Newsletter Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology INCORPORATED Winter 2012
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ANZSCDB Newsletter Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology INCORPORATED Winter 2012 Welcome to the mid provide a real chance for post year issue of the docs and students to strut their ANZSCDB newsletter. stuff and get noticed locally. It has already been a We are very happy to support busy year of activities these initiatives, a process I and meetings so far witnessed first hand at the NSW for the society, and meeting in March this year. The we round up some increased funding for the yearly of the activities that state meetings has allowed the have occurred and invitation of interstate speakers, highlight upcoming which has proved a bit of a draw meetings and society card for these meetings. In related events. In this issue we the next few weeks we will be take some time to celebrate one calling for new representatives. of the senior members of the Each year one of the state/ ANZSCDB community, Patrick NZ representatives steps Tam. Patrick has reached the down and we are now calling age where the combination of for nominations for keen and experience and wisdom peak, engaged new representatives, and it is only right and fitting in particular from the ACT that we acknowledge the and from Tasmania (who are important contributions Patrick currently not represented). Read Up On: has made to our discipline This opportunity is an excellent throughout his career. We way to engage with your President's Report preview COMBIO in Adelaide and peers, to advance and promote celebrate the awarding of the wider interest in our field society’s top awards for 2012. and to serve the Society. It Profile on Patrick Tam also provides the chance to In this newsletter we also “tick the box” on society and Notifications of launch a new section called committee involvement for your “Your Opinion” where members CV come grant and fellowship Meetings in 2012 can have a say about issues time. Please contact me or relevant to the society, with our the Secretary Ian Smyth if you Hunter meeting 2012 first opinion piece by Professor are interested in being a local Jenny Stow, who tackles issues society Rep. relevant to all over-committed NSW Meeting academics and researchers. COMBIO2012 COMBIO, our annual meeting, Member News State/NZ Chapter Activities will be held in Adelaide at the A real effort has been placed on Adelaide Convention Centre 23 trying to build the activity of the - 27 September. This COMBIO is Your Opinion society locally through the use of building as one of the strongest the society’s state and territory line-ups of international Last word from the representatives. The society’s speakers that we have ever Secretary local reps play an extremely had at our annual meeting. important role in coordinating International speakers we have and delivering the “grass roots” confirmed for the meeting so far President's Report activities of the society. Regional include: meetings are the real focus and · Brenda Andrews, University of it is pleasing to see the 4 stand Toronto, Canada alone meetings in Victoria, NSW · Ted Baker, University of Queensland and South Australia going so well. These meetings Auckland, New Zealand Page 1 Continued from Page 1 · Gerald Crabtree, Stanford University, USA coordinators for pulling together hopefully, a view of things · Raymond J. Deshaies, such a strong plenary and to come in the ANZSCDB Howard Hughes Medical symposia program. If you have President’s Medal Plenary lecture Institute, California Institute of not registered, do so! I look at ComBio2012. However a Technology, USA forward to seeing you all at brief précis of Marilyn’s scientific · Richard Dixon, Samuel COMBIO. contributions is outlined Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK, USA · Seth Grant, The University of Edinburgh, UK · Jeff Hasty, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, USA President’s Medal · James Hurley, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, here. Marilyn is a University USA Annoucement of Awards Laureate Professor and the Ian · Michael Karin, University of It is a great pleasure to Potter Chair of Zoology at the California San Diego, La Jolla, announce the awarding of Department of Zoology, The USA the Society’s two awards, the University of Melbourne. The · David Kramer, Michigan State President’s Medal and the central focus of research of University, USA ANZSCDB Young Investigator her laboratory is to understand · Robin Lovell-Badge, National Award. The President’s Medal the control of reproduction and Institute for Medical Research, is the highest honour that the development in mammals. The London, UK Society bestows on its most laboratory studies a wide range · Chris Marshall, Institute of highly acclaimed members and of mammals, from wallabies to Cancer research, London, UK this year’s highly worthy winner women, with an emphasis on · Susan McCouch, Cornell is Prof Marilyn Renfree. Australian mammalian fauna, University, Ithica, USA particularly marsupials and · Andrew McMahon, Harvard monotremes and the evolution University, USA of reproduction. She has · Anne Osbourn, John Innes received numerous previous Centre, Norwich, UK awards including the Gottschalk · Dale Sanders ,John Innes Medal (Australian Academy of Centre, Norwich, UK Science), the Mueller Medal · John D Scott, Howard Hughes (ANZAAS) and the Gold Medical Institute, University of Conservation Medal for 2000 of Washington, Seattle, USA the Zoological Society of San · Michael Shen, Columbia Diego. She received the Whitley University, USA Book award in 1987 with Hugh Tyndale-Biscoe for their textbook As you can see there is a Reproductive Physiology of dazzling array of international Marsupials. She was elected a speakers in the area of cell A full account of Marilyn’s Fellow of the Australian Academy and developmental biology and research contributions will of Science in 1997, and a Fellow as such this meeting offers appear in the December of the Australian Institute of extraordinary value for the Newsletter as part of our annual Biology in 1998. She currently range and depth of speakers COMBIO round-up and Marilyn serves as the Vice President and that are on offer. Well done will present a retrospective Secretary (Biological Sciences) to the organizers and stream of her career in research and of the Australian Academy of Page 2 Science. I warmly congratulate metabolism in healthy cells and membership for the Society, Prof Renfree on her award. cell models of disease. She that of the emeritus member. has published a number of high We acknowledge that it is often The ANZSCDB Young profile papers in this area of difficult for previous members Investigator Award recognises research recently. Aleksandra who have retired to maintain the up-and- coming leaders has been an active member their membership. We therefore in the discipline of Cell and of the society acting as a WA have introduced the emeritus Developmental Biology. The representative of ANZSCDB. category of membership aim of the YIA is to draw We look forward to her talk whereby individuals who attention to the achievements and congratulate her on her retire from their positions and of our best and brightest and achievements. who have maintained 5 years provide a bit of a leg up in the of continuous membership tough funding milieu that we all Membership Issues prior to their retirement can face. This year's winner is Membership remains a central be recognized as emeritus Dr Aleksandra Filipovska. focus of the ANZSCDB executive members where membership and growing the membership fees to the society are waived. remains the most effective I would like to thank Cynthia way of building the Society’s Jensen for bringing this concept influence and strengthening its to our attention, which I think ability to advance the discipline is a great initiative. If you of cell and developmental think you would like to take biology. I urge everyone to try advantage of this please contact and help with this issue and the secretariat to arrange. As become an advocate for the always new members and Society. Membership does have renewals can join online at Aleksandra is an ARC Future its privileges! Travel support to http://www.anzscdb.org/ Fellow at the Centre for Medical COMBIO for PhD students and ANZSCDB-Membership.html. Research at the University of eligibility for the society’s prizes Western Australia. Her work are dependent on individuals has been focused on identifying being active members of the mammalian mitochondrial Society. On the other end of the RNA-binding proteins and spectrum we have also recently investigating their role in RNA developed a new category of Page 1 Profile recognition in the field of up. How many of us can say that developmental biology stems their job is done and dusted? Mapping from two major contributions What a wonderful feeling that - pioneering the application of must be!” micromanipulation and whole mouse embryo culture in Minding the gap his own experimental embryology and It was during Patrick’s unravelling the cellular and undergraduate days in Hong molecular mechanisms of cell Kong that his future career fate determination and body path and perhaps the path of fate patterning during embryonic mouse embryology were set. development. His education at the University of Hong Kong started with a Fiona Wylie Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Human Neuroscience. However, according to Patrick, something was amiss. “I noticed Let’s face it, most of us are that a particular discipline, in happy if we end up even those days called Embryology, partially reaching the lofty was missing from the curriculum research goals set in our at my university. I had found early academic years. But to one book on it in the library completely answer the major there by Boris Ivan Balinsky question set at the beginning of entitled An Introduction to one’s career and in a way that Embryology, and that was all.” impacts on almost every other Patrick went to the Department researcher in that field…well, of Zoology about a possible that is just showing off!! course, only to find that nobody in the whole place had expertise in this area.