Issue 13. 6 September 2010.pdf [PDF File, 1.7 MB] - UWA Staff - The ...

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Gypsies help glaucoma research Gypsies are helping medical researchers to pinpoint the cause of a disease that can blind babies and young children. Congenital glaucoma is a rare subtype of the eye disease, in which children are born with a raised intraocular pressure that causes glaucoma. If it is diagnosed early, it can be rectified. Otherwise, babies can go blind within months. An international collaboration which includes the Lions Eye Institute Professor of Ophthalmology, David Mackey, and the WA Institute of Medical Research’s Professor Luba Kalaydjieva, has discovered a new gene associated with congenital glaucoma. Professor Kalaydjieva has an international reputation for her genetics research into the European gypsy, or Roma, populations. And Professor Mackey is renowned for his work on the genetics of glaucoma. They started work together last year with their research partners. “The group had already identified one gene, that was found in about 20 per cent of Australian children with congenital glaucoma,” Professor Mackey said. “A second gene was identified in families from Pakistan and India, but we couldn’t find it in European Australians. “Then Professor Kalaydjieva joined us and we found the gene in gypsy families.” Congenital glaucoma is common in the Roma population, with up to one in every 2,000 children being affected, compared with the general Australia population of one in 30,000. Professor Kalaydjieva explained that gypsies are a founder population, derived from a small number of ancestors. They intermarry and remain relatively isolated from surrounding populations. “The resulting limited genetic diversity makes it easier to find the genes responsible for all sorts of diseases,” she said. “It is easier than using a heterogeneous population.” There are between eight and 10 million European gypsies but probably only 200,000 Roma people in Australia, although there is no accurate census data. Professor Kalaydjieva is originally from Bulgaria and started her genetic research with Roma people nearly 20 years ago. She found that they had some diseases that were unique to them (such as the high incidence of congenital glaucoma), while they often did not suffer diseases found in the wider population. “We must be careful, with out research, not to increase the stigmas already suffered by the Roma people but, at the same time, it is good news for them that we can work out how their problems are caused and help them to minimalise them with genetic screening,” she said. Luba Kalaydjieva from WAIMR and David Mackey from LEI are collaborating Celebrate your safety Do you feel safe at work? If so, perhaps the person or team who is responsible should be rewarded. UWA’s annual Safety Awards are seeking nominations of individuals and groups who deserve to be recognised for controlling risks, identifying hazards and safety planning, training and management. Nominations of individuals and groups should be based on the criteria used by WorkSafeWA: management commitment, planning, consultation, hazard management and training. Details of these can be found on the UWA Safety and Health website. A UWA Safety Leadership Award and a UWA Safety Recognition Award are also up for nomination. Written nominations for each of the four awards must be submitted to Safety and Health by Friday October 1. They will be announced during Safe Work Australia Week, October 24 – 30. The University Co-Operative Bookshop will again donate book vouchers for the winners. If you would like help with writing your nomination, please call Safety and Health on 6488 3938. New Courses 2012 Feedback Wanted With UWA Open Day still fresh in your mind, please take a few minutes to forward any feedback on how information about New Courses 2012 was managed at this year’s event. This may include questions you were asked on the day, how useful you found the ‘Pocket Guide for Staff’ and pre-event staff forums, or a suggestion for improvement. Feedback can be emailed to publicaffairs@uwa.edu.au or contact Rachel Schmitt on 6488 7241. Visit http://www.newcourses2012. uwa.edu.au/register to register for updates on the new courses. 10 UWA NEWS 6 September 2010 The University of Western Australia
Trees start work on the Future Farm The ground is ready for 14,000 saplings While many staff were helping out at Open Day, others were getting their hands dirty down on the farm. Funding for tree planting at the Future Farm co-incided with the start of Professor Richard Hobbs’ Australian Laureate project work, so he decided to turn the tree-planting into a large-scale on-going experiment. Research Assistant Professor Rachel Standish is overseeing the plant aspect of ecosystem restoration on the farm near Pingelly. She and Professor Hobbs, together with Research Associates Mike Perring and Kris Hulvey (all Plant Biology), co-ordinated the planting of 14,000 trees over two days, with a team of about 23 people each day. Staff and student volunteers joined members of Men of the Trees to plant eucalypts, wattles and banksias on 20-odd hectares of farmland previously used for cropping and grazing. “My research group decided to take advantage of seed funding from our Dean Professor Tony O’Donnell and the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences to set up an experiment to examine the effects of different combinations of plants on various aspects of ecosystem functioning,” Professor Hobbs said. These aspects include carbon storage, soil processes and resistance to invasion by non-native species. “We planted different combinations of trees and trees and shrubs in 128 plots, each about 25 metres square,” he said. “Depending on how fast they grow, we will see some results quickly, but the whole idea of the farm is to look to the future and we are laying the foundations for an experiment that will last for decades.” A/Professor Standish said they used the vegetation that had existed before the land had been cleared for farming as a guide for restoration. “York Gum woodland existed on the site prior to agriculture, so we selected plants from that vegetation type,” she said. The experiment will look at how different species assemblages and their microcommunities interact and affect carbon storage, the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil, including the work of soil microbes and macrofauna (for example, termites), as well as pollination, recolonisation by native plants and animals and the invasion of weeds. Wattles fix nitrogen in the soil, while banksias extract nutrients in what Professor Hobbs describes as a peculiarly Western Australian way. “They have an odd mechanism for extracting nutrients from impoverished soil,” he said. The Future Farm’s own Open Day will be on October 1st, with a theme of showcasing research on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Visitors will be able to see research being done in this area through cropping, livestock innovations and tree planting. ABOVE: Students, staff and locals all pitched in together RIGHT: Rachel Standish Photos by Richard Hobbs and Cristina Ramalho The University of Western Australia UWA NEWS 6 September 2010 11
Page 1 and 2: UWA NEWS 6 SEPTEMBER 2010 Volume 29
Page 3 and 4: Indigenous treasures in safe keepin
Page 5 and 6: elationships building the farm Stud
Page 7 and 8: ad their wings Young guns grab glob
Page 9: There are millions of dollars tied
Page 13 and 14: UWA News classified Print? Whatever
Page 15 and 16: UWA News classified analysis and it

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