Annual Report 2005 - Westmead Millennium Institute

Research HighlightsInfection and ImmunityProf Tania Sorrell and her team created a new techniquefor the rapid and accurate diagnosis of life-threateningbrain infections. This technique, using MagneticResonance Spectroscopy, was named by the NHMRCas one of the ten best NHMRC-funded health andmedical research successes.The Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology,in collaboration with investigators from the Cancerdivision, Westmead Hospital, the National Centre forImmunisation Research and Surveillance and theUniversities of Sydney, NSW and Western Sydney wereawarded a 5 year NHMRC Centre of Clinical ResearchExcellence grant to improve outcomes inimmunosuppressed haematology patients.Significant advances were made by virus researchers intounravelling the molecular structure of the herpes simplexvirus as well as the understanding of the interactionsbetween HIV, herpes and varicella zoster viruses and thehuman nervous and immune systems. Researchers fromthe Centre for Virus Research commenced studies ontheir National Institutes of Health funded program grant (incollaboration with the Burnet Institute) directed towardsdeveloping vaccines and preventative strategies for thepotentially fatal viral diseases HIV and herpes.Studies are underway to test the efficacy ofantimicrobial adducts in the treatment and prevention ofcommon periodontal disease.WMI researchers were part of the International MultipleSclerosis Genetics Consortium, which in 2005completed the most comprehensive study of geneslinked to MS to date.The transplantation and renal group continued theirground-breaking work in pancreatic islet celltransplantation and the investigation of alternativesources of islet cells for treatment of Type 1 diabetes.This is the first and only centre in Australia to havesuccessfully developed a clinical islet cell transplantprogram. Prof David Harris and his team received ahighly competitive three-year research grant fromJohnson & Johnson Research to examine the potentialof using genetically modified regulatory macrophagesas a novel treatment for chronic kidney disease.CancerThe NSW Breast Cancer Tissue Bank was establishedby A/Prof Christine Clarke, Dr Rosemary Balleine and aconsortium of senior cancer researchers, clinicians andhealthcare professionals from around Australia.Melanoma researchers were recognised by significantfunding successes in 2005 with Prof Rick Kefford,A/Prof Graham Mann and colleagues from the SydneyMelanoma Unit awarded prestigious program grantsfrom both NHMRC and the Cancer Institute NSW.Crown Princess Mary of Denmark made a special visitto WMI in early 2005, hosted by major supporter, theAustralian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF). TheCrown Princess is interested in melanoma research asan increasingly important public health problem in heradopted country. ACRF also awarded a $1million granttowards new cancer laboratories to the WestmeadInstitute for Cancer Research.A new mechanism for changes in DNA repair elicited bya mutated BRCA1 gene in breast cancer was outlinedby the Gene Expression group. Research by the FamilialCancer group successfully directed improved screeningfor women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations.Investigations into the gene p14ARF indicated apotential new treatment target for chemotherapyresistantmelanoma tumours.