Annual Report 2005 - Westmead Millennium Institute

Director’s Report
This year, Australian research
excellence was recognised
with a major commendation
to exceptional medical
researchers with the awarding
of Australia’s fifth Nobel
Prize for Medicine to Barry
Marshall and Robin Warren
for their groundbreaking
discovery that the bacterium
helicobactus pylori causes
peptic ulcers.
This deserving award highlights the respect granted to Australian
medical research both locally and internationally. We are amongst
the best in the world, and much of that success is upheld by
positive community support and strong partnerships between
hospitals, universities and biomedical research institutes.
Westmead Millennium Institute (WMI) has such a partnership with
Sydney West Area Health Service and the University of Sydney,
and we honour these alliances by including for the first time a
message from our partners in our annual report. This partnership,
and our collaborations with our neighbouring institutions in the
Westmead Research Hub, has underpinned our increasing
success and allowed us to emphasise our translational research
philosophy - lab bench to bedside research.
As with previous years, WMI continued to expand in size,
productivity and research success. WMI received 13 NHMRC
project grants, two ARC Linkage and Discovery Grants, and one
Program Grant led by Prof Rick Kefford for much needed research
into melanoma. This year also saw breast cancer researcher A/Prof
Christine Clarke establishing Australia’s first comprehensive breast
cancer tissue bank in association with other leading researchers
and clinicians from around NSW. Professors Neil Hunter and Nick
Jacques from the Institute for Dental Research also received highly
prestigious funding from the National Institutes of Health USA,
for research into the bacteria causing dental caries.
Our senior professors and research group leaders continue to
attract numerous invitations to present at the leading international
conferences in their disciplines. The success of the younger
generation of researchers within the Institute has also been
recognised through University promotions including Professors
Chris Liddle, Jacob George and Associate Professor Graham Mann.
This year there have been substantial changes in the Institute
with re-organisation into five research divisions of infectious
diseases and immunology, cancer and leukaemia, liver and
metabolic diseases, neuroscience and vision and cardiorespiratory,
and the admission of three large new centres.
Postgraduate students are the lifeblood of most research
institutions, bringing youthful energy and enthusiasm to the
Institute. I am proud to report that over the past five years the
number of research students at WMI has more than doubled.
We now support over 100 PhD, Masters and Honours students
drawn mostly from the University of Sydney, but also from many
other universities around the state.
Despite the high morale and productivity within the Institute we still
face a number of key issues. Our remarkable growth has placed
immense strain on research space and this has impaired
recruitment of senior staff and students. Whilst we are recognised
as being one of the best by our scientific peers, the significant
capital funding required for building expansion cannot be achieved
through competitive peer reviewed grants. The solution depends
upon the support of the State and Commonwealth governments,
universities and private philanthropy. Whilst all groups have
displayed enthusiasm for supporting medical research, much
needs to be done in order to bring New South Wales into line with
Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. Approval for the NSW
Strategic Plan for Medical Research would provide this much
needed capital funding.
The other great challenge facing the Institute is the effective
translation and commercialisation of its research into
biotechnology. The formation of Biolink, a State commercialisation
enterprise will assist us in educating and supporting our
researchers and we are starting to see the fruits of our recent
efforts to improve commercialisation of research at Westmead.
I would like to thank both the Chairman of our Advisory Board
Mr Paul Bell, and the outgoing President of the The Millennium
Foundation Mr James Wakim, for their admirable work in raising
both support and funds for the Institute. I also wish to thank the
members of both Boards for their efforts and advice throughout
the year.
Finally, I wish to thank my fellow WMI researchers for all their hard
work and congratulate them on their wonderful achievements
throughout 2005.
Professor Tony Cunningham