2010 Annual Report - Institute for Molecular Bioscience - University ...

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41 imb researchers: molecular cell biology Division of MOLECULAR CELL BIOLOGY Cell Biology seeks to understand the molecular workings of the cell. This ambition encompasses efforts to elucidate how molecular and biochemical mechanisms are integrated to drive fundamental cellular events, such as metabolism, intracellular transport, growth, division and signalling. Ultimately such integration must extend to encompass the differentiation events and the interaction of cells with their environment that are the basis for tissue function. Such fundamental knowledge also forms the basis for a detailed understanding of cellular pathology in human diseases, such as inflammation and cancer.
imb annual report 2010 42 THE RESEARCH GROUPS OF THE Division of Molecular Cell Biology are tackling individual problems that speak to various key problems in cell biology. These include the trafficking of cytokines in inflammation (Stow); the biochemical dynamics of GTPase signalling (Alexandrov); the biogenesis of membrane organisation (Parton); cell-cell adhesion and the cytoskeleton (Yap); the role of membrane trafficking in host-pathogen interactions (Teasdale, joint appointment with GCB); structural biology of membrane transport (Collins); high-resolution electron microscopy of insulin-secreting pancreatic cells (Marsh); high-throughput computational analysis of cellular imaging (Hamilton, joint appointment with GCB); and cell biology of growth hormone (Waters). These snapshots highlight, however, only part of each group’s research program, the range of which can be well appreciated in their individual laboratory reports. All the individual groups of the Division are supported by external research funding. These include project and program grants from the NHMRC, and project grants from the ARC, Cancer Council, and Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP). Many group leaders in the Division are also supported by Fellowships from the NHMRC and ARC. The awarding of $2.5 million from the Australian Cancer Research Foundation allowed the establishment of the ACRF Cancer Biology Imaging Facility, which was officially opened in February 2010 by Queensland Governor Her Excellency Dr Penelope Wensley AO. Professor Rob Parton received an award from the NHMRC for having the highest-ranked project grant in the nation. Each grant is ranked according to its suitability for receiving funding, and of the 2984 project grants submitted to the Council, Professor Parton’s was awarded the most points. New grants awarded in 2010 included a $5m grant from the National Breast Cancer Foundation to a team of eight chief investigators, including Professor Alpha Yap. The team aims to develop treatments to tackle the recurrence of breast cancer, and is led by Professor Erik Thompson from St Vincent’s Institute and the University of Melbourne. The division received $1.1 million from the NHMRC from two grants awarded to Professors Yap and Mike Waters, to investigate cell adhesion and permanently activated growth hormone respectively. Professor Jenny Stow received a Discovery grant from the ARC worth $315k to examine the secretory pathways that play a role in immune defence and are dysfunctional in disease. She was also awarded an NHMRC Research Fellowship to study protein trafficking in diseases including inflammation. Dr Brett Collins received an ARC Future Fellowship to study the control of protein transport in cells. Members of the Division maintained extensive engagement in the scientific community both nationally and internationally. Professor Stow is a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation; Professor Rob Parton serves as a senior member of the editorial boards for both The Journal of Cell Biology and Molecular Biology of the Cell; and Professor Alpha Yap served as the Convenor of the 2010 Hunter Cellular Biology Meeting. The Division played host to several distinguished national and international scientists who spoke at the IMB’s Friday Seminar Series. These included Professor Frances Brodsky (University of California San Francisco, USA), Professor Vojo Deretic (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA), Dr Michael Way (Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, U.K.), Dr Brian Burke (Institute of Medical Biology, Singapore), and Professor Angel Lopez (Institute of Medical & Veterinary Science, Adelaide). In addition to external visitors, a major part of the intramural academic life of the Division is the Cell Biology Forum (CBF). First established by Professor Parton, and currently coordinated by Brett Collins, this weekly meeting is dedicated to research presentations by the students, post-doctoral fellows, and affiliates of the Division. It serves both to provide essential training in research presentations, and also to promote scientific exchange at all levels within the Division. Finally, Mr Darren Brown, a research assistant in the Stow group, was the winner of the 2010 Ångström Art Centenary Competition. His winning image is featured on the front cover of this report. One of Mr Brown’s images was also chosen as one of two runnerup images. The Stow group researchers focus on protein trafficking, particularly in the context of disease and the immune system, and this is reflected in many of the images Mr Brown contributed to the competition. All of the images submitted to the competition, and more information about each, can be viewed at the Ångström Art website: www.angstromart.com JOHN GRIFFIN: POINCIANA POLLEN Curiosity is an important quality for scientists and artists alike. Knowing that pollen can exhibit beautiful and surprising forms, I succumbed to my curiosity when the Poinciana trees were in full bloom on our campus and collected some Poinciana stamens on my way to the IMB one morning. This image was acquired on a Zeiss LSM 510 confocal laser scanning microscope and the resulting confocal sections were depth- coded individually in Adobe Photoshop CS3 and processed in ImageJ.
Page 1 and 2: ANNUAL REPORT 2010
Page 3 and 4: IMB Annual Report 2010 CONTENTS 1 I
Page 5 and 6: imb annual report 2010 2 CHAIR’S
Page 7 and 8: imb annual report 2010 4 DARREN BRO
Page 9 and 10: imb annual report 2010 6 countries.
Page 11 and 12: imb annual report 2010 8 2010 featu
Page 13 and 14: imb annual report 2010 10 IMB HIGHL
Page 15 and 16: imb annual report 2010 12 Professor
Page 17 and 18: imb annual report 2010 14 IMB FELLO
Page 19 and 20: imb annual report 2010 16 IMB ADVIS
Page 21 and 22: imb annual report 2010 18 PROFESSOR
Page 23 and 24: imb annual report 2010 20 IMB RESEA
Page 25 and 26: imb annual report 2010 22 FELLOWSHI
Page 27 and 28: imb annual report 2010 24 SEAN GRIM
Page 29 and 30: imb annual report 2010 26 JOHN MATT
Page 31 and 32: imb annual report 2010 28 ROHAN TEA
Page 33 and 34: imb annual report 2010 30 The Molec
Page 35 and 36: imb annual report 2010 32 PETER KOO
Page 37 and 38: imb annual report 2010 34 GEORGE MU
Page 39 and 40: imb annual report 2010 36 RICK STUR
Page 41 and 42: imb annual report 2010 38 BRANDON W
Page 43: imb annual report 2010 40 DAGMAR WI
Page 47 and 48: imb annual report 2010 44 BRETT COL
Page 49 and 50: imb annual report 2010 46 ROB PARTO
Page 51 and 52: imb annual report 2010 48 MIKE WATE
Page 53 and 54: imb annual report 2010 50 Division
Page 55 and 56: imb annual report 2010 52 PAUL ALEW
Page 57 and 58: imb annual report 2010 54 MATT COOP
Page 59 and 60: imb annual report 2010 56 DAVID FAI
Page 61 and 62: imb annual report 2010 58 GLENN KIN
Page 63 and 64: imb annual report 2010 60 JENNY MAR
Page 65 and 66: imb annual report 2010 62 JOINT APP
Page 67 and 68: imb annual report 2010 64 GEOFFREY
Page 69 and 70: imb annual report 2010 66 IMB OCCUP
Page 71 and 72: imb annual report 2010 68 Dr Peter
Page 73 and 74: imb annual report 2010 70 AS IN PAS
Page 75 and 76: imb annual report 2010 72 In additi
Page 77 and 78: imb annual report 2010 74 VISITING
Page 79 and 80: imb annual report 2010 76 Professor
Page 81 and 82: imb annual report 2010 78 COLLABORA
Page 83 and 84: imb annual report 2010 80 considera
Page 85 and 86: imb annual report 2010 82 Darren Br
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imb annual report 2010 92
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imb annual report 2010 96 FINANCIAL
Page 101 and 102:
imb annual report 2010 98 Explanato
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imb annual report 2010 100 Golgi An
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imb annual report 2010 102 2010 PUB
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imb annual report 2010 104 Qureshi,
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imb annual report 2010 106 Leong, G
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imb annual report 2010 108 Jeffery,
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imb annual report 2010 110 Colgrave
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imb annual report 2010 112 Mobli, M
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imb annual report 2010 114 NOTES
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The University of Queensland St Luc
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