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AcknowledgementsThe Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute Annual Report 2015

Editorial TeamLaura CrilleySilvio TizianiMichelle Gallaher, The Social ScienceAimee Sanderson, The Social ScienceJulie Milland and Vicky Vallas, ScribblersInc

DesignLinda Cerkvenik, Inkube8 Design

PhotographyDavid Russell, David Russell Photography

Printed on 100% recycled paper

Trademark – Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute 2015

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Introduction 2Director’s report 2Chairman’s report 3Introduction to regenerative medicine 5About the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute 6ARMI’s discovery pipeline 9

Highlights 10Major achievements for 2015 11Exciting research discoveries 13High-impact publications 15Grants and funding success 16National and international linkages 17EMBL Australia 17Stem Cells Australia 18Education programs 18Facilities highlights 19

Our research 20Heart and muscle development and regeneration 22Immunity and regeneration 24Stem cells, cancer and regeneration 26Neural regeneration 30European Molecular Biology Laboratory Australia 32Systems Biology Institute Australia 34Stem Cells Australia 35

Educating and training young people 36ARMI training programs 38Graduating in 2015 39

Engaging with other scientists and the public 40ARMI in the news 41Donating to ARMI 43Acknowledgements 43Events 44Seminars 46

Core technical facilities and services 47Aquatic facility 48ARMIRat 49Gene Recombineering Facility 49Embryonic Stem Cell Facility 50 Monash Gene Targeting Facility 50

Our international staff 52

Structure and governance 54Leadership Advisory Board 56Scientific Advisory Committee 57Staff 58ARMI committees 59

Appendix 1 – Publications 61

Appendix 2 – Student supervision 66

Appendix 3 – Grants 69

contents

2 director’s report

In 2015, the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) built upon solid foundations of excellence, with several key events illustrating the growing maturity of our innovative research and collaborative efforts.

The pre-eminence of research at ARMI was recognised both nationally and internationally. The Institute was particularly proud of Professor Peter Currie and his student Phong Nguyen who, along with Georgina Hollway from the Garvan Institute, won the prestigious 2015 University of New South Wales Eureka Prize for Scientific Research. Their discovery of novel blood stem cells in zebrafish could pave the way for researchers to generate human blood in times of crisis or extraordinary need.

As part of ARMI’s vision to foster scientific talent and advance collaboration, ARMI reached both outwards – establishing connections with international groups – and inwards – recruiting and developing young scientists.

International cooperative agreements with two prestigious US organisations – The Jackson Laboratory and the MDI Biological Laboratory – join ongoing links with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and Japan’s Systems Biology Institute to build a truly global network of collaborators for the Institute.

ARMI was excited to recruit Dr Mikaël Martino as a new EMBL Australia group leader. He is commencing in 2016 and will continue his work at the convergence of immunology and bioengineering to study how the immune system affects tissue repair.

ARMI’s student programs hit new highs in 2015, with 23 students enrolled in the PhD program and eight in the Honours program. These educational initiatives add to the Institute’s ongoing support of the BioEYES program for primary and secondary students.

In a new initiative to foster business and industry linkages, ARMI established a program with Monash University Business School to support postgraduate business training. One student studied innovation to commercialisation pathways for biotechnology as part of the Master of International Business. Another pursued how a sustainable funding strategy for ARMI could be developed for their Executive Master of Business Administration.

Reflecting the Institute’s commitment to global excellence, ARMI and Monash University have established a new open access journal, npj Regenerative Medicine, with the Nature Publishing Group. As Editor-in-Chief of this high-impact journal I aim to help researchers to keep abreast of cutting edge research in regenerative medicine and foster global collaboration.

Another great year for ARMI!

Best wishes,

Nadia Rosenthal, Director

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3cHAirmAn’s report

In December 2015, we said farewell to our Founding Director, Professor Nadia Rosenthal. Nadia has been appointed to the prestigious position of Scientific Director of The Jackson Laboratory in Maine in the USA. Although it is with some sadness that we say goodbye, we are also excited because the appointment acknowledges Nadia’s high standing in the international research community. ARMI has been truly fortunate to have such a world-class scientist as our Founding Director and we look forward to her future visits.

In keeping with ARMI’s commitment to promoting global collaboration and networking, ARMI had another extensive program of visiting scientists in 2015. The ARMI External Speaker Series hosted 13 visits from international and national scientists and subject matter experts. Other highlights included a visit from the Hon. Frank McGuire, MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Medical Research and member of the Parliament of Victoria. ARMI was also pleased to host the Hon. Mark Dreyfus, QC, MP, Shadow Attorney-General and member of the Parliament of Australia. ARMI also strengthened ties with EMBL with a visit to the head office in Heidelberg, Germany.

ARMI believes students are the lifeblood of our research organisation and we strengthened our Honours Program in 2015 with eight graduating students. We were also very pleased to deliver our first cohort of higher degree students, with four PhD students graduating in 2015.

A highlight this year was Professor Claude Barnard being one of only a handful of scientists worldwide invited to speak to the United Nations at the Technology for Sustainable Development meeting. Claude spoke about groundbreaking nanotechnologies in his talk: Nano-vaccines: a novel low cost therapeutic alternative for the treatment of immune disorders.

ARMI continued our comprehensive communication strategy to engage the public and increase our digital networking with other stakeholders. ARMI launched a new website and a new social media channel on Instagram as well as continuing our presence on twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Embracing social media will also support our global positioning and assist in bringing the excellence of our scientists, and our science, to the world.

Our scientists, students and administration support staff continue to demonstrate excellence, commitment and extraordinary skill in ensuring ARMI’s success. Without their passion and enduring efforts our impact would not be as great, nor would our growth as an Institute be as strong. I would like to recognise and thank the ARMI Leadership Group – Professor Peter Currie, Mr Silvio Tiziani, our group leaders and in particular, the Leadership Advisory Board members for their vision and dedication to delivering on the promise of a unique institute of learning and research in the extraordinary field of regenerative medicine.

Dr Janine Kirk AM, Chairman

Reflecting the Institute’s commitment to global excellence, ARMI and

Monash University have established a new

open access journal, npj Regenerative

Medicine, with the Nature Publishing Group.

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Regenerative medicine is a new approach to understanding development, ageing and disease.

Over the past 100 years, medical research has transformed human lives. People are living longer and better. Children rarely die of preventable infectious diseases, cancer survival rates are improving and people can live for decades after a heart attack.

However, although scientific discoveries have enabled doctors to replace organs or use drugs to compensate for organ disease, medicine still can’t provide treatments that help hearts to repair themselves or help nerves to regrow after a spinal cord injury.

As a relatively new field of research, regenerative medicine seeks to unlock the body’s remarkable innate ability to repair, restore and replace various tissues and organs damaged by age, injury or disease. The US Department of Health and Human Services has called regenerative medicine the ‘next evolution of medical treatments’.

Regenerative medicine approaches aim to regain the remarkable regenerative capacity humans have before birth. The techniques include injecting or implanting cells that can regenerate or re-engineer tissues to stimulate endogenous stem cell pools or reprogram existing differentiated cells to proliferate.

Researchers in this exciting and unique field of science look to exploit the body’s own capacity to heal and repair. Exploring this fundamental biological challenge is enriched in an extraordinary environment that brings together different science disciplines working in tandem.

The animal kingdom provides inspiration for what is possible. As Australia’s first institute dedicated to regenerative medicine, ARMI’s work studying axolotls has identified the critical role that an immune cell plays in the animal’s ability to regrow limbs and regenerate spinal cord, brain and heart tissue. Meanwhile, the zebrafish is also revealing how it regenerates new fins, skin, heart and brain.

From exotic animals to therapeutic application, regenerative medicine holds the promise of assisting human cells, limbs and organs to do the same as these animals. Moreover, it has the potential to revolutionise healthcare for an ageing population facing many years living with degenerative conditions.

introdUction to regenerAtiVe medicine

wHAt mAkes tHe AUstrAliAn regenerAtiVe medicine institUte speciAl?Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) has created the following themes to ensure maximal results for the Institute’s research and people.

Realising regenerative medicine: Regenerative medicine represents a revolution in human health and has the potential to reverse tissue damage, repair traumatic injuries and improve the health of an ageing population. It seeks to repair, replace, restore and regenerate tissues and organs damaged by age, injury and genetic and degenerative conditions.

Harnessing scientific passion: ARMI actively recruits young, creative scientists from all corners of the world to share and inspire differing approaches to some of the most perplexing biological questions of the 21st century. They are highly motivated and nurtured in a collaborative working environment to approach complex biological problems with ingenuity and passion.

Fostering international linkages: ARMI’s standing as secretariat and headquarters of the esteemed European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Australia makes the Institute a portal to the global science community. This provides researchers unique access to the best science in Europe and a new way of approaching scientific endeavour. The Systems Biology Institute (SBI) Australia, the first international node of the renowned Systems Biology Institute in Japan, is also hosted at ARMI and provides valuable links to Japan.

Building a research community: As a global biotech life science centre situated at Monash University, ARMI is an integral presence in the broader Melbourne research and medical ecosystem. Its state-of-the-art core scientific facilities are maintained by outstanding infrastructure and technology.

Engaging with the public: ARMI is a significant part of the fabric of Melbourne through its outreach programs and engagement with the general public.

6 ABoUt tHe AUstrAliAn regenerAtiVe medicine institUte

ARMI is Australia’s first research centre dedicated to the important new field of regenerative medicine. ARMI was created in 2006 to deliver on this medical field’s promise, at a time when only four such centres existed worldwide.

While an important centre for Australia, ARMI’s reach extends globally. In addition to important global research linkages, the Institute has partnered with one of the most prestigious science publishers in the world, Nature Publishing Group, to establish a new journal (npg Regenerative Medicine) recognising the importance of this field.

The Institute is exploring new research methods and testing new ideas that position ARMI to bring revolutionary breakthroughs from bench to bedside at a faster pace. ARMI’s research and knowledge base covers heart disease, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, brain injury and autoimmune disorders.

Established through a joint venture between Monash University and the Victorian Government, with additional funding from the Australian Government, ARMI is affiliated with Monash University’s newly formed Faculty of Biomedical and Psychological Sciences, located at one of the world’s largest regenerative medicine and stem cell research centres.

ARMI’s research programs seek to answer some of the fundamental questions of growth, repair and regeneration:• Howdosomehumantissues(skin,blood,cellsandthe

lining of the digestive tract) naturally regenerate?• Whatdeterminestheregenerativeabilityofcells?What

switches regeneration on and off?• Howdonewtsregrowtheirtailorlimbs,orfishregenerate

their fins or heart? What biological and molecular processes make this happen?

• Dothepartsofthebodythatdonotregenerate(suchasthe brain and heart) retain a latent ability to do so?

This understanding will enable researchers to develop techniques in tissue regeneration that can be used in human medicine, including:• insertingcellsthatarecapableofregenerationand

are usually derived from adult or embryonic stem cells into tissues

• preventingcelldeaththatwouldotherwiseoccurfromdisease or injury

• recruitingaperson’sowncellsormolecularprocessestoinduce tissue regeneration

• preventinginflammationandscarringintissues.

ARMI has adopted a multidisciplinary highly specialised approach to the investigation of the science of regeneration, designed to seed and foster collaboration, and to pursue rapid translation of basic research into clinical knowledge and treatments.

At ARMI’s core are the scientific leaders of the future, recruited through the EMBL Australia leader pipeline. ARMI provides these talented young researchers with guaranteed research funding for a defined period to accelerate their career, nurture their talents and secure their funding pathway for an extended fixed term.

Expert mentoring and state-of-the-art core research infrastructure and facilities provide a rich and inspirational research environment. After this extraordinary start, group leaders move to other institutes – a practice that deliberately enhances ARMI’s flexibility and disseminates this highly supported and creative research culture to other institutions.

The Institute’s dynamic and collaborative research culture promises to redefine how regenerative medicine is approached worldwide, as ARMI scientists address fundamental regenerative biology questions and provide the knowledge base to move beyond current therapies into combination-therapy standards.

The Institute’s research group leaders, recruited from around the world, represent a broad range of disciplines that contribute to a shared vision for the development of regenerative therapies, capturing new opportunities for international collaboration.

The functional integration of key research platforms at each level of enquiry – molecular genetics, stem cell biology and animal modelling – aims to deliver technologies with medium-term to long-term application for treatment of diseases of social, medical and economic importance and unmet clinical need.

ARMI is also a major resource for members of the public, policy makers, industry, and undergraduate and school students to learn about and engage with the concepts of regenerative medicine and the people undertaking the pursuit of new knowledge and tools.

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VisionARMI seeks to exploit the extraordinary evolutionary variation in regenerative capacity among animal species and in human embryonic development to uncover fundamental attributes of effective organ and tissue repair, applied to the restoration of damaged tissues and regenerating the ageing human body.

At the time of ARMI’s inception, there were only four institutions worldwide dedicated to regenerative medicine.

Since then, dozens of regenerative medicine centres have sprung up internationally, highlighting the immense appeal of the field and the need to be rapid, flexible and innovative in the global competitive environment. ARMI’s research vision therefore stands on four pillars that collectively distinguish it from any other regenerative medicine centre:1. Exploit development: embryonic underpinnings of every

regenerative process.2. Study animals with diverse regenerative capacity: fit the

model to the question.3. Harness systems biology techniques to tackle the

complex problems of regeneration.4. Hire the next generation of regenerative medicine

stars: now.

missionARMI’s mission is to:• PromoteAustraliaasagloballeaderinregenerative

medicine and assist Melbourne to become one of five major biotechnology centres in the world.

• FosteranddevelopanethosofcollaborationacrossMelbourne to link areas of existing excellence and accelerate clinical results.

• Enhanceresearchexcellencebybuildinglinkageswithresearch users and providers against the backdrop of Monash stem cell science and biomedical research, enhancing international collaborative endeavours.

• Establishamajorsiteforpostgraduatetrainingandcontribute to undergraduate teaching programs.

ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN REGENERATIVE MEDICINE INSTITUTE

Four integrated discovery pipelines drive ARMI’s research findings from the laboratory bench to

the patient

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discoVery pipeline 1: HeArt And mUscle deVelopment And

regenerAtion

A heart is more than just a big complicated muscle beating over four billion times in a lifetime. It also functions in concert with the rest of the body, sending and receiving molecular and cellular signals to coordinate the circulatory system.

Organisms easy to manipulate genetically, such as zebrafish, can be used to model human genetic diseases such as muscular dystrophy, but these organisms can also completely regenerate one-third of their hearts, leaving no scar tissue or collateral damage. Salamanders (axolotls) routinely lose limbs and grow back perfect replicates.

Humans are not so lucky: cardiovascular disease kills one Australian every 12 minutes and the crippling effects of traumatic injuries are often permanent. So ARMI researchers are studying highly regenerative animals such as zebrafish and salamanders to develop new cures for people with muscular dystrophy, traumatic injury and heart disease.

discoVery pipeline 2: immUnity And regenerAtion

How the immune system is involved in regeneration is still a mystery to scientists, although they do know it can have both a positive and a negative effect on tissue repair. Those organisms with the most regenerative capabilities tend to skilfully orchestrate the cascade of events through immune responses. Soon after birth, the human immune system matures and the capacity to respond to damage with scar-free healing is lost.

ARMI scientists are exploring the intimate relationships between immunity and regeneration in the animal kingdom to find mechanisms of enhanced tissue repair in patients with wounds or degenerative diseases.

discoVery pipeline 3: stem cells And regenerAtion

Stem cells comprise the embryonic origin of humans and persist in adults as essential building blocks for the body, forming diverse, specialised cells that contribute to a vast array of tissues.

ARMI researchers are devising methods for growing stem cells that can be used to repair damaged tissue, to investigate particular diseases and to test drug candidates for therapeutic safety and effectiveness.

ARMI is developing ways to enhance the intrinsic mechanisms of stem cell-mediated repair using embryonic stem cells as a window on the mechanisms of development and as an essential part of the toolkit of regenerative medicine.

discoVery pipeline 4: neUrAl regenerAtion

The brain is no longer viewed as an immutable organ: scientists now know that the adult brain retains plasticity throughout life, responding to injury or disease and assisting healthy ageing and mental function.

Unlocking the regenerative potential in the central nervous system could be harnessed to treat neurodegenerative disorders.

ARMI scientists are uncovering neural regenerative potential across the animal kingdom to tackle the fundamental obstacles to more effective neural repair in diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.

ARMI’s four integrated discovery pipelines drive research.

The pipelines exploit the evolutionary and developmental diversity of research platforms and systems biology approaches within the Institute to explore specific aspects of the regenerative process. These specific aspects will include disease targets such as the heart, muscle and nervous systems, to more general features of regeneration such as stem cells and the immune system.

Each pipeline engages established leaders of international standing who support young groups at a creative stage in their careers. The model has proven successful in driving the most innovative research at EMBL.

Armi’s discoVery pipeline

HigHligHts

ARMI has exceptional researchers producing

outstanding research in the exciting field of regenerative

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ARMI has had an exciting year in 2015, building on the Institute’s strong foundational years and heading towards years of growth.

recrUitment• ARMIwasexcitedtorecruitDrMikaëlMartinoasanew

EMBL Australia group leader commencing in 2016. His work focuses on combining knowledge of immunology, stem cells, and bioengineering to understand how the immune system modulates tissue repair and regeneration.

AcAdemic linkAges• ARMIenteredapartnershipagreementwiththeMDI

Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, USA. The partnership will explore new ways to promote research initiatives between the two organisations, focusing on regeneration and the development of new therapies to improve human health.

• ARMImadeacooperativeagreementwithinternationallyrecognised US research centre, The Jackson Laboratory, an independent non-profit biomedical research institution also based in Bar Harbor. The agreement creates opportunities for the exchange of faculty, postgraduate students and research staff; establishes programs in areas of teaching, research or university administration; and identifies other areas of possible interest and collaboration.

• Anewonlinepublication,npj Regenerative Medicine, was launched as a joint partnership between Monash and Nature Publishing Group. Professor Nadia Rosenthal is the founding Editor-in-Chief of this exciting open access journal.

indUstry And BUsiness linkAges• InconjunctionwiththeBioMelbourneNetworkandthe

Monash Industry Partnerships Office, ARMI co-developed the Regenerative Medicine Industry Interface. Leading regenerative medicine companies involved in the Interface include Mesoblast, Cynata, Admedus, Polynovo, Cell Therapies and Invetech.

• DiscussionswiththeCentreforCommercializationof Regenerative Medicine (CCRM), based in Toronto, Canada, were initiated following an approach by CCRM for help to establish their commercialisation model in Australia.

• CloserlinkageswiththeMonashBusinessSchoolwereinitiated with a number of key projects undertaken by Monash students in the Master of Business Administration (MBA). Business linkages were forged with a presentation of MBA students and the project – Develop a sustainable funding strategy to supplement existing revenue streams for ARMI.

goVernment linkAges• In2015,ARMIcontinueditsactiveengagementwith

members of parliament. Guests included the Hon. Frank McGuire, MP, Victorian Parliamentary Secretary for Medical Research and the Hon. Mark Dreyfus, QC, MP, and Shadow Attorney-General, Shadow Minister for the Arts and Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House.

Since its inception, the Institute has had close links with State Government departments, in particular the Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, which was instrumental along with Monash University in the development of ARMI. The strong links were maintained in 2015 and the Institute looks forward to building on these in the future.

• FollowingchangesinitiatedbytheGovernmentin2015,the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services is now formally responsible for medical research institutes in Victoria. ARMI looks forward to working with the Department to further advance the Institute’s research and related programs.

• TheInstituteacknowledgestheongoingsupportofbothVictorian departments.

mAJor AcHieVements For 2015

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AwArds And recognition• InstituteDirector,ProfessorNadiaRosenthalwasnamed

a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.

• InstituteDeputyDirector,ProfessorPeterCurrieandpostdoctoral researcher Dr Phong Nguyen were in the team awarded the 2015 University of New South Wales Eureka Prize for Scientific Research for their research on ‘buddy cells’ that trigger the development of blood stem cells.

• ProfessorClaudeBernardwasinvitedbytheUnitedNations and Amrita University to present at the UN in New York on 8 July 2015.

• AssociateProfessorJamesBournewasappointedtotheNational Health and Medical Research Council Research Committee, the peak research advisory committee of the NHMRC that is responsible for awarding grants on the basis of scientific quality as judged by peer-review across the entire spectrum of health, medical and public health research.

trAnslAtion to tHe clinicARMI researchers are committed to translating scientific discoveries about regenerative medicine into treatments for patients. As a practical extension of that commitment, ARMI and the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering held a workshop to explore opportunities for collaborative research in translational regenerative medicine.

engAging witH tHe pUBlic And otHer stAkeHoldersThe new ARMI website was launched in 2015 as part of ARMI’s commitment to excellence in communicating the latest regenerative medicine research to the general public. The Institute’s active programs of news releases and social media updates on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram also help to ensure present or future partner organisations are kept abreast of ARMI’s research.

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS FOR 2015

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As the research program develops further, ARMI researchers are producing increasingly significant discoveries that are at the cutting edge of the global research effort in regenerative medicine. Here are a few of the stories from research culminating in 2015.

discoVery oF BrAin pAtHwAy coUld leAd to wAys to preVent BlindnessAssociate Professor James Bourne’s group has overturned the long-held view that there is only one route for information to travel from the eye to the brain. They discovered a second ‘pathway’ boosting hopes for future treatments to prevent blindness.

This major finding was featured in an article in the Melbourne metropolitan daily, The Age, focusing on how the research helps scientists to understand the brain’s capacity to rewire itself after injury.

FigHting stroke dAmAgeA drug based on a molecule naturally present in infants – but which declines in adulthood – can halve the scarring in brains of those who have suffered stroke. And it can be delivered up to a week afterward.

‘We hope our work will improve the recovery of the elderly, as well as people in rural and remote communities, who haven’t had access to speedy treatment following a stroke,’ says Associate Professor James Bourne at ARMI, and Chief Investigator of the research.

The current treatment, a drug called tissue plasminogen (tPA), is limited to ischemic strokes (caused by a blood clot).

Only 10 per cent of all stroke patients qualify for treatment using the clot-busting drug, which can have harmful side effects including haemorrhages.

The optimum treatment window for tPA is within three hours of the stroke, with a 35 per cent success rate.

Associate Professor Bourne and his colleague Dr Leon Teo have now patented their molecule, which can extend the ‘window of opportunity’ for effective therapy.

This molecule activates a pathway in the recovering brain, mimicking the process that occurs in infants: cells are still allowed to create a barrier to infection and stabilise the wound after the stroke damage, but the amount of subsequent scarring is limited.

This may encourage recovery since scarring after a stroke is a major factor that hinders the brain’s natural repair systems, and leads to loss of function.

‘Research has shown that over the past decade, more than 1000 stroke drugs developed in rodent models have failed trials in the clinic,’ Dr Teo says.

‘This drug has been successful in a non-human primate, which has a stroke response much closer to that of humans.’

They hope to expand their pre-clinical trial and move to clinical trials soon, eventually applying the work to other brain injuries – for example, limiting damage from brain cancer removal, or following traumatic accidents.

HeAd to tAil: tHe molecUles tHAt tell yoU How to grow A BAckBoneGrowing the right number of vertebrae in the right places is an important job – and scientists have found the molecules that act like ‘theatre directors’ for vertebrae genes in mice: telling them how much or how little to express themselves.

The finding may give insight into how the body shapes of different species of animals evolved, since the molecules under scrutiny are present in a wide range of animals – from fish to snakes to humans.

An international team led by Dr Edwina McGlinn of ARMI, found that de-activating a small group of microRNA molecules sent things awry for different parts of the backbone.

They already knew that ‘Hox’ genes were crucial in determining vertebrae patterns – as well as playing an important role in the spinal cord and wider nervous system. But how these genes were regulated was still unclear.

‘We’ve found a mechanism that controls the correct transition from one area of the spine to another as it is forming,’ says Dr McGlinn.

The finding is part of a project by the McGlinn Group to build a more complete road map of how the size, shape and number of bones form within the early vertebrate embryo.

This will contribute to the basic understanding of developmental processes, which in turn may assist in the treatment of a number of diseases and in regenerative medicine applications: for example, altered Hox gene expression is important in some forms of leukaemia – so it’s critical that researchers know all they can about how these genes are regulated.

‘The research is still in its early stages, but you’ve got to understand how an embryo forms before you can use that knowledge for medical or regenerative purposes,’ Dr McGlinn says.

eXciting reseArcH discoVeries

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mAking Blood on demAnd‘Buddy’ cells that trigger blood stem cells to fully develop have been discovered by a team of Australian scientists. The finding, in zebrafish, may hold the key to creating blood on demand in the laboratory.

Everyday medical procedures can require litres of donated blood; and blood stem cells – which can turn into any one of the different types of blood cell – are often used in treatments for leukaemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers.

Currently, most human stem cells are taken from bone marrow and then grown in the laboratory.

‘But they don’t grow very well,’ says Dr Phong Nguyen of ARMI, whose PhD was the instigation of the research.

‘We suspect it’s the presence of these “buddy” cells that helps them grow, so now we’re looking for the signals they send, in the hope of one day developing a cure for a range of blood disorders and diseases.’

The team – led by Phong’s supervisor Professor Peter Currie, and Dr Georgina Hollway of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, has been awarded a grant from the NHMRC to extend the work to other animals.

They were awarded the 2015 University of New South Wales Eureka Prize for Scientific Research for the work, which was published in Nature (Nguyen et al, 2014).

EXCITING RESEARCH DISCOVERIES

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ARMI researchers were even more productive in 2015, with publications including 65 papers in peer-reviewed journals and four book chapters. A complete list of publications is in Appendix 1.

Several of the papers were published in high-impact journals (impact factor of 10 or higher) and are highlighted below:• Notalotisknownabouthowanimportantfamilyof

proteins (the Snail family) contributes to maintaining and repairing the cell in the gut. Associate Professor Polo co-authored a report of a study in mice showing that a member of the Snail family (Snai1) is important for developing cells in the intestine and for maintaining intestinal stem cells. The study, which might have implications for intestinal cancer, was published in EMBO Journal (see reference 27 in Appendix 1).

• Theuseoflargebiologicalmoleculesinmedicineandindustry is limited by the fact they are not particularly robust and tend to degrade. Professor Haylock was a co-author on a paper showing a novel, low-cost method to encapsulate the biomolecules in a protective layer. The resulting composite molecules remained stable and functional under physiological conditions. The study, which creates new possibilities for the use of large biological molecules, was published in Nature Communications (see reference 34 in Appendix 1).

• Understandingsusceptibilitytoinfectionwiththemycobacteria causing tuberculosis could lead to new treatments. Professor Lieschke is a co-author on a study that used zebrafish to show that low levels of a specific immune cell (macrophage) can increase susceptibility to infection. The study, which suggests the potential use of factors that affect immune cells for treating tuberculosis, was published in Cell Host and Microbe (see reference 45 in Appendix 1).

• Researchersdonotunderstandhowgeneticchangesin a health condition called nemaline myopathy causes skeletal muscle weakness. Professor Currie is a co-author on a study using zebrafish to look at specific changes in skeletal muscle contributing to muscle weakness. The study was published in Acta Neuropathologica (see reference 54 in Appendix 1).

HigH-impAct pUBlicAtions

affiliatestudenttechnicalacademicadmin

211nUmBer oF Armi people At tHe end oF 2015

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Stud

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Affili

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Dec-08 4 4 3 0 0 11

Dec-09 8 25 15 7 1 56

Dec-10 10 29 25 13 1 78

Dec-11 7 34 39 15 5 100

Dec-12 8 46 46 32 14 146

Dec-13 7 70 55 44 18 194

Dec-14 7 73 57 42 37 216

Dec-15 7 77 48 50 30 211

Dec–08 Dec–09 Dec–10 Dec–11 Dec–12 Dec–13 Dec–14 Dec–15

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nUmBer oF pUBlicAtions HigH-impAct reseArcH

2012 2013 2014 2015

nUmBer oF pUBlicAtions witH impAct FActor > 10

5Impact factor >20Impact factor 10–20Impact factor 5–10Impact factor <5

The Institute’s success rate on National Health and Medical Research Council applications has been maintained. An active research program and thoughtful mentoring of applicants along with a rigorous pre-application grant development program overseen by Institute Deputy Director Professor Peter Currie have resulted in an average 45 per cent success rate.

competitiVe grAnt income

Funding success 2012 2013 2014 2015 total

NHMRC applications

22 27 18 21 88

succesful 9 10 9 12 40

% success 41% 37% 50% 57% 45%

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

grAnts And FUnding sUccess

HIGH-IMPACT PUBLICATIONS

$8.1mArmi’s totAl income From grAnts in 2015 wAs

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

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In 2015, ARMI supported a strong and successful program of local, national and international visitors that each contributed towards advancing the Institute’s Australian and global research connections and networks. Visits and events are described in detail on pages 44–45, but highlights included:• Hon.MarkDreyfus,QC,MP–ParliamentofAustralia,

Shadow Attorney-General, Shadow Minister for the Arts, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House

• Hon.FrankMcGuire,MP–ParliamentofVictoria,Parliamentary Secretary for Medical Research

• DrCorneliusGross,ResearchGroupLeaderatEMBLMonterotondo

• ProfessorOlivierPourquié,ProfessorintheDepartmentofGenetics at Harvard Medical School and Department of Pathology, Brigham and Woman’s Hospital

• ProfessorHansClevers,ProfessorinMolecularGeneticsat the Hubrecht Institute (the Netherlands)

• DrKayleneYoung,InauguralMetcalfPrizeWinner• AUruguayandelegationcomprisingrepresentativesfrom

the University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC), The Technological Laboratory of Uruguay (LATU) and the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII).

nAtionAl And internAtionAl linkAges

emBl AUstrAliA

• AssociateProfessorJamesBournewasappointedasanEMBL Australia Collaborating Group Leader.

• AdelegationofARMIandMonashresearchersledby ARMI Chief Operating Officer and EMBL Australia Executive Director, Silvio Tiziani, visited EMBL in Heidelberg, Germany to discuss collaborative and business development opportunities.

• AnEMBLAustraliaShowcaseeventwasheldattheBio21Institute at The University of Melbourne, highlighting the EMBL Australia research program to an audience of 100 researchers from The University of Melbourne.

• ApilotPhDprogrammodelledontheEMBLpostgraduateprogram was successfully trialled at The University of New South Wales.

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edUcAtion progrAms

In 2015, the Institute maintained an active training program with a total of 85 postgraduate, honours, selective undergraduate and visiting students.

ARMI was also pleased to provide training opportunities for undergraduate and Master’s students from the Monash Faculty of Business and Economics. This initiative recognises the Institute’s imperative to provide training for key disciplines in addition to the life sciences.

stem cells AUstrAliA

Throughout 2015 ARMI and Stem Cells Australia jointly held several public forums to take stem cell science out of the laboratory into the community. These included:• Made to Order: can science regenerate body parts? –

held in conjunction with the annual meeting of AusBiotech and featuring ARMI’s Dr James Godwin

• Hype, hope or reality: can we make eggs or sperm from stem cells? – part of the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority’s twilight information sessions featuring ARMI’s Robin Hobbs

• Lost in evolution: how research is unlocking the mystery of regenerative medicine – held in conjunction with the Convergence Science Network and featuring Professor Peter Currie, Dr Mirana Ramialison, Dr James Godwin and Associate Professor Megan Munsie.

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19FAcilities HigHligHts

The FishCore facility for zebrafish and the AquaCore facility for sharks and axolotls were amalgamated into one overarching facilitytobecalledAquaCore.DrJanKaslinwasappointedinterim manager of the facility.

The Monash Gene Targeting facility team was pleased to participate in the European Conditional Mouse Mutagenesis (EUCOMM) program. This European Union funded program was established to make a library of mutant mouse embryonic stem cell clones (ES cells), to enable

the mouse research community to rapidly create mutant mice with specific genetic changes. The international EUCOMM consortium is a member of the International KnockoutMouseConsortium(anorganisationthatincludestheEUCOMM,KnockoutMouseProject,NorthAmericanConditional Mouse Mutagenesis Project and Texas A&M Institute for Genomic Medicine consortia), which reflects a commitment to share and promote their products and technology with the international research community.

oUr reseArcH

ARMI research programs operate across four discovery pipelines

to explore specific aspects of regeneration and allow

optimal integration of findings

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At ARMI research programs operate across four discovery pipelines to explore specific aspects of regeneration and allow optimal integration of findings:• heartandmuscledevelopmentandregeneration• immunityandregeneration• stemcellsandregeneration• neuralregeneration.

ARMI’s researchers are based at the Clayton campus of Monash University. Collaborative projects are facilitated through joint appointments with other Monash academic departments and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). Some of ARMI’s research is undertaken through participation in the Stem Cells Australia consortium and in collaboration with other research group leaders of the EMBL Australia Partner laboratory.

International collaborations with Adjunct appointments in the US, Europe, South America and Japan further enhance the Institute’s research program.

The secretariat office of EMBL Australia is hosted at ARMI along with the original EMBL Australia research node, the Victorian node of the EMBL Australia Partner Laboratory.

SBI Australia, the first international node of Japan’s Systems Biology Institute, is also based at ARMI.

OUR RESEARCH

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nAdiA rosentHAlThe Rosenthal group studies regenerative biology – elucidating the processes that restore the architecture of damaged or degenerating tissues, often recapitulating original embryonic development. Over the past decade the group has used mouse genetics and the salamander model to study endogenous regenerative mechanisms that have proven highly effective in countering tissue damage. This research has led to significant advances in the development of novel gene and cell-based therapies for muscle ageing and heart disease.

researchThe group has shown how local supplementation of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) orchestrates efficient repair of injured skeletal muscle, heart and skin tissues without scar formation, preventing age-related and disease-related functional decline. As IGF-1 curtails the expression of inflammatory cytokines, the researchers have investigated the role of the immune system in the regeneration process, uncovered a critical role for macrophage polarisation in tissue repair and identified a new abundant population of resident macrophages in the heart. A newly discovered crosstalk between the innate and adaptive immune systems has revealed a dependence on IGF-1 both for macrophage-mediated tissue repair and for modulation of tolerance in autoimmune disease. By defining the signalling mechanisms whereby selected growth factors and their intracellular intermediates modulate immune cell lineages in control inflammation and promoting tissue regeneration, the group aims to develop clinically relevant interventions in ageing, injury and degenerative disease.

2015 Highlights• ThegroupuncoveredalinkbetweenIGF-1mediated

tissue repair and macrophage polarisation resulting in papers in Molecular Therapy and Mediators of Inflammation (Tonkin and colleagues, see reference 58 in Appendix 1; Gallego-Colon and colleagues, see reference 16 in Appendix 1).

• Thegroupalsodiscoveredauniqueroleforcardiacfibroblasts in regulating heart repair. The work built on a paper in 2014 (Furtado and colleagues, Genomics Data, 2:345–350) with three additional publications in 2015 (see references 31, 41 and 42 in Appendix 1).

cHristopHe mArcelleThe Marcelle group is interested in understanding how unspecialised mesodermal cells in the embryo become specialised functional skeletal muscle cells. The group addresses those questions using chick and mouse embryos as the model. The researchers study the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating this cell specialisation using high-end in vivo electroporation and imaging.

researchThe group’s two main aims are to characterise the signalling pathways regulating the initiation of muscle cell formation (myogenesis) in the early embryo and to identify the gene networks underlying muscle cell fusion, which leads to the formation of multinucleated muscle fibres.

2015 Highlights• ThegroupwasfirsttoadapttheCRISPRgene

editing technique to inactivate gene function in the chicken embryo, an achievement resulting in a paper in Developmental Biology (Veron and colleagues, see reference 60 in Appendix 1).

• ProfessorMarcellewasaninvitedspeakerattheGordon Research Conference on Myogenesis: 21–26 June 2015, in Il Ciocco, Italy.

• ProfessorMarcellewasawardedamajorprojectgrantfrom the NHMRC ($A704,495): Seeing is believing: imaging muscle maintenance and repair.

HeArt And mUscle deVelopment And regenerAtion

A human heart beats over four billion times in an average lifetime yet, unlike other tissues in the body, the heart is unable to regenerate or replace damaged tissue. Some organisms, such as the zebrafish, can repair and regenerate injuries to the heart, without any scar tissue or collateral damage. This gives researchers a unique opportunity to study these organisms to try to unlock the secrets of heart tissue regeneration. ARMI researchers are studying zebrafish to develop cures for heart muscle degenerative disease and to discover new ways to mend a broken heart.

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peter cUrrieThe Currie group is curious about the biological mechanisms of the zebrafish, a freshwater fish that is native to South-East Asia.

Zebrafish are used in scientific research to understand human genetics and the biological processes of human diseases.

They are beneficial because they grow quickly and are optically transparent. The zebrafish embryo is very clear – every cell in the forming embryo can be seen, which make it very easy to work with. It also shares 70 per cent of the genetic code of Homo sapiens.

researchThe Currie group uses zebrafish embryos to learn about muscle cell types. In particular, the group is interested in how specific muscle cell types are determined within the developing embryo, how they grow and how they regenerate after injury.

2015 Highlight• ProfessorPeterCurrieandpostdoctoralresearcher

Dr Phong Nguyen were in the team awarded the 2015 University of New South Wales Eureka Prize for Scientific Research for their research on ‘buddy cells’, which trigger the development of blood stem cells.

edwinA mcglinnThe McGlinn group is focused on elucidating novel gene networks that drive growth and identity in the early embryo.

researchThe McGlinn group is particularly interested in critical developmental regulators, the Hox genes, and how microRNAs shape Hox functional output during formation of the vertebral column and spinal cord.

They use elegant mouse genetics coupled with cutting edge functional genomics technologies to unravel novel gene networks and mechanisms of regulation.

2015 Highlights• Thegrouphadhigh-impactpapersintheprestigious

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Wong and colleagues, see reference 65 in Appendix 1) and in Molecular Cancer (Pearson and colleagues, see reference 48 in Appendix 1).

• DevelopmentalbiologistDrHeidiBildsoejoinedthegroup as a postdoctoral fellow.

• DrMcGlinnwasacoordinatorforthe‘Developmentand Regeneration’ stream at the ComBio2015 conference. She also chaired a session at the Hunter Cell and Development meeting and gave an international seminar at EMBL Monterotondo, Italy.

mirAnA rAmiAlisonThe Ramialison group is studying development and disease. They are a multidisciplinary team of computational and molecular biologists who specialise in genomics. The researchers answer complex questions using new genomic technology and the zebrafish as a model organism.

researchThe researchers apply systems biology (the study of biological components, be it molecules, cells, organisms or entire species) to reconstruct the cardiac gene regulatory networks and to work out what leads to proper heart formation and what causes congenital heart disease.

2015 Highlights• ThegrouphasdevelopedawebversionofTrawler,a

tool that can ‘trawl’ DNA to look for motifs that will allow biologists to interrogate large-scale genomics datasets to identify common DNA patterns through a user-friendly interface. https://trawler.erc.monash.edu.au/

• NathaliaTan,anHonoursstudent,receivedtheBestPoster prize at the 2015 Combine Symposium for her work in modelling heart transcriptomics in 3D. Combine is a student-run Australian organisation for researchers in computational biology and bioinformatics. https://twitter.com/ramialison_lab/status/653023492279959552

• MedakaProjectDownUnder:ThegroupreceivedaMonash Strategic grant to establish the Medaka fish model organism in Australia to look for DNA mutations relevant to human disease. Several laboratories worldwide have adopted the Japanese Medaka fish as a powerful model organism for medical research, especially for genomics studies. The small genome of this fish allows for fast interrogation of mutations.

HEART AND MUSCLE DEVELOPMENT AND REGENERATION

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grAHAm liescHkeThe Lieschke group studies the haemopoietic system and leukocytes. The haemopoietic system is a collection of organs and tissues (including bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes) responsible for the production of blood in the body.

Leukocytes (white blood cells) are the key cells involved in counteracting foreign substances and disease. They also play a major role in determining whether tissue repairs and regenerates rather than scars after injury.

researchUsing the zebrafish as a model organism, the Lieschke group studies blood cell development and function. They look at mutant zebrafish with faulty blood cell development to find insights into the genes that regulate the haemopoietic system.

Mutant zebrafish also assist with understanding the role of leukocytes in inflammation and healing. Infection models are used to stimulate leukocytes into action, which helps the group investigate the host–pathogen response.

2015 Highlights• Thegroup’sinternationalcollaborationshaveresultedin

several papers about the role of leukocytes in infective and inflammatory diseases (for example, see references 44 and 45 in Appendix 1).

• Newimportanttransgenicanimallinesweregeneratedto enable the researchers to study leukocyte activity inside living animals.

• HarrietManley,anHonoursstudentinthegroup,received several awards for academic excellence.

immUnity And regenerAtion

Before birth, the human immune system gives the body the ability to heal injuries and tissues without forming a scar. But soon after birth the immune system matures and the capacity to regenerate tissue and repair damage with scar-free healing is lost.

Just how the immune system regulates this prenatal tissue regeneration is still unknown. Researchers have studied animals with a wide range of regenerative capabilities and discovered that the immune system can either aid or hinder tissue repair. The greatest regenerative capacity is achieved through careful orchestration of particular immune system responses.

ARMI scientists are examining the relationships between immunity and regeneration across the animal kingdom to learn how to enhance tissue repair in patients with wounds or degenerative diseases.

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clAUde BernArdMultiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that affects the central nervous system, which includes the brain, spinal cord and the optic nerves in your eyes. MS is an autoimmune disease, which means that the immune system attacks specific parts of the body.

In the case of MS, the immune system destroys nerve axons and myelin, two key components involved in the conduction of nerve impulses. As a result, patients with MS suffer from numerous neurological problems, which can impede vision, balance, muscle control and basic bodily functions.

researchMS is a complex disease and its cause remains elusive. However, intense study over the last 10 years has yielded important information about how the disease progresses. Emerging technology (such as induced pluripotent stem cell technology) and future treatments are focusing on ways to understand the disease, and how to protect the axonal and myelin from damage.

2015 Highlights• ProfessorClaudeBernardwasinvitedtopresentat

the United Nations Academic Impact Conference on Technology for Sustainable Development at UN Headquarters in July to discuss the use of nanovaccines for treating immune disorders.

• Theresearchersstudiedinducedpluripotentstemcells, neural stem cells and neurons from patients with MS and their healthy siblings (using RNA-sequencing analysis). They did not identify significantly differentially expressed genes that are associated with a risk of developing MS. This work was performed in collaboration with Associate Professor Louise Laurent (University of California, San Diego), an expert on the genomics of pluripotent stem cells, and Professor Sergio Baranzini (University of California, San Francisco), a leading MS geneticist.

• Humanneuralstemcellsderivedfromreprogrammedfibroblasts were shown to limit the development and induce functional recovery of mice with an MS-like disease. Dr Natalie Payne presented this research at the annual Neuroimmunology Australia Workshop and the biennial MS Research Australia, Progress in MS Research Conference.

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José poloThe Polo group is interested in the transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms that govern cell identity and cell fate. It has a particular focus on pluripotency and the reprogramming of somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and other mature cell types.

Being able to reprogram any specific mature cell into a pluripotent state and then back into any other particular cell gives the group a unique tool to study the molecular and cellular events that permit the conversion of one cell type to another.

Moreover, iPS cells and the reprogramming technology are of great interest in pharmaceutical and clinical settings, as the technology can be used to generate animal and cellular models for the study of various diseases as well as provide (in the future) specific patient tailor-made cells for their use in cellular replacement therapies.

researchThe Polo group is dissecting the nature and dynamics of the process using a broad array of approaches through the use of mouse models and a combination of different molecular, biochemical, and cellular techniques and genome-wide studies.

roBin HoBBsAdult stem cells are found in living organisms as undifferentiated cells present throughout the body after development. Their main role is to maintain and repair the tissue in which they are located by dividing to replenish dying cells. Discovering the mechanisms behind this process will provide invaluable information to medical science.

researchThe primary research aim of the Hobbs group is to identify and define the critical molecular mechanisms regulating adult stem cell function using germline stem cells from the mouse testis as a model system.

The Hobbs group aims to uncover the self-renewal capabilities of adult stem cells, which is important to the fields of fertility, tissue regeneration and cancer.

2015 Highlights• Thegrouppublishedahigh-impactpaperinEMBO

Reports that identified a critical role for the mTORC1 signalling pathway in the decision of germline stem cells to differentiate (Hobbs and colleagues, see reference 25 in Appendix 1).

• DrHobbspresentednovelworkdemonstratingtheheterogeneity of germline stem cells at the Gordon Research Conference on Germinal Stem Cell Biology, HongKong.

• Anewpostdoctoralresearchfellow,DrJulienLegrand,joined the Hobbs group with support from the Stem Cells Australia research organisation.

stem cells, cAncer And regenerAtion

Stem cells are less specialised cells that divide and differentiate into diverse, specialised cells to form a vast array of tissues. Stem cells can be grown in the laboratory and can be used to:• repairdamagedtissue• investigateparticulardiseases• testthetherapeuticsafetyandeffectivenessofpotentialnewdrugs.

Cancer stem cells can proliferate to form persistent, self-renewing tumours and understanding how this happens could help researchers to create future new treatments.

Researchers at ARMI study stem cells as a window on the mechanisms of development and as an essential part of the toolkit of regenerative medicine.

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Andrew lAslettHuman pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have the ability of indefinite self-renewal and to differentiate into all types of human adult cells.

The Laslett group investigates the biology of human pluripotent stem cell lines, including embryonic stem cells (hESC) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) – developed cells that have been manipulated to enter a more primitive, less specialised stem cell state.

researchMore understanding of human pluripotent stem cell lines will lead to the development of tools and novel cell lines that will be required for the safe use of these cell types in future cell-based industries.

This is important because although the potential for the treatment of diseases and injuries is huge, the technology also creates a number of risks when producing cell populations to be used for cell therapy.

2015 Highlights• AssociateProfessorLaslettwasinvitedtopresent

hisworkatseveralinternationalmeetingsintheUK,Norway, Sweden and Taiwan.

• Thegroupalsosetupadealtolicenseresearchreagents produced in the CSIRO stem cell laboratories for worldwide distribution.

• AssociateProfessorLaslettisaco-investigator(withAssociateProfessorJoséPolo)onanNHMRCprojectgrant to unveil the human reprogramming pathway (see Appendix 3).

dAVid HAylock (Until April 2015)Professor Haylock is involved in research projects at the interface of stem cell biology and biomaterials science. These include developing technology for the biomanufacture of human platelet cells. A recent focus is the design and fabrication of microdevices to investigate the effect of hydrodynamic shear on megakaryocyte pro-platelet formation and platelet release.

Professor David Haylock was appointed as a CSIRO leader in 2009 and joined ARMI in 2013 as an Adjunct Professor. He is internationally renowned for his pioneering contributions in blood stem cell mobilisation and transplantation. Professor Haylock is a recipient of an ARC Future Fellowship and his research has been funded by numerous peer-reviewed grants from the NHMRC, Anticancer Councils of Victoria and South Australia, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America and the biotechnology industry.

2015 Highlight• ProfessorHaylockwasaco-authoronapaperin

the prestigious journal Nature Communications showing a novel, low-cost method to encapsulate the biomolecules in a protective layer. The study creates new possibilities for the use of large biological molecules (Liang and colleagues, see reference 34 in Appendix 1).

STEM CELLS, CANCER AND REGENERATION

28 STEM CELLS, CANCER AND REGENERATION

sUsie nilssonThe Nilsson group is involved in a number of research projects that focus on understanding haemopoietic stem cells – the stem cells responsible for the production of blood and immune cells.

Haemopoietic stem cells are a very important part of the body as they are constantly renewing blood, creating billions of new blood cells each day. They are located in the bone marrow, which is the flexible tissue found on the inside of most bones.

researchThe main objective of the group’s research is to characterise the microenvironment in which blood stem cells reside. The group studies blood stem cells at a cellular and molecular level, and analyses how the stem cells develop into new blood cells.

Learning more about normal and diseased stem cells will lead to better prevention, clinical diagnosis and treatment. This will ultimately improve human health. For example, people with cancer might have better outcomes if researchers can improve bone marrow transplantation by finding new ways to replace normal cells destroyed during anticancer therapy. Essentially, better bone marrow transplantation will allow higher doses of chemotherapy or radiation to be given, which will be a more effective form of treatment.

2015 Highlights• AssociateProfessorNilsson’sgrouppublishedapaper

in Stem Cells that demonstrates the synthesis of the components required to enable a cell known as a megakaryocyte to be involved in the regulation of the local bone marrow microenvironment (Storan and colleagues, see reference 53 in Appendix 1).

• AssociateProfessorNilssonwasinvitedtopresentaplenary lecture at the International Osteopontin and Other SIBLING Proteins Conference in Chicago, on work targeting the osteopontin:integrin interaction to harvest haematopoietic stem cells for marrow transplants.

• AssociateProfessorNilssonisassociateeditorforbothExperimental Hematology and the International Journal or Hematology.

AndrAs nAgy (From JUly 2015)The Nagy group is focused on combining knowledge of developmental biology, stem cells and genetic engineering to create successful therapeutics for regenerative medicine applications.

Their research program aims to tackle several major challenges facing the translation of cell therapies to the clinic, such as generating and improving the effectiveness of therapeutic cells and eliminating risks of tumourigenesis. Towards these goals, the group is establishing underlying technologies to engineer ‘designer cells’ with important novel functions.

2015 Highlights• ProfessorNagyestablishedasatellitelaboratoryat

ARMI in 2015 to more seamlessly integrate his research efforts with collaborators at Monash and in Australia. Many research themes extend across both Canadian and Australian laboratories. To learn more about the Toronto-based Nagy group and research interests, see http://research.lunenfeld.ca/nagy/.

• AssociateProfessorJodyHaighwasappointedtoARMI to assist Professor Nagy with the day-to-day running of the laboratory. Associate Professor Jody Haigh also has a main appointment at the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases (ACBD) at Monash University. See http://acbd.monash.org/research/mammal-genetics.html

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nicolAs plAcHtA (Until JUne 2015)The Plachta group uses experimental systems to study dynamic physical aspects of cells and molecules in living mammalian embryos. The technologies combine single-cell imaging and quantitative methods to discover how the dynamic behaviour of DNA-binding molecules controls the development of the first specialised cells in living mouse embryos.

The researchers have established new experimental assays to visualise the movement of transcription factors, which are key regulatory molecules controlling gene expression, in four dimensions (three spatial dimensions plus time).

Using these techniques, the researchers can observe single cells in intact embryos in real time. They can also compare pluripotent cells in the embryo (cells which can give rise to many different tissues) to several stem cell lines cultured in vitro – those derived from the actual embryo (embryonic stem cells) or those reprogrammed from somatic cell lineages (induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells).

In addition, the group has developed live-imaging tools to study the cellular mechanisms governing the formation of the first tissue-like structures in the embryo, with a particular focus on cell movements and formation of the central nervous system.

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JAn kAslinTheKaslingroupisinterestedinneuralrepairand,inparticular, cellular plasticity – the ability of cells to take on characteristics of other cells in the body. The group focuses on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive neural repair in the vertebrate nervous system. Understanding the process of cellular plasticity is essential to the development of successful therapies to promote neural regeneration.

researchIn the past, neural stem cells and brain regeneration has been studied mostly in mammals (such as rodents). The problem with this approach is that mammals cannot regenerate after neural injury.

Enter the zebrafish. This fish is able to regenerate parts of its central nervous system, even once it has matured into an adult. Using the zebrafish model helps researchers to answer questions that previously could not be answered.

2015 Highlights• PostdoctoralfellowDrTimoFriedrichpublishedthe

lab-on-a-chip design for long-term live imaging of spinal cord regeneration in hundreds of zebrafish larvae (Friedrich and colleagues, see reference 69 in Appendix 1). The team was also awarded an interdisciplinary grant to further advance the platform.

• Thegrouppublishedseveralpapersandabstractsin collaboration with the Wlodkowic group on chip-based designs for zebrafish (Zhu and colleagues, see references 67, 68 and 69 in Appendix 1).

neUrAl regenerAtion

Researchers now know that the adult brain retains plasticity (the ability to change) throughout life and can respond to injury or disease and determine healthy ageing and mental functioning. Understanding the regenerative potential of the brain and central nervous system will assist researchers to find new treatments for neurodegenerative disorders.

Uncovering neural regenerative potential across the animal kingdom helps ARMI scientists to tackle the fundamental obstacles to more effective neural repair in diseases like MS, stroke, spinal cord injury and Alzheimer’s disease.

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JAmes BoUrneThe Bourne group is at the forefront of understanding visual brain development and plasticity, as well as studying pathology states such as stroke.

The laboratory uses the visual system of the non-human primate (marmoset monkey) brain as a research model to address how the complex visual cortex is established. The non-human primate visual brain’s protracted development allows for greater understanding of how different brain areas establish connections and ultimately mature, with implications for diseases such as schizophrenia and autism.

The marmoset serves as an invaluable model in stroke research as the non-human primate brain has a high degree of anatomical and physiological similarity with the human brain – a similarity that is not evident in other species. Lessons learned from brain injury in the monkey have given the group greater capacity to translate the results, providing significant hope for stroke victims.

researchThe group has three primary focuses that are studied in parallel. These are: • toexplorethedevelopmentandmaturationofthevisual

brain in non-human primates• todeterminewhichbrainareasenableresidualvision

following significant brain injury• tounderstandthecellularandsystemiceffectsthatoccur

following stroke.

development and plasticityThe cerebral cortex of an adult is an intricate system of interconnected areas. How these areas emerge and mature seamlessly and establish connections with other parts of the brain is not yet known. Through molecular biology techniques, magnetic resonance imaging and neural tracing, the Bourne group has made many great findings and discoveries in neurobiology.

neurorepairIt is now accepted that early in life, the brain is in its most plastic state and is more amenable to repair following injury. The Bourne group is beginning to uncover what molecules are present in the neonatal brain and which ones are responsible for greater permissibility of functional recovery following brain injury compared to an adult brain that has suffered an identical injury.

The laboratory has developed a novel model of stroke that will translate to the clinic and enables the researchers to explore how the brain responds to injury early and late in life. The researchers have used this model in conjunction with molecular biology techniques and live multiphoton imaging to shortlist some candidate molecules that may prove to be beneficial to patients who have had a stroke.

2015 Highlights• Thegrouppublishedsignificantfindingsoftheirstudy

into the biology of the visual cortex in the high-impact journal Current Biology (Warner and colleagues, see reference 62 in Appendix 1).

• Thegroupalsopublishedastudyofthedevelopmentof the visual cortex (Mundinano and colleagues, see reference 38 in Appendix 1).

• AssociateProfessorBourneandDrLeonTeofiledaprovisional patent application in the US and Australia: Methods and compositions for treating CNS [central nervous system] injury, 2015.

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EMBL Australia was established as a result of Australia’s Associate membership of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. EMBL Australia is a life science network that supports research projects and provides infrastructure and training. It also gives Australian and ARMI researchers the opportunity to build global collaborations and introduces early-career and mid-career researchers to outstanding infrastructure and career development.

Through its members and collaborators, EMBL Australia is building up to 20 research groups in research nodes in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. EMBL Australia gives host institutions access to its scientific excellence and governance.

emBl AUstrAliA At ArmiIn 2015, the EMBL Australia Scientific Head was ARMI’s Director, Professor Nadia Rosenthal. Her group researches the biology of ageing, degenerative disorders, and how the heart and skeletal muscle develop in the embryo. They study fundamental mechanisms of regeneration in model species such as the mouse, zebrafish and axolotl (Mexican salamander).

The Victorian node head of EMBL Australia based at ARMI is Professor Peter Currie. His group performs research into the molecular mechanisms of muscle cell development. In 2015, Professor Currie was a co-recipient of the prestigious University of New South Wales Eureka Prize for Scientific Research, an award in recognition of groundbreaking work published in the journal Nature.

Dr Edwina McGlinn is another EMBL Australia researcher based at ARMI. Her group focuses on gene networks involved in growth and development of the embryo using mouse and zebrafish as experimental models.

The new scientific head of EMBL Australia is Professor James Whisstock.

emBl AUstrAliA pArtner lABorAtory Overall, the EMBL Australia Partner Laboratory grew significantly in 2015, expanding from five research teams to 11. Six new group leaders were appointed (three in Victoria, two in New South Wales and one in South Australia) and Professor Steve Wesselingh, Director of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) agreed to be the head of the South Australian node.

• DrsYannGambinandMatéBirojoinedEMBLAustralia’sNew South Wales node and are based at the Centre for Single Molecule Science at The University of New South Wales.

• DrChenDavidovichandAssociateProfessorMaxCryle joined EMBL Australia’s Victorian node at Monash University and are based in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

• DrMikaëlMartinowasalsoappointedasagroupleaderinthe Victorian node, based at ARMI, Monash University. He will relocate in March 2016.

• DrPirjoApajawasappointedtoEMBLAustralia’sSouthAustralian node at SAHMRI. Dr Apaja will relocate in April 2016.

While new group leaders are beginning, two long-standing EMBL Australia members are moving on:• GroupLeaderDrNicolasPlachtaacceptedapositionat

Singapore’s Agency for Science Technology and Research (A*STAR) as a senior principal investigator in the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology.

• ScientificHead,ProfessorNadiaRosenthal,acceptedaposition as Scientific Director of The Jackson Laboratory in the US but will retain a link to EMBL Australia with an honorary professorship at Monash University.

In 2015, senior ARMI researcher Associate Professor James Bourne was inducted as an EMBL Australia Collaborating Group Leader. His group studies visual neuroscience, specifically the plasticity and repair of neurological tissue after injury.

eUropeAn molecUlAr Biology lABorAtory AUstrAliA

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2015 emBl AUstrAliA sHowcAseEMBL Australia introduced nearly 100 early-career researchers to the programs and capabilities of EMBL Australia and its initiatives at the first EMBL Australia showcase at Melbourne’s Bio21 Institute. Co-organised in conjunction with Professor Paul Gleeson at the Bio21 Institute, the showcase highlighted the breadth and depth of research undertaken in the Partner Laboratory.

The 2016 EMBL Australia showcase is planned for July at the John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University.

emBl AUstrAliA stUdent progrAmsTraining at EMBL Australia nodes gives students a head start in their science careers. Highlights include:• PhDtravelgrantstostudy,trainandnetworkatEMBL’s

laboratoriesinGermany,Italy,FranceandtheUK• annualtwo-weekintensivePhDCourseinAustralia• opportunitiesforjointPhDswithEMBL• supportforbioinformaticsinternships.

2015 emBl AUstrAliA pHd coUrseJane McCausland, Student Programs Coordinator, worked with local hosts to organise the successful third annual EMBL Australia PhD Course held at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth in late June and early July 2015. Modelled on the compulsory pre-doctoral training attended by all incoming PhD students at EMBL in Europe, the Australian Course is fast developing a reputation as the preferred annual course for Australia’s first year PhD students in the life sciences.

The two-week long residential program was packed with seminars, workshops and opportunities for networking with students from around the country as well as renowned Australian and international scientists. The program provides students with a broad exposure to the life sciences, fosters the creativity of young scientists and provides a flying start to their careers.

Sixty-two first-year and second-year students from around Australia attended the course, which was held at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth. The course included symposium-style presentations from 75 Australian and international speakers, as well as workshops and poster sessions. Technical sessions spanned gene expression, bioinformatics and imaging (among many other topics), and the course also held a session on science communication.

Dr Cornelius Gross and Dr Dónal O’Carroll (both from EMBL Monterotondo, Italy) attended the course as plenary speakers.

Another highlight included a presentation by Professor Ian Frazer, AC, in the translational and clinical sciences session on ‘HPV vaccines – theory to practice’. In a free public lecture, the then Chief Scientist of Australia, Professor Ian Chubb, talked on the importance of building momentum on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) policy.

EUROPEAN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY LABORATORY AUSTRALIA

EMBL Australia ShowcaseFriday 17th April 2015

EMBL Australia acknowledges the support of the Bio21 Institute and the University of Melbourne Biosciences Research Domain in sponsoring the EMBL Australia Showcase

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ABoUt sBi AUstrAliASBI Australia is an EMBL Australia initiative located at ARMI – it is the first international node of the SBI in Japan. The node connects and promotes collaboration between Japanese and Australian research and industry partners, and facilitates the sharing of scientific technology, resources and expertise.

SBI Australia develops and supports the Australian systems biology research community, through the provision of training and advice, facilitation and making national and international linkages.

In the short time since its establishment, SBI Australia has attracted national and international attention. SBI Australia has a number of exciting linkages and projects already underway and is actively seeking grants and funding for all of its programs.

At SBI Australia, there are four core elements to how systems biology research is viewed:1. Use all the available knowledge. Building on the

knowledge of the life sciences, systems biology brings in expertise from fields such as mathematics, engineering, computer science, physics and chemistry. Using all the available tools scientists can, for example, make powerful computations that are not humanly possible, develop mathematical models that help researchers to not only understand but also predict behaviour, and uncover what makes a system robust or vulnerable to threats such as disease or pests.

2. Be creative. The purpose of integrating all the disciplines is to not just transfer solutions from one place to another. Sometimes, the solution does not exist – and thinking about a problem from a completely new perspective may provide the creative breakthrough that is needed.

3. Collaborate internationally. Around the world, people are doing exciting, cutting edge research. The large-scale challenges of systems biology rely on an international network to bring the best skills and knowledge together. Only in this way will it be possible to solve these grand challenges.

4. Focus on what matters, and make it count. There are many problems affecting society today – human health and wellbeing, pressures around sustainable living, food and water security, and quality of life for people everywhere. Systems biology enables researchers to tackle many of these global problems, and to make a real difference by focusing on research that has a rapid translation to real outcomes.

Research at SBI Australia focuses on these four goals, and as an initiative of EMBL Australia, scientists use national and international linkages to find new and creative solutions to problems in human health and the environment, with the purpose of rapid translation to applied outcomes. As host of SBI Australia, Monash University has gained a competitive advantage and reputation in the systems biology space, both nationally and internationally.

what is systems Biology?The international community has not yet reached agreement on a formal definition of systems biology. However, fundamentally the goal is implied by the name: to understand complex biological systems, as a system.

This distinction contrasts with many valuable endeavours in life sciences research that seek to understand biological phenomena, but not necessarily as a system. Two classic examples from biology include: 1) identifying if a mutation in a gene causes disease; and 2) discovering how the structure of a protein enables it to receive and transmit important messages in the body. Both of these are valuable discoveries, but scientists also want to understand how the disease progresses, and how those messages are used in the body.

What defines systems biology (at least in the view of SBI) is the intention to understand complex biological systems in terms of the system itself – the rules and principles that govern, regulate and define the system. Systems biology is also defined by the integration of life sciences research with the knowledge, skills and technology of all the research disciplines, including mathematics, engineering, computer science, physics, chemistry and even linguistics, to tackle this incredibly difficult task.

systems Biology reseArcHDr Mirana Ramialison leads a group using the exciting technologies of systems biology to study how organs form, specifically the heart. Her experience in both traditional experimental biology and computational biology enables her to investigate heart formation with a view to finding treatments for congenital heart disease.

In addition to using the zebrafish as a model organism, Dr Ramialison received a Monash Strategic grant to establish the Medaka fish model organism in Australia to look for DNA mutations relevant to human disease.

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Established in 2011 with seven years’ funding from the Australian Research Council, Stem Cells Australia links Australia’s leading experts in bioengineering, nanotechnology, stem cell biology, advanced molecular analysis and clinical research to tackle the big questions in stem cell science.

The consortium includes more than 120 life science researchers and students from Monash University, The University of Melbourne, The University of Queensland, The University of New South Wales, CSIRO, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.

Stem Cells Australia’s unique interdisciplinary approach aims to support excellence in stem cell research; foster and train the next generation of Australian stem cell scientists, thereby cementing Australia’s future in the field; and lead public debate and discussion about the important ethical, legal and societal issues associated with stem cell science.

Keytotheconsortium’ssuccesshasbeenthecontributionofProfessor Nadia Rosenthal, who was instrumental in securing funding for the initiative and has led the Cardiac Regeneration and Repair theme with Professor Richard Harvey from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.

Other ARMI group leaders involved in Stem Cells Australia’s research program include Associate Professor James Bourne, AssociateProfessorJoséPoloandDrRobinHobbswithProfessor Peter Currie and Dr Mirana Ramialison joining the initiative in 2015 as Affiliate Investigators.

Several other members of Stem Cells Australia hold adjunct appointments with ARMI including Professor Justin Cooper-White and Associate Professor Megan Munsie. Professor David Haylock, Associate Professor Andrew Laslett and Associate Professor Susie Nilsson from CSIRO also hold ARMI group leader status facilitated through their adjunct appointments to Monash University.

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Educating and training young scientists, investing and nurturing Australia’s innovation workforce, and keeping Australia at the forefront of science and technology innovation is embraced as a core element of the mission at ARMI.

The internationalisation and uniqueness of student opportunities offered at ARMI sets the Institute apart and is a key reason why students select ARMI for undergraduate and postgraduate training.

A number of ARMI group leaders and research fellows taught in undergraduate courses in the School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Institute also offered international students, undergraduates and secondary school work experience students a variety of opportunities to experience research first hand. Throughout the year, postdoctoral and postgraduate training opportunities at ARMI advanced and the Institute’s students accelerated their learning beside world-class scientists in one of Australia’s most significant new research organisations and gained access to an extraordinary network of international scientists and organisations.

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pHd progrAmIn April 2015, it was announced that Phong Nguyen was the joint winner of the 2014 Mollie Holman Doctoral Medal for the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Science.

Phong Nguyen also shared the Eureka Prize for Scientific Research with Professor Peter Currie and Dr Georgina Hollway from the Garvan Institute.

Anthony Boghdadi was awarded the ‘Deakin University Best Overall Presenter Award’ at the 6th Annual Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) Victorian Student Research Symposium.

In 2015 there were 23 PhD students enrolled in the ARMI PhD program.

HonoUrs progrAmIn 2015, an Honours Symposium was held on 28 August at which all the students presented their posters. All students presented high calibre work.

A new initiative this year was the Director’s Award for Best Poster. Dylan Fox was presented with the inaugural award by visiting Professor James Fawcett.

In 2015 there were eight students enrolled in the ARMI Honours program.

UndergrAdUAte progrAmUndergraduate students have the opportunity to work with ARMI research groups through a number of different programs:• theUndergraduateResearchOpportunitiesProgram

(UROP) – a paid employment scheme designed to give undergraduate students an early opportunity to experience real life in a research laboratory and gain insight into careers in biomedical research. Students spend up to 12 months working in an ARMI laboratory.

• theResearchinActionacademicunit–studentsarebased in research laboratories.

• vacationscholarships–includesSummerandWinterResearch Scholarships. The Institute also welcomes visiting international students.

BUsiness stUdiesIn 2015 ARMI was pleased to partner with the Monash University Business School to support postgraduate management training.

master of international BusinessStudent: Shah Ali Riyad

Supervisors:DrPaulKalfadellisandDrPeterONeill,Department of Management, Monash University

Project title: Innovation to commercialisation pathways in public biotechnology laboratories – evidence from the Australian regenerative medicine sector

executive master of Business AdministrationStudents:Anne-MarieBui,SimonForsythandMeirKluwgant

Supervisor: Professor Ian McLoughlin, Department of Management, Monash University

Project title: Developing a sustainable funding strategy for ARMI

BioeyesBioEYES Australia is an innovative, hands-on approach to teaching primary and secondary students about developmental biology, stem cells and regeneration. Over the course of a week, students watch the transparent eggs of zebrafish change from a single-celled zygote to a larval fish. Through school incursions facilitated by an outreach educator and university lecturers, students study the lifespan and development of zebrafish anatomy, habitat and genetics.

BioEYES Australia teaches life science skills while exciting children about the thrill of scientific discovery. Students are encouraged to develop their critical thinking skills, learn to use zebrafish as a research model, perform collaborative experiments with classmates and study anatomy, circulation, respiration, genetics and habitat. BioEYES Australia aims to capture the inherent enthusiasm and excitement that students have for science while opening their minds to possible and fulfilling futures in this field. Moreover, it is a powerful aid for teachers working within the Australian Curriculum.

BioEYES was created in the US in 2002. More than 100,000 students in the US and Australia have been involved in BioEYES since its inception. In 2010, ARMI introduced the BioEYES program to Australia in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Since then, each year more than 2000 students and teachers in and around Melbourne have participated in the program. The program has continually demonstrated its strengths in engaging all students, regardless of age, geographical location or desire to participate in science education. Indeed, BioEYES has been successfully integrated into classes from year 2 to year 12, with students continuously commenting that it has made them realise just how ‘interesting science can be!’

BioEYES Australia is currently seeking funding so that this innovative science outreach program can continue to engage and excite students. Additional funding will ensure that BioEYES will continue its success well into the future and provide ARMI with the potential to expand participation rates in the future.

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HonoUrs grAdUAtes

rachael chattertonSupervisor: Dr Carmel O’Brien

Project Title: Investigating Hendra virus infection of human neural lineage cells

Veronica JoshiSupervisors: Dr Alasdair Wood and Professor Peter Currie

Project Title: Determining the mechanism of Col4a2 related muscular dystrophy

Harriet manleySupervisor:DrCristinaKeightley

Project Title: ZbTb 11 function in haematopoiesis

nathalia tanSupervisors: Dr Mirana Ramialison and Associate Professor JoséPolo

Project Title: Inducing and controlling cellular plasticity

shin yi tin Supervisor:DrCristinaKeightley

Project Title: Investigating Zbtb11 and ILF-2 function in liver development and disease

dylan Fox Supervisors: Dr Inaki Carril and Associate Professor James Bourne

Project Title: Visual behaviour in the marmoset

duy tranSupervisors: Dr Ivana Mirkovic and Professor Peter Currie

Project Title: Examination of ASPH function in zebrafish embryonic development

thábatta nakamuraSupervisor:JanKaslin

Project Title: Splicing regulation during development and in stem cells

pHd grAdUAtes

Bianca BorchinSupervisor:AssociateProfessorJoséPolo

Project Title: Derivation of skeletal muscle progenitors from human embryonic stem cells

leon teoSupervisor: Associate Professor James Bourne

Project Title: Novel conjugated biomaterials in the treatment of neurotrauma and neurodegeneration

daniel sieiro mostiSupervisor: Professor Christophe Marcelle

Project Title: Molecular pathways involved in vertebrate myoblast fusion

ivan gladwyn-ngSupervisor: Dr Julian Heng

Project Title: Genetic analysis of neocortical development in mice

grAdUAting in 2015

engAging witH otHer scientists And tHe pUBlic

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In 2015, ARMI research and achievements were featured in major metropolitan and national news media as well as top international science media – Nature and Science. Here are some of those stories.

Armi in tHe news

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ARMI’s research in developing effective treatments for a range of currently incurable diseases, as well as neurotrauma and ageing, could help save millions of lives and communities worldwide from being affected or destroyed by disease or injury.

Imagine a world where the body has the ability to regenerate back to health; a world without:• cancer• diabetes• heartdiseases• arthritis• neurotraumainthebrain,suchasstrokeorblindness• Parkinson’sdisease• Alzheimer’sdisease• dementia

• MultipleSclerosis(MS)• leukaemia• Crohn’sdisease.

Without these diseases, how many loved ones, or friends and colleagues do you know who would still be alive today or be leading a much better life?

YOUR GIFT Now … is for discovery, possibility, for loved ones, friends and colleagues, for a world free of disease and injury.

To make YOUR GIFT Now please log onto http://www.armi.org.au/donate

Or call +61 3 99058630

donAting to Armi

Acknowledgements

ARMI would like to thank the following sponsors for their contribution in 2015 and would encourage you to support them.

ARMI also thanks the following donors for their support in 2015:

Peter McSporranAshutosh GuptaAnthony TreasureClaude BernardAnonymous

4444 eVents

Faculty from Skolkovo Moscow School of Management visit and tour ARMI.

ARMI presents a progress briefing to Ms Amanda Caples and Dr Phil Marley from the Victorian Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources.

ARMI signs agreements with Nature Publishing Group for the new journal npg Regenerative Medicine.

A delegation from ARMIvisitstheLKCChian School of Medicine at Nanyang Technological University (Singapore).

The EMBL Australia Showcase 2015 event is held at the Bio21 Institute at the University of Melbourne.

ARMI hosts a visit from Dr John Collins, Chief Operating Officer of the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology, Boston, USA.

The Hon. Mark Dreyfus, QC, MP, and Shadow Attorney-General, Shadow Minister for the Arts and Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House visits ARMI.

Stem Cells Australia and ARMI co-host a public forum: Lost in evolution: how research is unlocking the mystery of regenerative medicine, held in conjunction with the Convergence Science Network and featuring Professor Peter Currie, Dr Mirana Ramialison, Dr James Godwin and Associate Professor Megan Munsie.

A delegation from Uruguay visits ARMI – delegates were Dr Rodolfo Silveira, University of Engineering and Technology, and Dr Maria Laura Fernández, Head of International Cooperation Unit, National Agency for Research and Innovation.

ARMI was very active in local and international events in 2015. The Institute encourages an extensive program of events locally, by hosting visiting scientists from around the world, and internationally, as ARMI staff visit organisations across the world. ARMI also invites government, patient advocacy and industry stakeholders into the Institute’s facilities to forge mutually beneficial relationships.

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Dr Ramialison speaks at the Rotary Club, Cercle de Union, in France about her research laboratory and her team of young researchers from all over the world.

Professor Claude Bernard speaks to the United Nations at the Technology for Sustainable Development meeting organised by UN Academic Impact and AMRITA University. Seven speakers were invited from around the world to speak about groundbreaking developments in nanotechnologies, vaccines, wireless technologies, educational sanitation and human-computer interaction. Professor Bernard’s talk was titled: Nano-vaccines: a novel low cost therapeutic alternative for the treatment of immune disorders.

ARMI co-hosts the Regenerative Medicine Industry Interface Program meeting with BioMelbourne Network. Companies attending were Mesoblast, Cynata, Admedeus, Polynovo and Invetech.

Jun

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Jul ARMI hosts Balwyn Rotary for the philanthropy program. Attendees were Anthea Rutter and Henry Brockman from Balwyn Rotary and ARMI Board member Dr Zita Unger.

Mr Paul Brennan (CEO of PolyNovo Limited) and Dr Tim Moore (Chief Scientist) visit and tour ARMI’s facilities.

2015 University of New South Wales Eureka Prize for Scientific Research is awarded to Professor Peter Currie, Phong Nguyen and Dr Georgina Hollway (Garvan Institute).

ARMI visits EMBL head office in Heidelberg, Germany, as part of the Faculty of Biomedical and Psychological Sciences delegation.

Stem Cells Australia co-hosts a public forum – Made to order: Can science regenerate body parts? Speakers are Dr James Godwin (ARMI), Professor Melissa Little (Murdoch Childrens Research Institute) and Dr Robert Wilson (CSIRO).

Dr David Rhodes, Chief Scientific Officer at Admedus, visits ARMI.

Hon. Frank McGuire, MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Medical Research and Victorian Member for Broadmeadows, visits ARMI.

Dr Judith Reinhard, Science Counsellor at the German Embassy visits EMBL Australia.

Dr Michael May, CEO of the Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine visits ARMI.

The official launch of npg Regenerative Medicine is at the International Society for Stem Cell Research meeting in the Hunter Valley.

Stem Cells Australia co-hosts a forum – Hype, hope or reality: can we make eggs or sperm from stem cells? Guest speakers are Associate Professor John McBain (Melbourne IVF and Royal Women’s Hospital), Dr Robin Hobbs (ARMI) and Dr Deepak Adhikari (Monash University).

ARMI and Monash Institute of Medical Engineering hold a workshop to explore opportunities for collaborative research in translational regenerative medicine. Attendees: Dr Heather Cleland, Dr Shiva Akbarzadeh, Associate Professor John Forsythe, Professor Laurence Meagher, Professor Graham Jenkin, Professor Peter Currie, Dr James Godwin, Dr PritinderKaurandDrHeather St John.

Dr Cornelius Gross, from EMBL Monterotondo, Italy, visits ARMI and EMBL Australia.

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ARMI was pleased to host prominent researchers from all over the world in 2015. Their presentations offer ARMI staff and students the opportunity to hear the latest research findings and to network and make linkages with the global research community.

Date Speaker University/company Title

17 February Professor Stephen Dalton

Franklin College Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia

How stem cells talk

13 March Professor Olivier Pourquié

Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School and Department of Pathology, Brigham and Woman’s Hospital

Development of the musculo-skeletal axis

20 March ProfessorKenroKusumi School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University

How the lizard loses and grows its tail from genomic, cellular and anatomical studies

5 May DrKayleneYoung Menzies Institute, University of Tasmania Understanding myelin plasticity

14 May Dr Jacob Hanna The Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel

Mechanisms for inducing, maintaining and resolving natural pluripotency

16 June Dr Cornelius Gross Deputy Head, EMBL Mouse Biology Unit, Monterotondo

Primal threats: the neural circuitry of social and predator fear

14 July Dr Sara Howden Murdoch Childrens Research Institute Generation of gene corrected iPS lines from patient specific fibroblasts

21 July Professor Hans Clevers Hubrecht Institute, the Netherlands Wnt signalling in development and disease

4 August Professor Wenbin Deng Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis

Stem cells and glial differentiation for neural repair

28 August Professor James Fawcett

John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge

Targeting the extracellular matrix for brain and spinal cord repair

1 September Professor Juan Larrain Millennium Nucleus for Regenerative Biology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile

Molecular and cellular mechanisms of spinal cord regeneration in amphibians

12 November Dr Bill Stanford Ottawa Institute of Systems Biology Stem cell approaches to model human development and disease

23 November Associate Professor David Langenau

Associate Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School Director of Molecular Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Fishing for mechanisms of progression and relapse in pediatric cancers

seminArs

core tecHnicAl FAcilities And serVices

The Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute has four facilities

providing vital assistance and support to scientists and their research: the ARMI

Rat, Gene Recombineering, embryonic stem Cell and Aquatic facilities.

each facility offers a valuable service used every day by the research teams at ARMI, giving the Institute’s researchers access

to key resources, and is part of what grants ARMI teams a unique edge,

placing them at the forefront of regenerative research.

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AquaCore, the Aquatics Research Facility, is unique among research institutions in Australia, housing and breeding important model organisms for regenerative biology. Within the Aquatic Facility are two facilities, with FishCore containing zebrafish and AquaCore containing sharks and axolotls.

The Facility is involved in science outreach and education, with more than 40 tours for visitors. The Facility hosts the BioEYES program and through an alliance with Box Hill TAFE, animal husbandry students have gained work experience at FishCore.

Zebrafish are key tools in regenerative medicine. Researchers use them to model human diseases and injuries to improve the understanding of how the body regenerates. FishCore contains 1000 quarantine and 5200 non-quarantine tanks and supplies and houses zebrafish used by the researchers.

AquaCore can provide wild type zebrafish as well as genetically modified and mutant strains. The facility is the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere and has the capacity to meet the needs of ARMI, Monash University and the external biomedical research community. The facility also has capacity to host additional freshwater fish such as Medaka fish.

AquaCore is certified to a Physical Containment level 2 (PC2) by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator. The large zebrafish quarantine facility is approved by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service and provides infrastructure and know-how for imports of zebrafish for laboratories in Australia.

In addition to the aquarium facilities, AquaCore has a phenotyping laboratory with the infrastructure necessary for phenotypic analyses, embryonic and adult fish manipulation and generation of transgenic animals. It also has microscopes with microinjection apparatus, dedicated confocal microscopy for time-lapse analysis of live animals, and the equipment for laser ablation and single-cell labelling.

Axolotls are a well-studied animal model of regeneration as they can fully regenerate limbs and organs, much like zebrafish. Sharks are critical to the understanding of the evolution of development and regenerative biology, as they are very primitive vertebrates.

The facility has two separate water recirculating systems: fresh water for the axolotls and sea water for the marine sharks.

The axolotl facility is used to maintain a breeding colony of a variety of pedigree axolotls. It will house large 1.5-metre tanks for large breeding adults, and hundreds of tanks for rearing small larvae.

The marine system houses a brood stock of epaulette sharks Hemiscyllium ocellatum and an incubation system for elephant shark Callorhinchus milii embryos. AquaCore will also include multiple marine tanks ranging in size with the capability to house other tropical and temperate water marine species.

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The ARMIRat Project is an academic collaboration linking ARMI scientists with researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) to develop technology in advanced conditional mutagenesis and animal modelling. The collaboration commenced in 2010 with technical expertise provided by Jeanette Rientjes (Gene Recombineering), Dr Arianna Nenci (ES Cell Services) and Dr Jose Gonzalez (Transgenic Services). Dr Nenci and Dr Gonzalez trained with the USC team on techniques to be adopted in the Transgenic Rat Platform.

ARMIRat has now successfully imported, incorporated and improved procedures to provide GM rats to Australian researchers by initiating the first rat transgenic Cre driver resource and optimising conditions for generating floxed alleles. Cre and FlpO transgenic rat driver lines have been generated as well as the relevant reporter transgenic

lines that are all available to the scientific community upon request. Two custom-made transgenic lines have been ordered and delivered to Monash scientists and an agreement has been entered into with an international scientist for two tissue-specific Cre transgenic rat drivers. A pilot study of CRISPR nuclease modification in rats has also been successfully completed. The facility now provides custom-made transgenic rats, including rats generated by the CRISPR/CAS9 gene targeting technique, to the scientific community, locally, nationally and internationally.

Manipulation of rat genetic traits by Genetic Modification (GM), generating transgenic rats and conditional mutants (affecting specific cell types), is a growing area of research worldwide.

ArmirAt

The ARMI Gene Recombineering Facility uses cutting edge genetic manipulation technology to provide specialised modification of genomic material from multiple organisms.

This ‘recombination-mediated genetic engineering’ technique involves creating a DNA ‘construct’ which is then inserted into a specific chromosome in place of the wild type genetic material. Recombineering can provide gene replacements, deletions, insertions, inversions, and single and multiple point mutations.

The Gene Recombineering group works closely with the Embryonic Stem Cell group and Monash Animal Research Platform to offer a comprehensive design and screening service.

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The ARMI Embryonic Stem Cell Facility produces mouse and rat embryonic stem cells with specific gene modifications. The facility offers a range of services, from introducing DNA constructs into embryonic stem cells (through a process called electroporation), to the identification of correctly targeted clones.

Working closely with Monash Gene Targeting facility (see below), the facility prepares embryonic stem cells for microinjection and organises screening of the chimeric mice generated, as well as analysis of germ line transmission.

The facility collaborates with the Australian Phenomics Network in the production of chimeras from embryonic stemcellsobtainedfromtheInternationalKnockout Mouse Consortium.

emBryonic stem cell FAcility

monAsH gene tArgeting FAcility

The Monash Gene Targeting facility provides researchers with gene recombineering, embryonic stem (ES) cell and gene targeting services.

The team has an established track record of delivering targeting and transgenic constructs for any animal model, targeted mouse/rat ES clones, and knock in/out transgenic mice or rats. This has garnered the facility a reputation that has seen the facility’s services requested both internationally and Australia-wide.

When projects are fully completed within the facility, the staff are able to guarantee successful mouse germ line transmission.

With all the services provided by Gene Targeting, staff consult with researchers to ensure all requirements are met.

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Dutch 2English 1Finnish 2French 5German 7Hungarian 1Indian 2Indonesian 1Iranian 6Israeli 5Italian 1Japanese 2

Malay 1Mexican 2New Zealander 3Portuguese 2Russian 1Singaporean 4Spanish 2Swedish 1Swiss/French 1Vietnamese 1Nationality unknown 60

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And were recrUited

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Nilsson Group (CSIRO)

Bernard Group

Haylock Group (CSIRO)

McGlinn GroupLaslett Group

(CSIRO)

Rosenthal Group

CORE ServicesEMBL Australia Partner Lab Groups

Faculty Groups

Bourne Group

Lieschke Group

Marcelle Group

Ramialison Group

Currie Group

Deputy Director, ARMI and Victorian

Node Head, EMBL Australia Prof Peter Currie

Nagy Group

Hobbs Group

KaslinGroup

director And scientiFic HeAd, emBl AUstrAliAproF nAdiA rosentHAl

Plachta Group

Gene Recombineering

Director Jeanette Rientjes

ES Cell Services Manager

Dr Arianna Nenci

MGTF Manager

Jose Gonzalez

FishCore Manager Vacant

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HR Business Partner Kim Newcombe

Research Accounting Meryl Kennedy

Purchasing/Stores Maxine Rebstadt

Business Development Manager Michael Bettess

Philanthropic Relations Director Vacant

Research Media Officer Vacant

Information Technology Support Glenn McCarter

Uni Support StaffARMI Support StaffEMBL Australia Secretariat

EMBL Australia Secretariat Services

SBI Australia Developer, Systems

Biology Platform Dr Sarah Boyd

Office of Director Executive Officer

Laura Crilley

Resources and Scientific Services

Manager Renae Hayle

Chief Operating Officer, ARMI and Executive Director,

EMBL Australia Silvio Tiziani

director And scientiFic HeAd, emBl AUstrAliAproF nAdiA rosentHAl

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The ARMI Leadership Advisory Board plays an important role in helping ARMI achieve its objectives and strategic goals.

The Board helps to enhance the reputation and positioning of the Institute with key stakeholders including business, government, media and the broader community.

Specifically, the Board works closely with senior management to:• promotethevision,roleandaccomplishmentsofARMI

among business, government, media and the broader community

• assistinthedevelopmentofnewideasandinitiativestosupport the objectives of ARMI

• providetheDirectorandanysteeringbodieswithfeedback from an external perspective of ARMI.

These objectives are accomplished through:• advocacy• contributingexperienceandinsight• supportingand,whereappropriate,mentoringARMI’s

Director and its leadership• supportingARMI’sfundraisingobjectivesbyassisting

ARMI and Monash External Relations, Development and Alumni to build key philanthropic, donor and funding relationships.

dr Janine kirk, Am (chair)DrKirk,AM,istheLeadPartner,Government & Public Sector, at Ernst & Young. Janine is also a member of the Ernst & Young Area Advisory Board and Asia Pacific Area Council, a director of the Ernst & Young Foundation and was

recently appointed Leader, Community, with responsibility for Ernst & Young’s community and social responsibility activities across Australia and New Zealand.

the Hon. dr kay patterson (deputy chair)Dr Patterson was a Senator for Victoria for 21 years. Prior to entering the Senate, Kaymanagedasmallbusinessbeforeattending university and attaining a PhD in Psychology. She taught at Sydney and

Monash Universities and held senior academic positions, including Chairman of the School of Behavioural Sciences at the Lincoln Institute of Health Sciences (now at La Trobe University).

the Hon. John BrumbyThe Hon. John Brumby was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010 and has immense experience in public life. He served for more than 10 years as Treasurer and then Premier of Victoria, six years as Leader of the Victorian Opposition

and seven years as Federal Member of the House of Representatives for Bendigo during the period of the Hawke Government.

mr Andrew dyerMr Dyer is Chairman of the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman Council and Information Technology System and Services, and serves on the boards of the Transport Accident Commission, BrightSource Energy

Australia, the American Australian Association, the Australian Solar Energy Society and The Good Foundation.

dr Zita UngerDr Unger has a distinguished career spanning 15 years as an evaluator, educator and entrepreneur, drawing on extensive knowledge of organisational development, business acumen and governance to bring valuable contributions

at the board level. Zita gained her doctorate in sociology of education at The University of Melbourne.

professor nadia rosenthal (executive member)Professor Rosenthal is the founding director of ARMI. She was previously Head of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Monterotondo (Rome), Italy, where she directed the EMBL Mouse

Biology Program. Nadia also holds a visiting professorship at the University of Western Australia. She has served on numerous study sections, advisory panels and editorial boards including the New England Journal of Medicine, where she was Consultant of Molecular Medicine.

meeting dates24 March4 June1 October3 December

(All meetings were held at Monash Conference Centre, 30 Collins St, Melbourne, Australia)

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The Scientific Advisory Committee advises the Director, especially on scientific proposals and on the preparation and realisation of the scientific program of ARMI.

The Committee performs its task in due cooperation and in consultation with the Director, seeking the advice of experts where appropriate.

ProfessorDameKayDavies,DBE,FMedSci,FRS,UniversityofOxford,UK

Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub, FRCS, FRS, Imperial College LondonandHarefieldHeartScienceCentre,UK

Professor Peter Rigby, FRS, FMedSci, The Institute of Cancer Research,UK

Professor Eric Olson, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, USA

scientiFic AdVisory committee

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eXecUtiVeProfessor Nadia Rosenthal, Director of ARMI and Scientific Head, EMBL Australia (until December 2015)

Professor Peter Currie, Deputy Director of ARMI and Victorian Node Head, EMBL Australia

Mr Silvio Tiziani, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, EMBL Australia

oFFice oF tHe directorMs Laura Crilley, Executive Officer

Ms Penny Rowlett, Senior Finance Officer (Budget and Planning)

Ms Georgina Sack, Events, Fundraising and Communications Administrator and Assistant to Professor Peter Currie (until December 2015)

Ms Jane McCausland, Student Program Coordinator

Ms Lyn Harris, Assistant to Professor Rosenthal – casual until December 2015

Mr Alex Langusch, Administration Officer – casual until October 2015

emBl AUstrAliA secretAriAtProfessor Nadia Rosenthal, Scientific Head

Mr Silvio Tiziani, Executive Director

Ms Laura Crilley, Executive Officer

Ms Penny Rowlett, Senior Finance Officer (Budget and Planning)

Ms Jane McCausland, Student Program Coordinator

systems Biology institUte AUstrAliAProfessorHiroakiKitano,SirLouisMathesonDistinguishedVisiting Professor

Dr Sarah Boyd, Developer, Systems Biology Platform (until July 2015)

Dr Hieu Tri Nim, Research Fellow

Dr Saskia Reibe-Pal, Postdoctoral Affiliate (until October 2015)

Dr Samik Ghosh, Adjunct

Dr Yukiko Matsuoka, Adjunct

resoUrces And scientiFic serVices Ms Renae Hayle, Manager

Ms Radana Ninkovic, Research Assistant

Mr Anthony Park, Research Assistant

Ms Ophelia Erlich, Technical Assistant – casual

Mr Vahid Pazhakh, Technical Assistant – casual

Ms Adrienne Calder, Technical Assistant – casual

Mr Ivan Ng, Technical Assistant – casual

Ms Raquel Vaz, Technical Assistant – casual

Mr Luke Wright, Technical Assistant – casual

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groUp leAdersProfessor Nadia RosenthalProfessor Claude BernardAssociate Professor James BourneProfessor Peter CurrieDrJanKaslinAssociate Professor Andrew Laslett (CSIRO)Professor Graham Lieschke Professor Christophe MarcelleDr Edwina McGlinn (Chair)Associate Professor Susie Nilsson (CSIRO)Dr Nicolas Plachta (until August 2015)AssociateProfessorJoséPoloDr Mirana Ramialison (Deputy Chair)

meeting dates27 March24 April29 May31 July28 August25 September30 October27 November

scientiFic serVices committeeMs Renae Hayle (Chair)WilliamKwan BourneGroupZhengdong Qu Heng GroupJeanTang KaslinGroupLina Wang Rosenthal GroupCarmen Sonntag Currie Group Sony Varma Lieschke GroupWilliamKwan BourneGroupWendy Chua ES Cell ServicesNatalie Payne Bernard GroupLisa Wong McGlinn Group Anthony Park Technical Officer, Scientific ServicesSilke Berger Currie Group (Alternative member)Nadege Veron Marcelle GroupMia De Seram Hobbs GroupJuan Silva Plachta GroupJeanette Rientjes Gene RecombineeringJeannette Hallab Ramialison Group

meeting dates11 February15 April10 June12 August14 October25 November

FisHcore User groUp

Facility managerJanKaslin

techniciansRodney GlanvilleNeal AshcroftPitra Yudhyantara

committeeJanKaslin(Chair)Aminah GiouschAnjana ChandranBrendan WildingCaitlin WilliamsCarmen SonntagCatherine BoisvertCelia VandestadtChrista MeekCristinaKeightleyDhariniKethesparanEdwina McGlinnEkaterina SalimovaEvelyn YipFatemehKarimiradFruzsina FenyesGraham LieschkeIvana MirkovicJames GodwinJeannette HallabJeremy NgJoachim BergerJuan SilvaJean TangLee MilesLeon TeoLiana GoodingsLina WangMan LeeMichael EichenlaubMilena FurtadoMirana RamialisonMo Zhao

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Nicole SchumannOphelia EhrlichPatricia YapPhong NguyenRaquel VazRobert Bryson-RichardsonRodney GlanvilleSarah ShersonSaruar BhuiyanSilke BergerSony VarmaStefanie DudczigSultan AlasmariTamar SztalTraude BeilharzVahid PazhakhWade MooreWouter Masselink (until August)XeniaKostouliasPitra YudhyantaraZhenhua Li

meeting dates27 February27 March24 April29 May26 June31 July28 August25 September 30 October27 November

sAFety committee

committeeMs Renae Hayle (Chair)Lina Wang Biosafety OfficerWilliamKwan FirstAidCo-ordinatorArianna Nenci Radiation Safety OfficerSilvio Tiziani Chief Operating OfficerBernadette Hayman Faculty OHS ConsultantEamon Coughlan Student RepresentativeRuthOliver/KarenFreidin EnvironmentalAdvisor

meeting dates3 March13 May19 August 25 November

stUdent progrAms committee

committeeAssociate Professor Higher Degree by Research James Bourne Coordinator, ARMI (Chair)

Mr Alexei Ilinykh Student Representative

DrCristinaKeightley HonoursCoordinator

Professor Graham Lieschke Senior ARMI Group Leader

Dr Joe Berger Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Coordinator

Professor Claude Bernard Senior ARMI Group Leader

Ms Jane McCausland Student Programs Coordinator

Dr Edwina McGlinn ARMI, EMBL Australia Group Leader

Associate Professor ARMI Group Leader JoséPolo

Mr Silvio Tiziani ARMI Chief Operating Officer

Dr Carmel O’Brien CSIRO Representative

meeting dates3 February5 May4 August17 November

ARMI COMMITTEES

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1. Angiolini J, Plachta N, Mocskos E, Levi V. Exploring the dynamics of cell processes through simulations of fluorescence microscopy experiments. Biophys J 2015;108:2613–2618. Category: Biophysics, Impact Factor: 3.972, Ranking: 17/73

2. Bagheri-Fam S, Ono M, Li L, Zhao L, Ryan J, Lai R, KatsuraY,RosselloFJ,KoopmanP,SchererG,BartschO, Eswarakumar JV, Harley VR. FGFR2 mutation in 46,XY sex reversal with craniosynostosis. Hum Mol Genet 2015;24:6699–6710. Category: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Impact Factor: 6.393, Ranking: 32/289 [ANT, ARMI]

3. Berger J, Hall TE, Currie PD. Novel transgenic lines to label sarcolemma and myofibrils of the musculature. Zebrafish 2015;12:124–125. Category: Zoology, Impact Factor: 1.946, Ranking: 33/153

4. Bishop PJ, Walmsley CW, Phillips MJ, Quayle MR, Boisvert CA, McHenry CR. Oldest pathology in a tetrapod bone illuminates the origin of terrestrial vertebrates. PLoS One 2015;10:e0125723.1–18. Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences, Impact Factor: 3.234, Ranking: 8/56 [ANT, ARMI]

5. Boisvert CA, Martins CL, Edmunds AG, Cocks J, Currie P. Capture, transport, and husbandry of elephant sharks (Callorhinchus milii) adults, eggs, and hatchlings for research and display. Zoo Biol 2015;34:94–98. Category: Zoology, Impact Factor: 0.831, Ranking: 101/153

6. Borchin BE, Barberi T. The use of human pluripotent stem cells for the in vitro derivation of cranial placodes and neural crest cells. Curr Top Dev Biol 2015;111:497–514. Category: Developmental Biology, Impact Factor: 4.680, Ranking: 6/41

7. Bouveret R, Waardenberg AJ, Schonrock N, Ramialison M,DoanT,deJongD,BondueA,KaurG,MohamedS, Fonoudi H, Chen CM, Wouters M, Bhattacharya S, Plachta N, Dunwoodie SL, Chapman G, Blanpain C, HarveyRP.NKX2-5mutationscausativeforcongenitalheart disease retain functionality and are directed to hundreds of targets. Elife 2015;4(E06942):1–30. Category: Biology, Impact Factor: 9.322, Ranking: 3/85

8. Bruckert H, Marchetti G, Ramialison M, Besse F. Drosophila Hrp48 is required for mushroom body axon growth, branching and guidance. PLoS One 2015;10:e0136610.1–15. Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences, Impact Factor: 3.234, Ranking: 8/56

9. Cardoso-Weide LC, Cardoso-Penha RC, Da Costa MW, Ferreira AC, Carvalho DP, Santisteban PS. DuOx2 Promoter regulation by hormones, transcriptional factors and the coactivator TAZ. Eur Thyroid J 2015;4:6–13.

10.ChanCT,SobeyCG,LieuM,FerensD,KettMM,DiepH,AhKimH,KrishnanSM,LewisCV,SalimovaE,TippingP,VinhA,SamuelCS,PeterK,GuzikTJ,KyawTS,TohBH,Bobik A, Drummond GR. Obligatory role for B cells in the development of angiotensin II-dependent hypertension. Hypertension 2015;E-pub:1–26. Category: Peripheral Vascular Disease, Impact Factor: 6.499, Ranking: 3/60 [PHARM, PHY, ARMI]

11.ChenX,KezicJM,ForresterJV,GoldbergGL,WicksIP,Bernard CC, McMenamin PG. In vivo multi modal imaging of experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis in transgenic reporter mice reveals the dynamic nature of inflammatory changes during disease progression. J Neuroinflammation 2015;12:17 Category: Neurosciences, Impact Factor: 5.408, Ranking: 32/252 [ANT, ARMI]

12. Cotton LM, Meilak ML, Templeton T, Gonzales JG, Nenci A, Cooney M, Truman D, Rodda F, Lynas A, Viney E, RosenthalN,BiancoDM,O’BryanMK,SmythIM.UtilisingtheresourcesoftheInternationalKnockoutMouseConsortium: the Australian experience. Mamm Genome 2015;26:142–153. Category: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Impact Factor: 3.068, Ranking: 120/289 [ANT, BCH, ARMI]

13. Debuque RJ, Godwin JW. Methods for axolotl blood collection, intravenous injection, and efficient leukocyte isolation from peripheral blood and the regenerating limb. In:KumarA,SimonA,eds.MethodsinMolecularBiology.USA: Springer, 2015;205–226. Book Chapter

14. Firas J, Liu X, Lim SM, Polo JM. Review: Transcription factor-mediated reprogramming: epigenetics and therapeutic potential. Immunol Cell Biol 2015;93:284–289. Category: Immunology, Impact Factor: 4.147, Ranking: 35/148 [ANT, ARMI]

15. Foster SR, Porrello ER, Stefani M, Smith NJ, Molenaar P, Dos Remedios CG, Thomas WG, Ramialison M. Cardiac gene expression data and in silico analysis provide novel insights into human and mouse taste receptor gene regulation. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2015;388:1009–1027. Category: Pharmacology & Pharmacy, Impact Factor: 2.471, Ranking: 119/254

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16. Gallego-Colon E, Sampson RD, Sattler S, Schneider MD, Rosenthal N, Tonkin J. Cardiac-restricted IGF-1Ea overexpression reduces the early accumulation of inflammatory myeloid cells and mediates expression of extracellular matrix remodelling genes after myocardial infarction. Mediators Inflamm 2015;2015:484357.1–10. Category: Immunology, Impact Factor: 3.236, Ranking: 58/148

17. Garama DJ, Harris TJ, White CL, Rossello FJ, Abdul-Hay M, Gough DJ, Levy DE. A synthetic lethal interaction between glutathione synthesis and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species provides a tumor-specific vulnerability dependent on STAT3. Mol Cell Biol 2015;35:3646–3656. Category: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Impact Factor: 4.777, Ranking: 57/290

18. Gladwyn-Ng IE, Li SS, Qu Z, Davis JM, Ngo L, Haas M, Singer J, Heng JI-T. Bacurd2 is a novel interacting partner to Rnd2 which controls radial migration within the developing mammalian cerebral cortex. Neural Dev 2015:10:1–13. Category: Neurosciences, Impact Factor: 3.453, Ranking: 92/252

19.GoldshmitY,FriscaF,KaslinJ,PintoAR,TangJ-KKY,PebayA,Pinkas-KramarskiR,CurriePD.Decreasedantiregenerative effects after spinal cord injury in spry4-/- mice. Neuroscience 2015:287:104–112. Category: Neurosciences, Impact Factor: 3.357, Ranking: 95/252

20.GoldshmitY,KannerS,ZacsM,FriscaF,PintoAR,CurriePD,Pinkas-KramarskiR.Rapamycinincreasesneuronalsurvival, reduces inflammation and astrocyte proliferation after spinal cord injury. Mol Cell Neurosci 2015;68:82–91. Category: Neurosciences, Impact Factor: 3.840, Ranking: 72/252

21. Gurevich D, Siegel A, Currie PD. Skeletal myogenesis in the zebrafish and its implications for muscle disease modelling. In: Brand-Saberi B, ed. Vertebrate myogenesis – Stem cells and precursors – Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation. Germany: Springer, 2015;49–76. Book Chapter

22.HendersonTM,LadewigK,HaylockDN,McLeanKM,O’Connor AJ. Formation and characterisation of a modifiable soft macro-porous hyaluronic acid cryogel platform. J Biomater Sci Polym Ed 2015;26:881–897. Category: Engineering–Biomedical, Impact Factor: 1.648, Ranking: 42/76

23.HengJI,QuZ,Ohtaka-MaruyamaC,OkadoH,KasaiM, Castro D, Guillemot F, Tan SS. The zinc finger transcription factor RP58 negatively regulates Rnd2 for the control of neuronal migration during cerebral cortical development. Cereb Cortex 2015;25:806–816. Category: Neurosciences, Impact Factor: 8.665, Ranking: 16/252

24. Hirst CE, Marcelle C. The avian embryo as a model system for skeletal myogenesis. In: Brand-Saberi B, ed. Vertebrate myogenesis – Stem cells and precursors – Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation. Germany: Springer, 2015;99–122. Book Chapter

25.HobbsRM,LaHM,MakelaJA,KobayashiT,NodaT, Pandolfi PP. Distinct germline progenitor subsets defined through Tsc2-mTORC1 signaling. EMBO Rep 2015;16:467–480. Category: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Impact Factor: 9.055, Ranking: 22/289 [ARMI, BCH]

26. Holland, ND, Holland LZ, Heimberg A. Hybrids between the Florida amphioxus (Branchiostoma floridae) and the Bahamas lancelet (Asymmetron lucayanum): developmental morphology and chromosome counts. Biol Bull, 2015;228(1):13–24 Category: Biology Impact Factor: 1.638 Ranking: 34/85

27.HorvayK,JardeT,CasagrandaF,PerreauVM,HaighK,NefzgerCM,AkhtarR,GridleyT,BerxG,HaighJJ,Barker N, Polo JM, Hime GR, Abud HE. Snai1 regulates cell lineage allocation and stem cell maintenance in the mouse intestinal epithelium. EMBO J 2015;34:1319–1335. Category: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Impact Factor: 10.434, Ranking: 11/289 [ANT, ARMI]

28. Huuskes BM, Wise AF, Cox AJ, Lim EX, Payne NL, KellyDJ,SamuelCS,RicardoSD.Combinationtherapyof mesenchymal stem cells and serelaxin effectively attenuates renal fibrosis in obstructive nephropathy. FASEB J 2015;29:540–553. Category: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Impact Factor: 5.043, Ranking: 50/289 [ANT, PHARM, ARMI]

29. Jackson J, Canty AJ, Huang L, De Paola V. Laser-mediated microlesions in mouse neocortex to investigate neuronal degeneration and regeneration. Curr Protoc Neurosci, 2015;73:2.24.1–17

30. Johanson Z, Boisvert C, Maksimenko A, Currie P, Trinajstic K.Developmentofthesynarcualintheelephantsharks(Holocephali; Chondrichthyes): Implications for vertebral formation and fusion. PLoS One 2015;10:e0135138.1–19. Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences, Impact Factor: 3.234, Ranking: 8/56

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31.Kennedy-LydonT,RosenthalN.Review:Cardiacregeneration: epicardial mediated repair. Proc Biol Sci 2015;282:1–9. Category: Biology, Impact Factor: 5.051, Ranking: 8/85

32. Lee EJ, Be CL, Vinson AR, Riches AG, Fehr F, Gardiner J, Gengenbach TR, Winkler DA, Haylock D. Immobilisation of a thrombopoietin peptidic mimic by self-assembled monolayers for culture of CD34+ cells. Biomaterials 2015;37:82–93. Category: Engineering–Biomedical, Impact Factor: 8.557, Ranking: 2/76

33.Lehmann-HornK,SaganSA,BernardCC,SobelRA,Zamvil SS. B-cell very late antigen-4 deficiency reduces leukocyte recruitment and susceptibility to central nervous system autoimmunity. Ann Neurol 2015;77:902–908. Category: Neurosciences Impact Factor: 9.977 Ranking: 12/252

34.LiangK,RiccoR,DohertyCM,StylesMJ,BellS,KirbyN, Mudie S, Haylock D, Hill AJ, Doonan CJ, Falcaro P. Biomimetic mineralization of metal-organic frameworks as protective coatings for biomacromolecules. Nat Commun 2015;6(Article #7240):1–8. Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences, Impact Factor: 11.470, Ranking: 3/56 [ARMI, ANT]

35.McCourtPA,OteizaA,CaoB,NilssonSK.Isolationofmurine bone marrow scavenging sinusoidal endothelial cells. Methods Mol Biol 2015;1235:59–71.

36. McDonald CA, Payne NL, Sun G, Moussa L, Siatskas C, Lim R, Wallace EM, Jenkin G, Bernard CC. Immunosuppressive potential of human amnion epithelial cells in the treatment of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. J Neuroinflammation 2015;12:112.1–14. Category: Neurosciences, Impact Factor: 5.408, Ranking: 32/252 [ARMI, ANT]

37. Muerza-Cascante ML, Haylock D, Hutmacher DW, Dalton PD. Melt electrospinning and its technologization in tissue engineering. Tissue Eng Part B Rev 2015;21:187–202.

38.MundinanoIC,KwanWC,BourneJA.Mappingthemosaic sequence of primate visual cortical development. Front Neuroanat 2015;9(Article # A132):1–17. Category: Anatomy and Morphology, Impact Factor: 3.544, Ranking: 3/21

39. Nefzger, CM, Alaei S, Polo JM. Isolation of reprogramming intermediates during generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Methods Mol Biol 2015;1330:205–218. [ANT, ARMI]

40. Nim HT, Boyd SE, Rosenthal NA. Systems approaches in integrative cardiac biology: illustrations from cardiac heterocellular signalling studies. Prog Biophys Mol Biol 2015;117:69–77. Category: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Impact Factor: 2.274, Ranking: 182/289

41.NimHT,FurtadoMB,CostaMW,KitanoH,RosenthalNA, Boyd SE. CARFMAP: A curated pathway map of cardiac fibroblasts. PLoS One 2015;10:e0143274.1–16. Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences, Impact Factor: 3.234, Ranking: 9/57

42. Nim HT, Furtado MB, Costa MW, Rosenthal NA, KitanoH,BoydSE.VISIONET:intuitivevisualisationofoverlapping transcription factor networks, with applications in cardiogenic gene discovery. BMC Bioinformatics 2015;16:141.1–7. Category: Mathematical and Computational Biology, Impact Factor: 2.576, Ranking: 10/56

43. Nim HT, Schreiber F, Done T, Boyd SE. Interactive geolocational and coral compositional visualisation of Great Barrier Reef heat stress data. In IEEE International Symposium on Big Data Visual Analytics [BDVA 2015]. Australia: CSIRO, 2015.

44.OkudaKS,MisaJP,OehlersSH,HallCJ,EllettF,AlasmariS,LieschkeGJ,CrosierKE,CrosierPS,AstinJW.Azebrafish model of inflammatory lymphangiogenesis. Biol Open 2015;4:1270–1280. Category: Biology. Impact Factor: 2.416, Ranking: 22/85

45. Pagan AJ, Yang CT, Cameron J, Swaim LE, Ellett F, Lieschke GJ, Ramakrishnan L. Myeloid growth factors promote resistance to mycobacterial infection by curtailing granuloma necrosis through macrophage replenishment. Cell Host Microbe 2015;18:15–26. Category: Microbiology, Impact Factor: 12.328, Ranking: 5/119

46. Paolini A, Duchemin AL, Albadri S, Patzel E, Bornhorst D, Gonzalez Avalos P, Lemke S, Machate A, Brand M, Sel S, Di Donato V, Del Bene F, Zolessi FR, Ramialison M, Poggi L. Asymmetric inheritance of the apical domain and self-renewal of retinal ganglion cell progenitors depend on Anillin function. Development 2015;142:832–839. Category: Developmental Biology, Impact Factor: 6.462, Ranking: 4/41

47. Payne NL, Sylvain A, O’Brien C, Herszfeld D, Sun G, Bernard CC. Application of human induced pluripotent stem cells for modeling and treating neurodegenerative diseases. N Biotechnol 2015;32:212–228. Category: Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology, Impact Factor: 2.898, Ranking: 50/162 [ARMI, ANT]

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48. Pearson HB, McGlinn E, Phesse TJ, Schluter H, Srikumar A, Godde NJ, Woelwer CB, Ryan A, Phillips WA, Ernst M,KaurP,HumbertP.ThepolarityproteinScribmediatesepidermal development and exerts a tumor suppressive function during skin carcinogenesis. Mol Cancer 2015;14:169.1–16. Category: Oncology Impact Factor: 4.257 Ranking: 48/211

49. Reibe-Pal S, Madea B. Calculating time since death in a mock crime case comparing a new computational method (ExLAC) with the ADH method. Forensic Sci Int 2015;248:78–81. Category: Medicine, Legal Impact Factor: 2.140, Ranking: 3/15

50. Robinson AM, Miller S, Payne N, Boyd R, Sakkal S, NurgaliK.Neuroprotectivepotentialofmesenchymalstem cell-based therapy in acute stages of TNBS-induced colitis in guinea-pigs. PLoS One 2015;10:e0139023.1–32. Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences, Impact Factor: 3.234, Ranking: 9/57 [ARMI, ANT]

51. Samarage CR, White MD, Alvarez YD, Fierro-Gonzalez JC, Henon Y, Jesudason EC, Bissiere S, Fouras A, Plachta N. Cortical tension allocates the first inner cells of the mammalian embryo. Dev Cell 2015;34:435–447. Category: Developmental Biology, Impact Factor: 9.708, Ranking: 3/4

52. Shu, R, Wong W, Ma QH, Yang ZZ, Zhu H, Liu FJ, Wang P. Ma J, Yan S, Polo JM, Bernard CC, Stanton LW, Dawe GS, Xiao ZC. APP intracellular domain acts as a transcriptional regulator of miR-663 suppressing neuronal differentiation. Cell Death Dis 2015;6(e1651):1–12 Category: Cell Biology, Impact Factor: 5.014 Ranking: 49/1874 [ANT, ARMI]

53.StoranMJ,HeazlewoodSY,HeazlewoodCK,HaylockDN,AlexanderWS,NeavesRJ,OteizaA,NilssonSK.BriefReport: Factors released by megakaryocytes thrombin cleave osteopontin to negatively regulate hematopoietic stem cells. Stem Cells 2015;33:2351–2357. Category: Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology, Impact Factor: 6.523, Ranking: 10/162 [ARMI, ANT]

54. Sztal TE, Zhao M, Williams C, Oorschot V, Parslow AC, Giousoh A, Yuen M, Hall TE, Costin A, Ramm G, Bird PI, Busch-Nentwich EM, Stemple DL, Currie PD, Cooper ST, LaingNG,NowakKJ,Bryson-RichardsonRJ.Zebrafishmodels for nemaline myopathy reveal a spectrum of nemaline bodies contributing to reduced muscle function. Acta Neuropathol 2015;130:389–406. Category: Neurosciences, Impact Factor: 10.762, Ranking: 9/252 [BCH ARMI]

55.TafreshiAP,SylvainA,SunG,HerszfeldD,SchulzeK,Bernard CC. Lithium chloride improves the efficiency of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurospheres. Biol Chem 2015;396:923–928. Category: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Impact Factor: 3.268, Ranking: 106/289

56. Tan JL, Chan ST, Lo CY, Deane JA, McDonald CA, Bernard CC, Wallace E.M, Lim R. Amnion cell mediated immune modulation following bleomycin challenge: controlling the regulatory T cell response. Stem Cell Res Ther 2015;6:1–12. Category: Medicine–Research and Experimental, Impact Factor: 3.368, Ranking: 36/123 [ANT, ARMI]

57. Tonkin J, Rosenthal N. Preview: One small step for muscle: a new micropeptide regulates performance. Cell Metab 2015;21:515–516. Category: Cell Biology, Impact Factor: 17.565, Ranking: 7/184

58. Tonkin J, Temmerman L, Sampson RD, Gallego-Colon E, Barberi L, Bilbao D, Schneider MD, Musaro A, Rosenthal NA. Monocyte/macrophage-derived IGF-1 orchestrates murine skeletal muscle regeneration and modulates autocrine polarization. Mol Therapy 2015;23:1189–1200. Category: Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology, Impact Factor: 6.227, Ranking: 12/162

59.TrinajsticK,BoisvertC,LongJ,MaksimenkoA,JohansonZ. Pelvic and reproductive structures in placoderms (stem gnathostomes). Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2015;90:467–501 Category: Biology, Impact Factor: 9.670, Ranking: 1/85

60.VeronN,QuZ,KipenPA,HirstCE,MarcelleC.CRISPRmediated somatic cell genome engineering in the chicken. Dev Biol 2015;407:68–74. Category: Developmental Biology, Impact Factor: 3.547, Ranking: 9/41

61. Wang YC, Stein JW, Lynch CL, Tran HT, Lee CY, Coleman R, Hatch A, Antontsev VG, Chy HS, O’Brien CM,MurthySK,LaslettAL,PetersonSE,LoringJF.Glycosyltransferase ST6GAL1 contributes to the regulation of pluripotency in human pluripotent stem cells. Sci Rep 2015;5(Article #13317):1–13. Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences, Impact Factor: 5.578, Ranking: 5/56

62.WarnerCE,KwanWC,WrightD,JohnstonLA,EganGF, Bourne JA. Preservation of vision by the pulvinar following early-life primary visual cortex lesions. Curr Biol 2015;25:424–434. Category: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Impact Factor: 9.571, Ranking: 15/289

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63. White MD, Plachta N. How adhesion forms the early mammalian embryo. Curr Top Dev Biol 2015;112:1–17. Category: Developmental Biology, Impact Factor: 4.680, Ranking: 6/41

64. White MD, Plachta N. The first cell fate decision during mammalian development. In: Warburton A, ed. Stem cells, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd, 2015;25–40. Book Chapter

65. Wong SF, Agarwal V, Mansfield JH, Denans N, Schwartz MG, Prosser HM, Pourquie O, Bartel DP, Tabin CJ, McGlinn E. Independent regulation of vertebral number and vertebral identity by microRNA-196 paralogs. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2015;112:E4884-4893. Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences, Impact Factor: 9.674, Ranking: 4/56

66. Xu X, Jaehne EJ, Greenberg Z, McCarthy P, Saleh E, Parish CL, Camera D, Heng J, Haas M, Baune BT, Ratnayake U, van den Buuse M, Lopez AF, Ramshaw HS, Schwarz Q. 14-3-3{zeta} deficient mice in the BALB/c background display behavioural and anatomical defects associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Sci Rep 2015;5(12434):1–15. Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences, Impact Factor: 5.578, Ranking: 5/56

67.ZhuF,FriedrichT,NugegodaD,KaslinJ,WlodkowicD.Assessment of the biocompatibility of three-dimensional-printed polymers using multispecies toxicity tests. Biomicrofluidics 2015;9:061103. Category: Biochemical Research Methods, Impact Factor: 3.357, Ranking: 22/79

68.ZhuF,SkommerJ,MacdonaldNP,FriedrichT,KaslinJ, Wlodkowic D. Three-dimensional printed millifluidic devices for zebrafish embryo tests. Biomicrofluidics, 2015;9:046502.1–11 Category: Biochemical Research Methods, Impact Factor: 3.357, Ranking: 22/79

69. Zhu F, Wigh A, Friedrich T, Devaux A, Bony S, Nugegoda D,KaslinJ,WlodkowicD.Automatedlab-on-a-chiptechnology for fish embryo toxicity tests performed under continuous microperfusion (muFET). Environ Sci Technol 2015;49:14570–14578. Category: Engineering Sciences, Impact Factor: 5.330, Ranking: 10/223

APPENDIX 1 – PUBLICATIONS

66

Student name Position Team SupervisorCo-supervisor(s)

Project title

Rachael Chatterton

2015 Honours student

Laslett group Dr Carmel O’Brien

The application of human pluripotent stem cells for modelling Hendra virus infection in vitro

Veronica Joshi 2015 Honours student

Currie group Dr Alasdair Wood

Professor Peter Currie

The role of integrin signaling in the control of myoseptal collagen deposition

Harriet Manley 2015 Honours student

Lieschke group Dr Cristina Keightley

Professor Graham Lieschke

The role of Zbtb11 and Ilf2 in haematopoiesis

Nathalia Tan 2015 Honours student

Ramialison group

Dr Mirana Ramialison

Associate Professor JoséPolo

3D reconstruction of genome-wide gene expression and regulation in mouse hearts

Shin Yi Tin 2015 Honours student

Lieschke group Dr Cristina Keightley

Professor Graham Lieschke

Characterising the role of zbtb11 and ilf2 in zebrafish liver development and hepatocellular carcinoma

Dylan Fox 2015 Honours student

Bourne group Dr Inaki Carril Associate Professor James Bourne

The marmoset as a model of behavioral plasticity: Novel training methods to gauge their attention

Quoc Duy Tran 2015 Honours student

Currie group Dr Ivana Mirkovic

Professor Peter Currie

Examination of ASPH function in zebrafish embryonic development

Thábatta Nakamura

Mid Year Honours student

Kaslingroup DrJanKaslin Dr Minnie Anko Splicing regulation during development and in stem cells

Alessander Leyendecker Junior

Advanced research training

Laslett group Associate Professor Andrew Laslett

Professor David Haylock

Identifying critical differences between hPSC8 – derived MSCs and MSCs

Rodrigo Curvello Dos Santos

Advanced research training

Haylock group Professor David Haylock

Associate Professor Andrew Laslett

Generating haematopoietic stem cells by reprogramming committed progenitor cells

Alissa De Novais Freire

Advanced research training

Rosenthal group

Dr Mauro Da Costa

Understanding the mechanisms associated with cardiomyopathy in Nkx2-5 mouse models

Anthony Boghdadi

HDR student Bourne group Associate Professor James Bourne

Dr Jihane Homman-Ludiye

The Nogo receptor and its ligands are responsible for repair inhibition following cortical ischemia

Danni Ratnayake

HDR student Currie group Professor Peter Currie

Dr Alasdair Wood

Generation of the muscle stem cell compartment for regeneration and its utilization during repair

Hakan Tarakci HDR student Currie group Professor Peter Currie

Dr Joe Berger Dissecting the role of sarcomere assembly in the pathology of human congenital myopathy

Daniel Colquhoun

HDR student Kaslingroup DrJanKaslin Dr Ben Lindsey The role of immune cells and the transcription factor Hmga1 in boosting neural regeneration

Laura Galvis Vargas

HDR student Marcelle group Professor Christophe Marcelle

Professor Peter Currie

Interrogating gene networks controlling skeletal muscle progenitor cell fate

AppendiX 2 – stUdent sUperVision

APPe

NDIC

es A

RMI A

nnuA

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poRt

201

5

67

Student name Position Team SupervisorCo-supervisor(s)

Project title

Jaber Firas HDR student Polo group Associate ProfessorJoséPolo

Associate Professor Andrew Laslett

Elucidating the influence of gender on the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells

Sara Alaei Shehni

HDR student Polo group Associate ProfessorJoséPolo

Dr Stefan White Dr Fernando Rossello

The therapeutic potential of mesenchymal stem cells in mammalian CNS injury

Bianca Borchin

HDR student Polo group Associate ProfessorJoséPolo

Associate Professor James Bourne

Derivation of skeletal muscle progenitors from human embryonic stem cells

Mitra Amiri HDR student Kaslingroup DrJanKaslin Associate Professor James Bourne

In vivo imaging of neural stem cell behaviour

Jeremy Ng Chi Kei

HDR student Currie group Dr Patricia Jusuf

Professor Peter Currie

Role of intrinsic versus extrinsic cues in cell type determination during development and regeneration

Zhenhua Li HDR student Currie group Professor Peter Currie

Dr Alasdair Wood

Investigating muscle regeneration in zebrafish muscular dystrophy mutants

Ophelia Ehrlich

HDR student Currie group Professor Peter Currie

Dr Yona Goldshmit Dr Patrick Hartley

Nanomedicine based therapies for extracellular matrix diseases

Eamonn Cohlan

HDR student McGlinn group Dr Edwina McGlinn

Associate Professor James Bourne

miR-196 in the development of the CNS

Ryan Debuque HDR student Rosenthal group

Professor Nadia Rosenthal

Dr James Godwin

Mechanisms of salamander regeneration

Alexei Ilinykh HDR student Rosenthal group

Professor Nadia Rosenthal

Dr Alex Pinto The role of cardiac tissue macrophages in the ageing heart

Vahid Pazhakh HDR student Lieschke group Professor Graham Lieschke

Dr Alex Andrianopoulos

Regulation of leukocyte behaviour during inflammation in vivo

Sultan Alasmari

HDR student Lieschke group Professor Graham Lieschke

Dr Cristina Keightley

Studies of neutrophil behaviour and function in vivo

Leon Teo HDR student Bourne group Associate Professor James Bourne

KeithMcLean,Jeffery Rosenfeld, Patrick Hartley

Novel conjugated biomaterials in the treatment of neurotrauma and neurodegeneration

Ivan Gladwyn-Ng

HDR student Dr Julian Heng Associate Professor James Bourne

Genetic analysis of neocortical development in mice

Daniel Sieiro Mosti

HDR student Marcelle group Professor Christophe Marcelle

Molecular pathways involved in vertebrate myoblast fusion

APPENDIX 2 – STUDENT SUPERVISION

68

Student name Position Team SupervisorCo-supervisor(s)

Project title

Deevina Arasaratnam

HDR student Associate Professor David Elliott

Dr Anthony White

Role of micro-RNAs in the human cardiomyocyte

Jack Lambshead

HDR student Laslett group Associate Professor Andrew Laslett

Dr Carmel O’Brien Dr Laurence Meagher

Defined conditions for human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) culture and the specific roles of cells adhesion molecules (CAMs)

Martin Short HDR student Bernard group Professor Claude Bernard

Cellular and molecular regeneration of the central nervous system

M Saruar Bhuiyan

HDR student – ARMI affiliate

Lieschke group Professor Graham Lieschke

Molecular study of community-acquired Acinetobacter baumanii

Naomi Cohen UROP student Currie group Professor Peter Currie

Dr Wouter Masselink

Analysis of somatic contribution to the zebrafish AER

Eva Chan UROP student Hobbs group Dr Robin Hobbs

Regulation of germline stem cell function

Henry Chiu UROP Student Ramialison group

Dr Mirana Ramialison

Developing and using the Trawler_web software to discover regulatory DNA motifs

Louis Dang UROP student Ramialison group

Dr Mirana Ramialison

Identification of novel non coding sequences responsible for heart disease

Anoushka Lal UROP student Bourne group Associate Professor James Bourne

Embryonic development of the nonhuman primate visual system

Bianca Arena UROP student Kaslingroup DrJanKaslin Dr Ben Lindsey Stem cell activation and quiescence during homeostasis and regeneration

Laura Stein UROP student McGlinn group Dr Edwina McGlinn

Dr Olivier Serralbo

Role of Hox genes in proprioceptive circuitry

HDR – Higher Degree by Research includes Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), research Masters degrees and other professional higher degrees by research.

UROP – the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program offers paid (casual) research experience in research laboratories.

APPENDIX 2 – STUDENT SUPERVISION

APPe

NDIC

es A

RMI A

nnuA

l Re

poRt

201

5

69

new grAnts commencing 2015Primary chief investigator

Granting body Description/Title Total funding

Professor Claude Bernard

Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia

Dr N Payne Incubator Grant – Transcriptome profiling of neural cells derived from MS patient specific iPSCs

22,000

Metals Manufactures Ltd MS Research Fellow 600,000

Associate Professor James Bourne

NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship

Senior Research Fellowship 641,358

NHMRC Project Grant A novel treatment for ischemic stroke: preclinical assessment in the nonhuman primate

758,610

Professor Peter Currie

ARC Discovery Project Molecular mechanisms that generate muscle cell type diversity

341,694

NHMRC Project Grant Molecular mechanisms underlying induction of haematopoietic stem cells in the embryo

575,187

NHMRC Project Grant The role of misfolded actin in myopathies 589,560

NHMRC Project Grant Modeling Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy in zebrafish

458,276

Muscular Dystrophy Association, USA

Using zebrafish congenital muscular dystrophy models to find novel therapies

360,000

Dr Anja Knaupp NHMRC Early Career Fellowship

What makes a cell pluripotent? 309,436

Dr Angela Lek NHMRC Early Career Fellowship

Early Career Fellowship 370,808

Professor Graham Lieschke

NHMRC Project Grant Defining the in vivo contribution of leukocyte extracellular traps to infective disease

595,944

Harold & Cora Brennen Benevolent Trust

Speedvax sample driver/evaporator 12,620

Professor Christophe Marcelle

NHMRC Project Grant Seeing is believing: imaging muscle maintenance and repair

724,284

Dr Susie Nilsson NHMRC Project Grant Bone marrow endothelial stem cells have the capacity to form both the endothelial and haemopoietic hierarchies

1,394,125

Dr Hieu Nim The Pratt Foundation Richard Pratt Fellowships in Prostate Cancer Research 187,952

Dr Nicolas Plachta Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charity Foundation

Sylvia and Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship

1,225,000

Associate Professor José Polo

NHMRC Project Grant Inducing and controlling cellular plasticity 763,137

AppendiX 3 – grAnts

70

continUing grAntsPrimary chief investigator

Granting body Description/Title Total funding

Professor Claude Bernard

CuroNZ Testing peptides claimed to have potent neural regenerative properties

106,551

DIISR Australia-India Strategic Research Fund

Nano-engineered auto-antigens to prevent and treat autoimmunity

291,960

NHMRC CIRM Early Translational Award III

Multiple Sclerosis therapy – Human pluripotent stem cell derived neural progenitor cells

1,775,226

Victorian Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources

Engineering immune tolerance by stem cell derived thymic regeneration

390,667

Associate Professor James Bourne

NHMRC Project Grant A role for the pulvinar nucleus in visual cortical development and plasticity

844,435

ARC Special Research Initiative

Neurogenesis in the injured nonhuman primate neocortex

558,856

European Research Council COREFEAR

Functional wiring of the core neural network of innate fear 339,082

NHMRC Project Grant Functional neurogenesis in the injured neocortex of the nonhuman primate

966,435

Dr Sarah Boyd ARC Discovery Project Systems modeling of the cardiac fibroblast 287,762

Victorian Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources

Enhancing Systems Biology Institute Victoria 223,016

Dr Mauro Costa NHMRC Project Grant Using Nkx2-5 knock-in mouse models to understand complex cardiac diseases

657,409

Professor Peter Currie

NHMRC Principle Research Fellowship

Genetic basis for skeletal muscle formation in development and disease.

753,922

NHMRC Project Grant The role of scube gene function in hedgehog signal transduction

547,216

NHMRC Project Grant Modeling laminin mediated adhesion and congenital muscular dystrophy in Zebrafish

586,077

NHMRC Project Grant Molecular mechanisms that generate and activate muscle stem cells during growth and disease

596,086

Dr Robin Hobbs NHMRC Project Grant Role of Plzf-Sall4 interactions in germline progenitor function and development

485,714

ARC Discovery Project Multi-Institutional agreement with University of Adelaide Chief Investigator A, Professor Paul Thomas

133,000

ARC Future Fellowship Genetic control of germline progenitor cell heterogeneity and fate

775,157

ARC Special Research Initiative

ARC Stem Cells Australia Strategic Grant 534,906

NHMRC Project Grant Control of germline progenitor cell fate and fertility by the mTORC1 signaling pathway

564,148

Dr Patricia Jusuf (nee Yap)

ARC Discovery Project Specification of the nerve cell subtypes in the developing central nervous system

335,722

APPENDIX 3 – GRANTS

APPe

NDIC

es A

RMI A

nnuA

l Re

poRt

201

5

71

Primary chief investigator

Granting body Description/Title Total funding

Dr Jan Kaslin ErdiGroup The Eva and Les Erdi Zebrafish Research Group 1,194,300

NHMRC Project Grant The role of immune cells and the transcription factor Hmga1 in boosting neural regeneration

375,775

Professor Graham Lieschke

Cancer Australia The role of ZBTB11, a novel transcriptional regulator in liver development and the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma

300,000

NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship

Studying white blood cell function and disease using zebrafish models

688,544

NHMRC Project Grant Cellular and molecular mechanisms of fungal infection pathogenesis and therapy

561,361

NHMRC Project Grant Zbtb11 interactions in haematopoiesis and disease 587,926

Professor Christophe Marcelle

ARC Discovery Project Cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying skeletal muscle organisation

458,450

NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship

Senior Research Fellowship 673,779

NHMRC Project Grant Muscle fusion defects may be a common cause of human dystrophies

401,918

Dr Edwina McGlinn NHMRC Project Grant Elucidating the role of miR-196 in formation of the axial skeleton

520,087

NHMRC Project Grant Redefining proprioceptive circuitry at a molecular level 564,802

Dr Nicolas Plachta NHMRC Project Grant Revealing how transcription factors search the DNA to control preimplantation development in mammals

621,776

NHMRC Project Grant Revealing how the mammalian preimplantation embryo undergoes compaction

705,520

Associate Professor José Polo

NHMRC Career Development Fellowship

Determining the events that occur during the reprogramming of different adult cells into embryonic stem-like adults cells and the capacity of becoming another specific adult cell during this process

391,076

NHMRC Project Grant Determining how the germ layer of origin of adult somatic cells influences the differentiation potential of iPS cells

476,781

NHMRC Project Grant Does nuclear reprogramming of granulocytes induce reversal of the hematopoiesis pathway

446,212

ARC Stem Cells Australia Strategic Grant

ARC Special Research Initiative 534,906

NHMRC Project Grant Epigenetic and functional decline of intestinal stem cells during aging

565,745

Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charity Foundation

Sylvia and Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellowship

612,500

Dr Mirana Ramialison

ARC Discovery Project Old genes learning new tricks: characterising regulatory changes driving increased heart complexity during vertebrate evolution

408,984

NHMRC Career Development Award

Unraveling gene networks in heart development and congenital heart disease

410,589

APPENDIX 3 – GRANTS

72

Primary chief investigator

Granting body Description/Title Total funding

Professor Nadia Rosenthal

ARC Special Research Initiative

ARC Stem Cells Australia Strategic Grant 1,882,082

MESOBLAST Understanding the complex mechanism of action of our proprietary mesenchymal precursor (MPC) cells

195,752

NHMRC Australian Fellowship

Enhancing human regeneration: a systems approach 3,933,333

NHMRC Project Grant, Multi Institutional Agreement

The C-type lectin Mincle exemplifies a new mode of sterile inflammation in cardiovascular disease

270,773

EUCOMMTools Tools for functional annotation of the mouse genome 300,000

APPENDIX 3 – GRANTS

INTR

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location

Monash Highway (Wellington Road)

To City

P

Normanby Road

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Roa

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Princes Highway

Rin

g R

oad

Wes

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75Building

TAXI/CARPick up/drop off

Cinque Lire Cafe

Gar

dine

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oad

Ferntree Gully Road

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Rin

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Wes

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Bayview Ave

Key to parking■ Visitors car park

■ Metered parking

Australian Regenerative Medicine InstituteEMBL Australia Monash University, Clayton CampusLevel 1 Building 75

Location and Parking Map

To City

For a detailed campus map, download the Monash app from the apps store

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contAct And locAtion inFormAtion

contactAustralian Regenerative Medicine Institute15 Innovation Walk Monash University Clayton Campus, Clayton, VIC, 3800 AustraliaTel: +61 3 9902 9600Fax: +61 3 9902 9729www.armi.org.au

Copies of this document can be obtained viawww.armi.org or by contacting ARMI.

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