PM opens Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute and visits Rossjohn Lab

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Australia’s capacity to deliver innovative solutions to critical global health problems has been enhanced with the development of Monash University’s Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) which was officially opened today by Prime Minister the Hon. Malcolm Turnbull MP.

Monash University’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Margaret Gardner AO, welcomed Prime Minister Turnbull to the launch of the Monash BDI, which brings together a collaborative research effort of great scale that will see more than 120 world-renowned research teams, 700 on site researchers,  clinical partners and industry working together. The Monash BDI will be located at Monash’s Clayton campus where it will form a key part of the innovation precinct delivering crucial economic and social benefits to Victoria and the nation.

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Jamie awarded the ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship

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Professor Jamie Rossjohn has been awarded a highly prestigious Australian Laureate Fellowship from theAustralian Research Council, worth $2.9 million over five years.

NHMRC Australia Fellow, Professor Jamie Rossjohn, from the Biomedicine Discovery Institute, was announced as a recipient of the 2016 Australian Laureate Fellowship at a ceremony in Canberra on Friday.

This fellowship will help Professor Rossjohn to continue his research into how key immune recognition events enable immunity.

Professor Rossjohn said his project would be supported by the cross-disciplinary approaches within the ARC Centre of Excellence in Advanced Molecular Imaging, key platform technologies at Monash and the Australian Synchrotron.

“This recognition is always a consequence of a team effort – students and researchers of the laboratory, collaborators, and Monash University,” Professor Rossjohn said.

“I would like to acknowledge the support of the ARC team within the Monash Research Office – they were superb in ensuring my application was in the best possible shape,” he said.

Most recognised for his contributions to understanding the function and dysfunction of the immune system, Professor Rossjohn has provided profound insight into T-cell biology. He has used structural biology to explain T-cell development and pioneered our understanding of lipid-based immunity by T-cells, recently showing how vitamin B metabolites represent an entirely new and important target for the immune system.

The Minister for Education and Training, Simon Birmingham, on Friday announced the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowships at the ceremony in Canberra.

“We must continue to encourage not only the brightest Australian minds to explore opportunities here, but also to attract the best from overseas to share their knowledge in Australia,” Senator Birmingham said.

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Jamie and Jim awarded the GSK Award for Research Excellence

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A research partnership between The University of Melbourne and Monash University has won $80,000 to help continue groundbreaking work on how the immune system identifies and fights disease. The research could assist the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, peptic ulcers, tuberculosis and lead to better vaccines. The successful team, led by Professors James McCluskey and Jamie Rossjohn, has won the GSK Award for Research Excellence announced last night at the Research Australia Annual Awards.

Professors McCluskey and Rossjohn have uncovered insights into how the immune system recognises pathogens (harmful germs) such as salmonella and tuberculosis. The surprising discovery reveals how the making of Vitamin B2 by microbes could lead to how our immune system recognises these pathogens. This research could be the starting point in better understanding our body’s first line of defence.

Professor James McCluskey explains that their recent breakthrough shows how the immune system uses the building blocks in Vitamin B2 production to recognise bacteria.

“Bacteria, not humans, manufacture vitamins, which is why we rely on our diet to provide vitamins. We have learnt that the manufacture of vitamin B2 or riboflavin, plays an extremely important and protective role in alerting the immune system to foreign bacteria,” he said.

“This work is but the tip of the iceberg in understanding the role of certain cells in the immune system,” McCluskey said.

“It’s a great example of curiosity-led science and could lead to new ways of diagnosing and treating inflammatory bowel disease, peptic ulcers and even tuberculosis – it could also lead to novel protective vaccines.”

Professor Jamie Rossjohn says winning the GSK Award for Research Excellence will help both teams nurture new talent in their laboratories and play an important role in publicising their long-term work.

“Winning the GSK Award for Research Excellence places our work in the public eye. It’s early days, but the public can rest assured that our teams are working extremely hard to see where this discovery will take us. The best fundamental science will lead to the best innovative therapeutics,” he said.

Geoff McDonald, GSK Australia Vice President and General Manager, says GSK is very proud to be able to support local researchers with the Award, now in its 35th year.

“It is a great honour to be able to assist outstanding researchers with this award,” he said.

“Research and development is all about inquisitiveness and innovation. Key new insights like this along the path to discovery are of great importance and need to be encouraged and supported.”

The GSK Award for Research Excellence was presented at the Research Australia Annual Award, Park Hyatt, Melbourne.

Pictured (L-R): Geoff McDonald, VP and General Manager GSK, Professor James McCluskey, Professor Jamie Rossjohn and Andrew Weekes, Medical Director GSK.

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Academia-industry alliance towards autoimmune disease

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Monash University announced today that it has signed a research collaboration   agreement with Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd. (Janssen), one of the Janssen   Pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson.

The collaboration, facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Asia   Pacific, will focus on ground-breaking research at Monash University to develop   potential new medicines to treat autoimmune diseases and disorders.

The ability of the immune system to discriminate between self and non-self-tissues is a crucial aspect of its function. The failure of some immune   cells to appropriately manage this discrimination can result in autoimmunity,   which affects millions of people worldwide with diseases  such as rheumatoid   arthritis, psoriasis and others.

While there are medications on the market that can be used to treat some of   these autoimmune diseases, there remains a substantial need for the development   of new and improved treatments.

Funding from Janssen will enable Monash University and Janssen immunology   scientists to collaboratively research the mechanisms that underlie autoimmune   diseases for the development of new and highly innovative potential   treatments.

Professor Jamie Rossjohn, from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular   Biology,  will lead the research team at Monash University on the three-year   research program.

“By understanding the molecular basis for the trigger that causes autoimmune   diseases we can uncover opportunities for novel immunotherapeutics,” said   Professor Rossjohn.

“Monash University offers us and our partners the world class research   facilities, technology, expertise and materials that are all necessary to   conduct this level of research. We are excited about the innovative therapeutic   solutions that can be developed here  at Monash when working with a collaborator like Janssen,” he said.

 

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Top Monash researchers recognised with NHMRC Excellence Awards

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Four of the NHMRC’s 20 top prizes for excellence in health and medical research have been awarded to Monash researchers.

The National Health and Medical Research Council’s Research Excellence Awards are presented to the top-ranked applicants across NHMRC’s funding schemes.

Professor Jamie Rossjohn, Associate Professor Allen Cheng, Associate Professor Terry Haines and Dr Michael Roche all from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, will accept their awards at the NHMRC’s 200th Council Dinner this evening.

Federal Minister for Health Peter Dutton will present the awards, which highlight innovative and potentially transformative research.

NHMRC Australia Fellow Professor Rossjohn, who is to receive the Highest Ranked Project Grant, is a leading international expert on processes central to infection and immunity.

The grant will allow him to further investigate a type of T-cell, termed MAIT cell, that is found in abundance in the gastrointestinal system. The research may pave the way for the development of drugs that could either stimulate or suppress activity of this type of T-cell, potentially improving treatments for conditions such as tuberculosis and inflammatory bowel disease.

“My colleagues and I were delighted to receive NHMRC project grant funding to continue our work on MAIT cells and by the subsequent recognition by the NHMRC,” Professor Jamie Rossjohn said.

Associate Professor Allen Cheng from the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine receives the Highest Ranked Career Development Fellowship – Clinical, Level 2.

Based in the Department of Epidemiology & Preventative Medicine, Associate Professor Cheng is also Deputy Head of the Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology Unit at Alfred Health in Melbourne.

The Fellowship will enable Associate Professor Cheng to research ways to prevent and treat significant infections.

“I’m grateful to the NHMRC for their support in allowing me to combine research with my clinical work – I feel that it is important to provide evidence that supports clinical and public health practice. It’s   also great to work with colleagues at Alfred Health and Monash University who have been well represented amongst recipients of NHMRC Career Development Fellowships in recent years,” Associate Professor Cheng said.

Associate Professor Terry Haines, Director of the Allied Health Research Unit at Monash Health and Director of Research for the Southern Physiotherapy, receives the Highest Ranked Career Development fellowship – Population Health, Level 2.

A physiotherapist and health economist, Associate Professor Haines focuses on health services research across a range of health care settings.

“It is a great honour to be recognised by the NHMRC with this award. In saying this, I would recognise that my success would not be possible   without the contributions of staff at Monash Health where I am based,   and the many colleagues who I collaborate with locally, nationally, and   internationally,” Associate Professor Haines said.

The Fellowship will see Associate Professor Haines lead several projects including a trial introducing GPs as staff at aged-care facilities to reduce hospital admissions and improve resident care. He will also evaluate the benefits and cost effectiveness of weekend allied   health services on acute medical and surgical wards.

The NHMRC Research Excellence Awards also include some special categories to acknowledge highly promising up and coming researchers in NHMRC’s Project Grants scheme.

Dr Michael Roche from the Department of Infectious Diseases will be awarded the Frank Fenner Early Career Fellowship.

Focusing on the earliest steps of the HIV life cycle, Dr Roche’s PhD looked at how the virus became resistant to a new antiviral drug, earning him the prestigious Mollie Holman Medal from the University.

“It’s quite an honour to receive this award from the NHMRC,” Dr Roche said.

He added that the award is also a credit to his PhD supervisor Professor Paul Gorry at the Burnet Institute and reflected the high standing of Professor Sharon Lewin’s laboratory at the Department of Infectious Diseases.

For more information on the NHMRC Excellence Awards visit the NHMRC website.

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