into chromosome breakage and translocations as well as interphase analyses of numerical anomalies. While working as a Medical Scientist she studied Psychology, as a means to improved understanding of patients anxieties, which she completed in 1992. Her love of research and her drive to make a difference in peoples lives led her to complete her Honours degree (1st Class) for her research into Uniparental Disomy in Silver Russell Dwarfism. Thereafter, she moved to Australia, on a work visa, where she worked in Cytogenetics for 9 months before changing direction to work on animal models in the Autoimmunity Research Group at the Centenary Institute, Sydney. Here she worked as a Research Assistant on Genetic Linkage Projects to identify genes involved in SLE, Type 1 diabetes and Gastritis and an important immunoregulatory cell subset, NKT cells; expanding on her already extensive technical skill set. On obtaining Australian residency and citizenship, she applied for and was granted a scholarship to undertake a PhD in the Medical Genomics Group when she moved to Townsville.

3. School of Pharmacy & Molecular Sciences NEWSLETTER August 2013 Fellowship Award – Contd. Here, she used mouse models of autoimmune diseases, congenic dissection of gene linkage regions, gene expression microarray analyses, qPCR and sequencing as tools to identify genes controlling NKT cells, as well as genes contributing to experimental autoimmune gastritis. The function of two of these genes was subsequently confirmed through her production of transgenic and knockout mice. Her technical skills include many Molecular Biology techniques, including tissue culture, genotyping and gene expression microarray analyses for which she has the best and second-best published signal-to-noise ratios. She has received three competitive grants for her work, including a CRIG (Competitive Research Incentive grant (JCU), a FAIG (Medicine, Health & Molecular Sciences Faculty Grant, JCU) and an equipment grant from the Graduate Research Scheme, JCU. She has received national/international travel awards from Australasian Society of Immunology (ASI), Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF), Federation of Immunological Societies of Asia-Oceania (FIMSA), Australasian Microarray Associated Technologies Association (AMATA) and the Logan Foundation. She has twice been awarded medals at the Brisbane Immunology Group (BIG) meetings for best poster presentations, and has received the Science Communicators Award for best oral presentation at the Thymoz international meeting. Additionally, she has received Poster prizes at the Festival of Life Sciences. She has been an invited speaker for the Corbett Extraction-to-Reaction Workshops in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as invited speaker at the Brisbane Immunology Group Retreat and has most recently been invited to give the address at an event in Brisbane for the MS Angels, a community group dedicated to helping MS research in Australia.

4. School of Pharmacy & Molecular Sciences NEWSLETTER August 2013 Professional & Technical Staff Update H i, My name is Rebecca Munro and as most of you will be aware I have recently joined the School as Acting School Manager now that Ohlu has joined Mano in Papua New Guinea. I have been employed at JCU for nearly 10 years primarily within Financial & Business Services. For the past 10 months, I have been on secondment performing the role of Team Leader within the Faculty’s Finance/Procurement Team. I am currently situated in Ohlu’s old office (Building DB21, Room CH115) so, please come and see me with any queries. My greatest achievement is my 3 Beautiful Girls and our weekends are mostly filled with BMXing and enjoying the outdoors!! I look forward to working with you all over the next couple of months. I n addition to Rebecca, Stratis Manolis has recently joined the School, merging over to the Molecular Sciences Store from the Biological Sciences Store. Stratis brings with him a wealth of knowledge having worked in the Biological Sciences Store and prior to that in a similar role at The University of Queensland. I’m sure everyone has already met Stratis however, if you are unsure, Stratis is situated in the Store in Building DB21 with David Jusseaume.

5. School of Pharmacy & Molecular Sciences NEWSLETTER August 2013 Update on The Science Place (TSP) P Federal funding for the $80M project from EIF (Education Investment Fund) was announced in December of last year. Hassell are the Architects chosen for the project and 5 user groups have been formed: Research Labs, Teaching Spaces, Learning Spaces, Workplace and Workplace Support and Building Support Facilities. The user groups may have to be adjusted and will provide information to the architects and the Project Control Group (PCG). User group meetings will be meeting intensely for the coming months in preparation for building plans. Completion of TSP is anticipated for 2016. Please stay tuned for further developments and thank you for your participation. lanning has begun in earnest for TSP (The Science Place) that will house Chemistry, most of Biochemistry and some of Marine and Tropical Biology (FSE) in new facilities for teaching and research.

6. School of Pharmacy & Molecular Sciences NEWSLETTER August 2013 Juergen Reichardt Elected to HuGO Council J uergen was elected to the Council of the Human Genome Organisation (HuGO) for the 2013-2015 term. HuGO’s mission is: • to investigate the nature, structure, function and interaction of the genes, genomic elements and genomes of humans and relevant pathogenic and model organisms; • to characterise the nature, distribution and evolution of genetic variation in humans and other relevant organisms; • to study the relationship between genetic variation and the environment in the origins and characteristics of human populations and the causes, diagnoses, treatments and prevention of disease; • to foster the interaction, coordination, and dissemination of information and technology between investigators and the global society in genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, systems biology, and the clinical sciences by promoting quality education, comprehensive communication, and accurate, comprehensive, and accessible knowledge resources for genes, genomes and disease; and, • to sponsor factually-grounded dialogues on the social, legal, and ethical issues related to genetic and genomic information and championing the regionally-appropriate, ethical utilization of this information for the good of the individual and the society. Juergen also coorganised the HGM (Human Genome Meeting) in Sydney in 2012.