SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT, MEDICINE & HEALTH

ANU Colleges of Physical & Mathematical Sciences Medicine, Biology & Environment CONTENTS

Introduction 2 Astronomy and 20 Medicine 34 How we work together 4 astrophysics Looking good, baby The giant eye on the sky Strong international Physics 36 “The universe Biology 22 One small wave, connections 6 The future of food one very big deal World-class facilities 8 Chemistry 24 Population health 38 Our alumni 10 Saving lives with Hearing the voiceless Excellence in teaching 12 chemical Lego Psychology 40 does what it and learning Earth sciences 26 The power of belonging Undergraduate studies 14 Winds of change Science communication 42 Postgraduate coursework 16 Environment and society 28 When the Science Circus A tale of two cuties came to Africa Postgraduate research 18 wants, and I’m Mathematics` 30 Science, environment, 44 From the primordial soup medicine & health to the salon under the microscope Medical research 32 Contact us Back cover A medical revolution just here of mice and men to figure out what it’s doing.”

Professor Brian Schmidt ANU Vice-Chancellor and Winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics 2011

1 Our academics produce research that changes lives, and life as we know it.

Inside a protective suit on the front line of the Ebola outbreak Our students learn from these world-class researchers, in Sierra Leone. as do Australia’s policy-makers, with our expertise and influence extending to our neighbours—leaders On a tree branch in the Tasmanian wilderness, peering into in government and industry—and beyond. a parrot’s nest. We are proud of our standing, our history and our Among the life-support machines of the neonatal intensive achievements. In the past 70 years we have produced four care unit. Nobel Laureates, some of Australia’s most pre-eminent In the path of a westerly gale on the Antarctic Peninsula. scientists and thousands of graduates with a world-class education in science, environment, medicine and health. At a lab bench, and in front of the classroom. But nothing excites us quite as much as our future, You’ll find our researchers at the forefront of scientific practice beginning now. and discovery, wherever it may be. Befitting the Australian National University’s place among the top 20 universities on the planet, our academics produce research that changes lives, and life as we know it. We are committed to solving problems through big picture and applied scientific research, to improving health outcomes for people around the world, and to the sustainable, secure and equitable use of global resources.

2 3 How we work together

Research and teaching in science, environment, medicine and health at ANU is delivered by two colleges, linked by joint administration and interdisciplinary programs.

Fenner School of Research School Mathematical Environment & Society of Astronomy Sciences Institute & Astrophysics

John Curtin School Energy Change Centre for of Medical Institute Advanced ANU College of Research ANU College of Microscopy Physical and Medicine, Mathematical Biology and Research Research Environment School of School of Sciences Physics & Research School Chemistry Research School Engineering of Biology of Psychology

Research School Australian National of Earth Sciences Centre for the Research School of Public Awareness Population Health of Science

4 5 Strong international connections

North America Europe 4025 6763 UK 2001

Asia

From working with Indonesian 2428 government and technical agencies on understanding earthquakes, to forming a joint Africa Australian-Chinese research South America centre for personalised immunology, 304 to consulting with multinational oil and gas 723 companies on a multimillion-dollar high-tech Oceania start-up, we bring Australian knowledge, research and innovation to the world stage. 485 Alongside our collaborative research, we also have education partnerships with leading institutions around the world, including a dual PhD program with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a joint Graphic: The size of the green circles indicates the undergraduate and Master’s degree program with number of ANU science, medicine and health publication the National University of Singapore. collaborations by region, 2010-2015

6 7 The Australian Plasma Fusion Research Facility is a uniquely versatile resource for developing fusion energy.

The Australian Plant Phenomics Facility at ANU is the only place in the world The Sensitive High Resolution Ion that provides high-calibre Microprobe (SHRIMP) for analysing public sector access to geological materials was designed and infrastructure and expertise developed at ANU. on crop performance.

Our new $240-million science The ANU Siding Spring Observatory The Australian Phenomics Facility precinct on the ANU campus has in north-west is at ANU specialises in mouse models state-of-the-art biological and chemical Australia’s premier optical and infrared of human disease and is one of research laboratories, as well as a observatory, housing the state-of-the-art Australia’s foremost genomics and teaching hub. SkyMapper telescope. bioinformatics capabilities. World-class facilities ANU is home to the fastest super Our Heavy Ion Accelerator computer in the southern hemisphere Facility is the one of the at the $50-million National largest in the world, supporting Computational Infrastructure. Australia’s only experimental nuclear physics program.

The $30-million Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre at our Mount Stromlo Observatory is a world-class facility for developing space instruments.

In partnership with the ACT Government and CSIRO, we are working to improve biodiversity at Our partnership with the Mulloon the “outdoor laboratories” Institute has allowed ANU students and of Mulligans Flat and researchers to study ecological farming Goorooyarroo Nature principles at Mulloon Creek Natural Reserves in the Canberra Farms in Bungendore, NSW for the Nature Park. past 20 years.

The 348-hectare ANU Kioloa Coastal Campus on the south We have a ten per cent share in the Giant coast of New South Wales is Magellan Telescope under construction one of Australia’s premier field in Chile. When completed, it will be the stations, used for research and world’s most powerful telescope. fieldwork training.

8 9 Motivator Robert Wiblin: BSc 2012, BEc (Hons) 2012 Executive Director of the Centre for Effective Altruism in Oxford, a leading organisation in the Our alumni philanthropic sector, and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community. Trailblazer Professor Mary O’Kane: PhD (Physics) 1982 NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, and pioneer in the field of automatic speech recognition. have She is also a senior figure in research policy and higher education in Australia.

Leader Jane Halton AO PSM: BA (Hons) (Psychology) 1982 Secretary of the Australian Department of Finance and one of the most senior female public global servants in Australian history. She is also a Fellow at the ANU Crawford School of Public Policy. Inventor Professor Paul Sanberg: PhD (Behavioural Biology) 1981, DSc (Neuroscience) 1998 Neuroscientist and inventor with over 100 patents, a number of which have been licensed. He is the author of 14 books and President of the American National Academy of Inventors.

Entrepreneurs impact Phillip Williamson: BSc (Hons) 1988 and Michelle Melbourne BSc 1991 Founders of software company Intelledox, a BRW “Fast 100” company. They have attracted more than one million users around the world to their document digitisation software product, Infiniti.

Activist in science Rosie Sheb’a: BSc (Hons) 2010 Founder of Sustainable Menstruation Australia, which advocates for greater awareness of the environmental, social, and financial impact of menstruation.

CEO Dr Cheong Choong Kong: MSc 1966, PhD (Mathematics) 1968, HonDSc 2002 and beyond. Dr Cheong was named by Fortune as “Asia’s Businessman of the Year” during his time as CEO of Singapore Airlines. He is also a prominent community leader and distinguished mathematician.

10 11 Over half of the University’s Australian Awards for University Teaching in the last three We are dedicated to providing years have been awarded to educators from science, environment, medicine and health, reflecting our innovative and resource-rich teaching and learning environment. unparalleled excellence Our highly collaborative and intensive research culture means that our students are provided with a world-class education from high-calibre academics who, in turn, are in research-led education. offered opportunities for development and are recognised for their successes.

Professor Joe Hope Distinguished Professor Associate Professor Katrina Professor Malcolm Sambridge, Dr Michelle Salmon ANU Research School of Physics Chennupati Jagadish AC Anderson and Dr Natalie Balfour and Engineering ANU Research School of Physics ANU Medical School ANU Research School of Earth Sciences and Engineering Winner of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award Winner of the Vice-Chancellor’s Award Winners of The Australian Innovation Challenge “We often meet students who want to be astronauts and for Teaching Excellence Winner of the Companion of the Order of for Teaching Excellence for Education engineers but few who want to be Earth scientists. The big Australia for eminent service to physics, question is how do we attract these students to the Earth For his theoretical physics course, Associate Professor Anderson teaches Professor Sambridge, Dr Salmon and Dr Balfour developed engineering and education. sciences? To start with, we can educate students that Professor Hope adopted blended learning across the ANU Medical School curriculum the Australian Seismometers in Schools Network, which Earth science is not just about exploration and rocks and techniques to “flip” his classroom, Distinguished Professor Jagadish is the and is a national leader in the vertical installed 40 seismometers in schools around the country with that there is a diverse market of jobs that involve training in replacing all of his lectures with hand- recipient of more awards than we integration of medical teaching and clinical financial support from the National Collaborative Infrastructure Earth science; even some astronauts and engineers are developed online materials, allowing the could list. During his 25 years at ANU, supervisor training, focusing specifically Strategy. The participating schools are able to view seismic trained in the Earth sciences.” three hours of lecture time to be spent he has mentored 40 PhD students and on communication skills, self-care and waves recorded from local and distant earthquakes, and share on student activities and small-group and 44 post-doctoral research fellows, and has reflective practice — lifelong skills that are research-quality data with the seismological community. individual instruction. created an endowment to support students applicable to all students and doctors. from the developing world to undertake research at ANU.

12 13 UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES

Our undergraduate students are destined to make the discoveries that will define Australia’s future.

At ANU, we give our students the right start, with access to world-leading scientists and researchers. And with Australia’s best student to staff ratio of 10:1, it’s no wonder they leave as the most employable graduates in the country.

A range of undergraduate study programs are available.

Single degrees PhB program

Our suite of bachelor degrees covers the breadth of scientific For intellectually ambitious students we offer the prestigious endeavour from astronomy to zoology and everything in Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) program in science. The between. Students are able to choose a specialised degree PhB allows students to explore their interests, develop their program—in medical science, psychology or forestry, for research skills and be mentored by leading academics through example—or pursue their broad scientific interests with a individually-tailored advanced studies. Bachelor of Science. An advanced Bachelor of Science is also available to high-achieving students as a pathway to Honours. Areas of study Double degrees >> Astronomy and astrophysics >> Biology Our flexible double degree program allows students >> Chemistry to combine two degrees, creating their own unique Rebecca Davies >> Earth and marine sciences undergraduate experience. Science students are free to Rebecca Davies is a Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) student at the ANU Research School of Astronomy and >> Environment and sustainability combine their program with complementary degrees outside Astrophysics. Despite being an undergraduate, she has published three first-author papers, is about to submit two more of science, such as law, philosophy, arts, music or engineering, >> Mathematics and is co-author on another three published papers. She has also spoken at seminars at the universities of Oxford and for a well-rounded and marketable education. >> Medical and health sciences Cambridge. Her honours research is on how star populations within galaxies are affected by massive black holes. In partnership with the University of Canberra, we also offer >> Physics “So much of what I’ve achieved, I owe to my supervisor. She realised I have potential and invested in me and I’m really a vertical double degree, the Bachelor of Science/Master of >> Psychology grateful for that. I had never imagined I could publish something as an undergrad, but my supervisor encouraged me to, Teaching, allowing ANU science students to fast-track their >> Science communication and hearing that from her motivated me to keep going. That was the start of everything for me. entry into the teaching profession. “At ANU, the small number of undergrads and the large number of academics really helps because each student has much more opportunity to be exposed to research at a higher level. The professors are so open. They basically beg PhB students to come and do research with them! If you’re interested in research, coming to ANU is definitely the best move you can possibly make. I’m not overselling it—that’s really what I think. Being at ANU is definitely the most amazing opportunity I ever could have had.”

14 15 POSTGRADUATE COURSEWORK

We offer a number of internationally recognised postgraduate coursework Our postgraduate programs, with many also available as advanced programs. coursework students Astronomy and astrophysics Medical and health sciences Astronomy and astrophysics students have access to one Graduate students learn from our active researchers. We have of the highest concentrations of experts in the field, as well more than 200 scientists at work in the life sciences, 100 are innovative, creative as to some of the world’s best observing facilities. Graduates research staff working in neuroscience, and one of the most of the program are found in many of the world’s major research-intensive schools of ANU—the Research School of astronomical centres. Population Health. and take risks. >> Master of Astronomy and Astrophysics (Advanced) >> Graduate Certificate of Applied Epidemiology >> Master of Neuroscience Biology >> Master of Public Health The biological research community in Canberra is unique The intensive research culture in science, environment, medicine and health at ANU, combined in Australia, combining world-leading expertise and facilities Medicine with a broad spectrum of topics including evolution, ecology with a relatively small student population, gives our postgraduate coursework students the The Doctor of Medicine and Surgery is a comprehensive four- and genetics, biomedical and biochemical research, and year degree for students looking to enter medicine. It aims to opportunity to work closely with leading researchers on work with real world implications. plant science. produce graduates who are committed to compassionate, >> Master of Biological Sciences ethical health care and the expansion of medical knowledge >> Master of Biotechnology through research. >> Doctor of Medicine and Surgery Earth, marine and planetary sciences Graduate students have access to one of the highest Psychology concentrations of Earth sciences experts in Australia, as Our popular Master program provides students with well as some of the world’s most advanced and innovative postgraduate clinical training to practise in a range of clinical Tom Shaw, Master equipment. The proximity of Geoscience Australia and settings such as hospitals, community health centres and of Neuroscience CSIRO adds to students’ research potential. private practice, while giving them a strong foundation for (Advanced) >> Master of Earth Sciences (Advanced) life-long professional learning. >> Master of Clinical Psychology “I’ve just started my research project, Environment and sustainability >> PhD (Clinical Psychology) using neuroimaging to look at whether Drawing on our expertise in the management, science and poor cardiovascular health affects a policy of environmental issues and resource use in Australia, Physics loss of myelin in the brain, and vice our graduate programs in environment and sustainability have versa. In the future I’d like to go into Our graduate program gives students the unique opportunity to strong links to government, industry and community groups. research on Alzheimer’s or abnormal study both the fundamentals and applications of nuclear science, brain functioning. >> Master of Energy Change including studies in materials analysis, dating techniques, >> Master of Environment nuclear medicine and nuclear energy and provides access to “I moved to Canberra because of state-of-the-art equipment. ANU. Looking at these amazing >> Master of Environmental Science facilities, and the research that’s going >> Master of Forestry >> Master of Nuclear Science on here, it’s definitely been worth it.” Mathematical and computational sciences Science communication Our graduate program prepares students for further study Our graduate programs in science communication are of mathematical sciences or upgrades their quantitative skills internationally well-regarded qualifications, and are unique in areas such as the biological sciences and computational in the world. Our education experiences are hosted at science. These areas are rapidly becoming more reliant Questacon and ANU, based on cutting-edge research in on advanced techniques from the mathematical sciences. science communication. >> Master of Mathematical Sciences (Advanced) >> Master of Science Communication Outreach >> Master of Science Communication

16 17 POSTGRADUATE RESEARCH

We offer the opportunity to work with world-class academics in world-class facilities.

There are over 1,000 students enrolled in our postgraduate research programs in science, environment, medicine and health, including the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Master of Philosophy (MPhil) and professional doctorates, across a wide range of discipline areas. This number represents almost half of all postgraduate research students on the ANU campus, making the science, environment, medicine and health student body a vibrant and dynamic community.

We are well connected internationally through our alliances with top universities in the world Pengxiang Hu and our students regularly travel and work with research groups that are at the forefront Pengxiang Hu has just completed her PhD as a joint student of the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, of emerging research. Chinese Academy of Sciences and the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences, thanks to the close partnership between the Paleomagnetism Lab at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Black Mountain Research areas Environmental Magnetism Lab at ANU. Her thesis looked at how past climate conditions, such as rainfall and temperature, influence the magnetic properties of soils >> Astronomy and astrophysics >> Evolution, ecology and genetics developed in a past geological age. >> Biomedical science and biochemistry >> Mathematical and computational sciences “ANU has an amazing academic atmosphere and >> Chemistry >> Medical science and neuroscience advanced scientific instruments. The top scientists in environmental magnetism are also located here. Not >> Culture, health and medicine >> Physics only was I able to collaborate with them on academic >> Earth, marine and planetary sciences >> Plant sciences papers, they also helped me to adjust to the new culture in Australia. >> Environment and resource management >> Psychology “I love the teaching style here, which is lively, concise >> Epidemiology and population health >> Science communication and easy to understand. It’s a relaxing and warm environment, where students are always free to ask questions at any time. A lot of academic and social seminars are also organised at the University, in which the latest developments in science, along with valuable experiences, are shared. “I’ve been offered a position as a Research Fellow at ANU, which I’m very excited about. I love Canberra and ANU, and would like to work and live here as long as possible.”

18 19 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

It was Professor Brian Schmidt who received a Nobel The University is a founding partner in the Chilean facility with Prize for discovering that the universe is expanding at a ten per cent stake, and scientists from the ANU Research “We are one of the an accelerating rate, but it was technology, he says, that School of Astronomy and Astrophysics are also involved in the The ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics facilitated the discovery. design and manufacture of cutting-edge new instrumentation operates Australia’s largest optical observatory and has for the telescope. pioneers in making “Astronomy is powered by technology. My discovery was a access to the world’s largest optical telescopes. combination of the advent of the Hubble Space Telescope, “We are one of the pioneers in making this happen, right Our staff and students have made major contributions to the Keck 10-metre telescope and new digital cameras.” up there with the best universities in the world,” Professor this happen, right astronomy, mapping the structure and formation of the Schmidt says. So imagine then, the possibilities of the Giant Magellan Milky Way, discovering planets orbiting other stars, Telescope. When completed, it will be the most powerful “This investment is essentially a way of ensuring that we up there with the measuring dark matter both within our Galaxy and in the telescope in the world, producing images up to ten times remain at the forefront of the world’s research community and wider Universe, and discovering the accelerating expansion sharper than Hubble. of empowering the future of astronomy in Australia.” of the Universe. Professor Schmidt, from the ANU Research School of Despite the telescope not being forecast for completion until best universities in Our astronomers include winners of the Prime Minister’s Astronomy and Astrophysics, and now Vice-Chancellor 2024, Professor Schmidt says he’s already thinking how he Prize for Science and the Nobel Prize. (President) of the University, says “big discoveries” are can harness the telescope’s potential. the world.” in store. “Our research at ANU will be focused on how to get the most “Whether it be perhaps finding evidence for life on nearby out of this telescope because it gives us the ability to do planets, finding the first and earliest stars in the universe, things that no-one else does.” or figuring out how essentially the universe went from And our researchers can’t wait to get started. nothing to its current vibrant self, these are all the big things we’re going to be doing with the Giant Magellan Telescope.” The giant eye on the sky

Photo: Giant Magellan Telescope Organization

20 21 BIOLOGY

By 2050, the population of the world will reach nine billion. That’s a lot of mouths to feed. “We could contribute With more than 850 million people already going hungry each day, and two-thirds of the world’s cultivated land currently at risk of degradation, a solution to how food security is an increasingly urgent issue. At the ANU Research School of Biology, scientists are working on solutions by improving on nature. we will feed all the Plant scientists at the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre for Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis are turbocharging people sharing photosynthesis to increase crop yield. “The photosynthetic process is a fairly inefficient one,” explains this planet.” Professor Murray Badger. “If we look at sunlight falling on a leaf as being 100 per cent of what’s available to be converted into useful biomass and sugars, then only about four to six per cent of that incident light energy is converted through to those final sugars. So, small changes made in improving the inefficiencies of various aspects of photosynthesis can make big differences.” The ANU Research School of Biology is internationally recognised for its high-impact The “translational” aspect of the Centre’s research research in plant sciences, evolution, ecology, refers to the application of these findings from genetics, parasitology and biotechnology. Our the lab to the field, potentially resulting in a new researchers work on issues of global importance, agricultural revolution. including food security, new treatments for “This will deliver outcomes for both Australian and cancer and type 2 diabetes, and fighting malaria international agriculture, world food security and for drug resistance. collaboration with appropriate industry partners.” The School houses two ARC Centres of Excellence, It’s a real-world outcome that PhD student Florence and the ANU/CSIRO Centre for Biodiversity Danila understands better than most. Analysis. It has state-of-the-art facilities for a wide range of research projects. Working at the Centre under the supervision of experts from ANU, CSIRO and the International In 2015, the School’s Professor Graham Farquhar Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Florence is trying to was awarded the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science. compare photosynthesis transport mechanisms between different crops. But while she is at work in the lab, Florence’s parents are at work in the rice fields in her home country of the Philippines. “My interest in plant science research probably began with them,” she says. “To me this research is fascinating, but knowing that it could also contribute a solution to how we will feed all the people sharing this planet is also very rewarding.”

The future of food 22 23 CHEMISTRY Saving lives with chemical Lego

“Drugs for cancer and malaria can now be made more cheaply and more readily available.”

It might be hard to believe, but scientists currently rely on one The result of this “Lego” construction is manufactured type of coral found in one place only—the Bahamas—as a pseudopterosin, a powerful anti-inflammatory and source of the ingredients to make important anti-cancer and analgesic drug. anti-malaria drugs. “The pseudopterosin synthesis is the tip of the iceberg,” It’s much easier to believe that the process of extracting this Dr Newton says. “We are well on the way to efficient compound is labour-intensive, time-consuming and expensive. syntheses of other important drugs. But who needs the Bahamas when you have Canberra? “There is potential for industrial-scale manufacture too. That will take the pressure off species that are currently Scientists from the ANU Research School of Chemistry have being harvested for drugs.” developed a revolutionary new way to manufacture this natural chemical in the lab. And as a result, life-saving drugs for – treating cancer and malaria can be made more cheaply and more readily available to those who need them. The ANU Research School of Chemistry has an enviable “Ours is an empowering technique, allowing a smarter reputation as a powerhouse of chemical research, attracting and faster way to make important substances,” says leading chemists from around the country and overseas. Dr Chris Newton. Supported by world-class equipment and laboratories The process began as blue-sky research, with chemists trying housed in a state-of-the-art new building, we conduct to work out how to make supposedly impossible molecules pioneering research across the breadth of chemistry, by running simulations on Australia’s most powerful biochemistry and materials science. supercomputer, located at the National Computational Our research has had widespread international impact and Infrastructure at ANU. has led to applications in the agricultural, biotechnological, “We took small molecules and clipped them together like pharmaceutical, materials and polymer industries. Lego,” says lead researcher Professor Michael Sherburn. All of our academics are involved in our undergraduate “The building blocks are carefully designed in such a way that teaching program and in supervising post-graduate students. the first reaction generates a product perfectly primed for the second. It’s quite magical. This means you can efficiently build large and complex molecules.”

24 25 EARTH SCIENCES

On James Ross Island, off the northern Antarctic Peninsula, “All of the latest climate models predict that as greenhouse Dr Nerilie Abram from the ANU Research School of Earth gases continue to rise this century, we can expect the Sciences stands in the path of the battering westerly gales, westerly winds to draw even closer to Antarctica. This means and collects an ice core. we’re likely to get less of those storms being chased up into Australia, and the rainfall will decline.” Surrounded by snow, ice and wind, Dr Abram is there to understand a weather phenomenon that seems very Meanwhile, the James Ross Island ice core is helping to solve far away: the pattern of devastating heat and droughts in other puzzles of human-induced climate change. Dr Abram southern Australia. is now leading an international team that will use it alongside hundreds of other past climate records from all over the world The core Dr Abram collected was, she says, “the missing to learn more about climate warming since the start of the piece to the puzzle” of understanding the increasing number industrial revolution. of droughts in Australia, and also, why Antarctica is not warming as much as other continents. The answer lies in that Winds westerly wind. “We studied the ice cores, and also tree rings, to build up a The ANU Research School of Earth Sciences is Australia’s picture of how the westerly winds have changed over the last leading academic research institution for Earth sciences, 1,000 years,” she explains. home to the largest concentration of Earth scientists in “Greenhouse warming is changing the winds to the south of Australia, and ranked 12th in the world for Earth and marine of change Australia and that means Antarctica is actually stealing more sciences (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016). of Australia’s rainfall. Some years, the winds are drawn in We take a broad view in addressing the big challenges of closer to the Antarctic continent so less storms come up and Earth sciences, seeking to answer questions ranging from hit Australia. the origins of the Earth, to understanding climate change. “This is why Antarctica really bucks the trend of the rest of We have a reputation for international leadership and “It’s bad news for Australia: Antarctica the continents. Whereas everywhere else on the Earth has innovation, focused on developing new methods, whether been warming over the last century, some parts of Antarctica experimental, analytical or computational. don’t show that trend yet and we can explain that through the is actually stealing our rainfall.” stronger winds, tying the cold air closer to Antarctica.” Like so much of the work at the ANU Research School of Earth Sciences, Dr Abram’s findings have significant policy implications, and without reductions in our greenhouse emissions, it’s not good news for Australia.

26 27 ENVIRONMENT & SOCIETY

In response, Dr Stojanovic and his colleagues from the Fenner School launched a crowdfunding campaign to develop nesting boxes that will help to keep swift parrots, as well as orange- A tale of two cuties bellied parrots and forty-spotted pardalotes, off the sugar glider’s menu. After only three days, the campaign reached its fundraising goal of $40,000. By the end of the campaign, Dr Stojanovic had raised almost twice that to build and install 1,000 glider- “These parrots proof boxes. “The speed and scale of the public response has been could be all but incredible,” Dr Stojanovic says. “It can be pretty bleak walking around in the forest for days at a time looking at dead parrots, so the support has been gone within 16 years, heartening.” Dr Stojanovic’s team are now scaling trees to install the boxes. largely because For the swift parrot, it might just be a happy ending. of sugar gliders.” The ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society is one of the few places where economists and hydrologists, historians and ecologists, foresters, geographers, political scientists and climatologists work together on the environmental challenges and opportunities facing us. Ranked 24th in the world (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016), we are a major focus for integrated environmental research and training. Through links to other This is the story of a little green parrot and a fluffy sugar glider ANU schools, external research organisations and the policy with beautiful big brown eyes. community, we bring our skills and perspectives to bear on Or, as researchers from the ANU Fenner School of Environment issues such as biodiversity loss, water, energy, drought and and Society tell it, this is the story of forests scattered with climate change. dead parrots and the “deceptively cute” sugar gliders eating them into extinction. With a plot like that, it’s no wonder this gruesome tale has attracted a huge amount of public attention. But first, back to the beginning, when Dr Dejan Stojanovic was in studying the breeding biology of the endangered swift parrot for his PhD. “Swift parrot nesting habitat has been deforested for agriculture, urban development and logging,” Dr Stojanovic says. “Birds looking for a place to nest are squeezed into remaining habitat where they are vulnerable to other threats.” One of these threats is the sugar glider, or, as Dr Stojanovic calls them, “sweet possums with a savoury tooth”. “I discovered that gliders are the cause of breeding failure for the swift parrot. Gliders kill and eat the female parrot while she incubates her eggs, or return over several nights to feast on helpless nestlings. In some small patches of nesting habitat, gliders can eat up to 100 percent of swift parrot nests. “These parrots could be all but gone within 16 years, largely through being eaten by sugar gliders.”

Photo: Dejan Stojanovic

28 29 MATHEMATICS

From the primordial soup The ANU Mathematical Sciences Institute is ranked number one in Australia for maths teaching and research (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016) and our staff include some of the best mathematicians in Australia. We fulfil both a national and international role as a “research institute” in the mathematical sciences, working cooperatively with the Australian to the salon Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) and a number of international centres. We offer researchers up-to-date computing facilities, including access to the National Computational “The chemical in hair bleach could have Infrastructure supercomputer. powered the living world before cells evolved.”

While studying the question of how life on Earth began, a mathematician found an answer in a most surprising place: the hairdresser’s. “The energy in hydrogen peroxide—commonly used as hair bleach—could have powered the living world before cells evolved,” says Associate Professor Rowena Ball, from the ANU Mathematical Sciences Institute and the ANU Research School of Chemistry. Associate Professor Ball used mathematical modelling to show that chemical reactions of hydrogen peroxide and thiosulfate, which occurred in the ancient oceans more than 3.7 billion years ago, set up exactly the right temperature and pH cycling to allow molecules called RNA to replicate. “Hydrogen peroxide and thiosulfate undergo a reaction in which heat and acidity cycle back and forth every couple of minutes, providing the perfect conditions for early life to evolve,” Associate Professor Ball says. “These oscillating reactions have been studied for years as a curiosity, but nobody realised that their fluctuating acidity and heat could have powered early life before DNA and proteins evolved.” What’s more, the bleach caused RNA to replicate imperfectly, creating variation among the molecules and allowing natural selection and evolution to take place. “Hydrogen peroxide has just enough oxidising power to cause mutations every now and then, which would drive evolution,” Associate Professor Ball says. “This humble, deceptively simple molecule can also provide an answer to a biological mystery that has intrigued scientists for generations—the existence of key biological molecules in only one mirror image form.” Associate Professor Ball’s research was based on findings from organic chemistry and chemical engineering, which she used to create a computer model with a number of highly non-linear equations, taking months to solve. But after 3.7 billion years, a few months doesn’t seem too long to solve one of the greatest mysteries on Earth.

30 31 MEDICAL RESEARCH

Five per cent of the Australian population suffer from “Now we are starting the research with a specific patient, autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and lupus. sequencing their genome and looking at the many mutations These diseases are chronic, incurable and, being varied and that a patient has to see which one is the cause for the disease. The ANU John Curtin School of Medical Research is complex, have not been well understood. “We can then edit the DNA to easily generate a precise mouse Australia’s national medical research institute. We excel For patients, this means poor treatment. Professor Carola model that replicates the specific mutations that the patient has.” in multidisciplinary, translational medical research Vinuesa describes a scenario with which many sufferers will in fields including immunology, cancer, genomics, Treatments can be trialled on the real disease in the mouse, be familiar. neuroscience, mental health, infectious diseases, obesity until an effective one is identified and applied not just to the and metabolic disorders. “What happens is that patients are diagnosed with, for specific matching patient, but to all patients who have the example, lupus and because doctors are unclear on exactly same molecular markers. In 2015, the School’s Professor Carola Vinuesa was how that lupus comes about in that patient, the patient elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, “It’s a huge conceptual advance,” goes down the pathway of being treated with one drug after and Professors Simon Foote and Chris Parish she says. “Instead of mouse to another until one, by some chance, might work. became Fellows of the newly established human, it’s human to mouse to Australian Academy of Health and “Each of these treatments is extremely expensive, toxic, and human.” Medical Sciences. chances are, some patients will never respond.” Professor Vinuesa attributes the Three of our researchers The Centre for Personalised Immunology at the ANU John success to an “extraordinary” set have received Nobel Prizes Curtin School of Medical Research has now made advances of circumstances: advances in DNA in Physiology or Medicine that have revolutionised this hit-and-miss approach. technology, the world-leading work for work conducted in in immunology and bioinformatics “We previously focused on mice to start the research, but the School. at ANU, as well as access to the because we didn’t have mice that had the precise disease University’s supercomputer. we find in humans, none of those mouse models really had the same diseases we would find in patients. So this hasn’t “I’ve spent my life looking at lupus in translated into better drugs. mice,” she says. “I never had the feeling that anything we were doing was really going to translate into better therapies.” revoA medical “With this, I am. And I’m excited.” ution of mice and men

“We can edit DNA to generate a mouse model that replicates specific disease mutations.”

32 33 MEDICINE Looking good, baby

Among the tubes, wires and beeping machines of the neonatal intensive care unit at the , there’s a simple “Being able to see piece of technology that has changed the lives of thousands of families: webcams. their baby online Streaming direct from the cribs, the webcams allow parents to watch their newborn from home, and even share the link with friends and families. It’s an innovation that uses technology to reassures parents.” bring out the human side of medicine. The cute little human side. Called NICUCAM, the award-winning program was designed by Professor Zsuzsoka Kecskes from the ANU Medical School, who says its implementation has been “such a benefit to families.” “Not every parent can come to the hospital every day to see their baby. Being able to see their baby online reassures the The ANU Medical School is dedicated to producing parents, who get to know their baby and, of course, show them doctors equipped to meet tomorrow’s national and global off to relatives.” health challenges. Professor Kecskes was named 2014 ACT Australian of the Year Our world-class program offers students a personal, for her pioneering work with NICUCAM and also for including supportive environment to develop the skills necessary families in the design process of the new Centenary Hospital for to deliver quality, effective, compassionate care. Our Women and Children at the Canberra Hospital. partnerships with ACT Health and Calvary Health Care, “It’s important to include the family in projects like these,” she together with our Indigenous, GP and community partners says. “Neonatology is a young discipline, we are still learning and rural healthcare programs ensure our students how important families are for the health of the baby.” graduate well-prepared to improve health outcomes for the people they will serve, as well as upholding the Alongside her expertise in transforming hospital systems and standing of ANU as a leading contributor to national processes to improve the quality of patient care, Professor health policy and medical research. Kecskes is widely respected as an outstanding clinician. Through the ANU Medical School’s partnership with the Canberra Hospital, she is training the next generation of doctors in neonatal care and in professionalism and leadership. “It’s a big step from being a student to being a doctor. I want to give them the tools and the resilience to survive and become the kind of doctors we want them to be,” she says. With Professor Kecskes as inspiration, their futures are looking good.

34 35 PHYSICS One small wave, one very big deal

“It is a massive thing. I would say you won’t see anything bigger in your lifetime.”

Experimental physicist Dr Bram Slagmolen has created “Getting LIGO to operation point happened much a tool that measures with unimaginable precision. faster because of our Arm Length Stabilisation System,” Dr Slagmolen explains. But when it comes to his feelings on the recent success of his work, he’s anything but measured. “As a result, the testing process to get the interferometer to the required sensitivity went from taking years to taking “It’s absolutely amazing. It’s fantastic, it’s brilliant. I’m ecstatic.” only months. Dr Slagmolen has reason to celebrate. Together with “And we can say that was thanks to ANU. 11 colleagues at the ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering, and over 1,000 scientists around the world, “To design something, build it, install it, and then see he has made a critical contribution to what is being hailed it actually used for this monumental result, makes us as the scientific breakthrough of the century: the detection all very proud.” of gravitational waves. “It is a massive thing. I would say you won’t see anything bigger in your lifetime,” he says before remembering his scientific restraint. “Actually I suppose I shouldn’t say that, The ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering because I guess, you never know, there could be something.” constitutes Australia’s largest university-based physics research activity, incorporating major national facilities, The headline-grabbing gravitational waves recently detected national networks, a significant technical manufacturing by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory and prototyping capability, as well as an innovative (LIGO) in the USA were generated by two black holes colliding, teaching program. the most violent event ever recorded. Our research activity includes nonlinear and quantum But while this event was huge, the signals it generated optics and quantum systems engineering, soft and hard were incredibly small, requiring measurements of something condensed matter physics, III-V semiconductor physics, 10,000 times shorter than the width of a proton. nano-engineered and meso-scale materials, nuclear To capture these signals, laser interferometers at LIGO physics, novel imaging technologies and plasma science. measured the precise distance between a system of mirrors We foster the development of novel technologies and located four kilometres apart. Any change in the distance have seen a number of successful spin-out companies would mean a gravitational wave passing through. go global. The problem with this technique, however, was how to bring the mirrors to their ideal operating position, defined to atom- level precision, in a repeatable way. Physicists from ANU resolved this with an Arm Length Stabilisation System, used to lock and calibrate the position of the mirrors while being able to accommodate a disruption like an earthquake.

36 37 POPULATION HEALTH

Dr Lokuge can learn from individual cases in the field and “If you don’t “provide a voice” for them where it needs to be heard. “One of the first patients I saw during the Ebola outbreak in understand the lives Sierra Leone was a nine year-old boy,” she explains. “His whole family had died, and he came to our treatment centre, and died two days later. of your patients, “How will he ever have a voice? Unless his experience contributes to change, we will continue to make the same you don’t give them mistakes. And that’s not right. “Being based at ANU, I work with statisticians, other epidemiologists and anthropologists, researchers with good care.” really world-class expertise. I can bring the problems my implementing colleagues are encountering in the field and utilise the research resources here to fix those problems. “I can do what I think is needed for that little boy and bring For most people, working as a doctor in humanitarian crises that knowledge back to a setting where it can be potentially would be enough. That would be making enough of a difference translated into something that’s going to have benefit at a to the world. But Dr Kamalini Lokuge wanted to do more. population level. “I loved being a doctor in the field,” she says. “But what “That’s the power of the research I do.” I realised is that as a doctor, if you don’t understand the lives of your patients, you don’t give them good care.” “Knowing they’ve got diarrhoea is not enough. You need to understand where they get their water supply, what they’re At the ANU Research School of Population Health, we are eating, how they’re living. Unless you then take that knowledge committed to training the next generation of researchers and find a way to advocate for a policy to support services that and population health practitioners, who will improve the address those gaps, you’re not doing your job as a doctor. population’s mental and physical health through discovery, “That’s why I became an epidemiologist and came to the education and the translation of research into effective ANU Research School of Population Health. Because I believe health policy and practice. Our work spans the full range evidence-based advocacy is the way to make change.” of population health research. Dr Lokuge still works in humanitarian crises and what she ANU is the only Australian university rated “well above understatedly refers to as “complex settings”, but she now world standard” for public health and health service brings a unique view of “understanding by doing”. research in all three of the Excellence in Research for Australia evaluations (2010, 2012 and 2015). Working in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières to address problems on the ground, and supported by the resources of the ANU Research School of Population Health, Hearing the

Photo: UNMEER on flickr voiceless38 39 PSYCHOLOGY

“Social cohesion builds resilience in the community, and gives huge returns.”

The power of belonging

When you’re at your local multicultural festival, wandering from “Community cohesion really does give huge returns.” the falafel stand to the noodle stall, are you undergoing a shift in Professor Reynolds says this project is the first time anywhere your fundamental mindset? Or just filling up on ethnic cuisine? in the world that social psychology, which has a long history of This is the question the ANU Research School of Psychology examining prejudice and conflict between groups, has married is seeking to answer through an Australian Research Council with a federal department to conduct joint research. Linkage Project with the Australian Government. It’s a marriage, she says, that makes perfect sense. “We’re working with the Department of Social Services, “This project translates the work we’ve been doing in the looking at what works in building social cohesion in Australian laboratory, and allows it to be put into practice by the communities, and why,” says Professor Kate Reynolds. government. It really has been an interface between social “We have identified research sites—including a drama workshop psychology and public policy.” in , a rugby youth program in Western Sydney, and a multicultural festival in —and are studying their impact on participants’ tolerance, willingness to stand up against discrimination and interest in having contact with people of The ANU Research School of Psychology is ranked 29th in different ethnic groups.” the world (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2016). The research might start on the rugby field or the amateur stage, We conduct world-class research into behaviour, emotions, but the findings have implications for the hugely significant, hot- human factors, perception, the brain and the thinking mind button issue of national security. that impacts on applications in areas such as wellbeing, the management of chronic illness, understanding and treating “A sense of alienation and lack of cohesion, and a lack of a mental health, forensic psychology, ageing, social cohesion, sense of belonging, have been directly connected to something human resources and organisational performance. preoccupying a whole range of government minds, which is an openness to being radicalised,” Professor Reynolds says. We collaborate with governments, foundations and service providers, as well as leading researchers across the world. “Social cohesion builds resilience in the community so whatever the shocks might be—unemployment, or radicalisation, or instances where tensions within communities do rise—they will be less severe.

Photo: Bro. Jeffrey Pioquinto, SJ on flickr

40 41 SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

Dr Graham Walker has just returned from 11 weeks in Africa, The project, funded by the Australian Government where his Science Circus Africa education outreach program “These kids have Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Questacon and was seen by a staggering 41,000 people across five countries. ANU, resulted in 162 local African staff being trained to The Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness perform their own science shows and other programs. There were rockets propelled by bicarb soda, levitating beach done exams on of Science at ANU was the first science communication balls, and many things set on fire, but the memory that sticks “We give them the skills, the resources, the training, and centre in Australia and is now the most diverse of its kind with him is the humble magnet. hopefully we’re planting the seeds so it can grow into local, in the world. home-grown science communication – and we’re already “I get tingly just talking about it,” he says. magnetism, but We are global leaders in our field, developing methods seeing those results,” Dr Walker says. to encourage informed decisions about the big “These kids—and even some of the teachers—have learnt the “In the long term, it’s going to generate a better economy scientific issues. idea of magnetism, and they’ve done exams on magnetism, but they’d never held and drive productivity at a systemic level for these countries.” they’d never held a magnet until we gave them one. We are an accredited Centre for the Australian National Dr Walker says Science Circus Africa is the result of the Commission for UNESCO, and boast partnerships with “Can you imagine holding two magnets together for the first a magnet until we unique environment fostered by the Australian National the Alan Alda Centre for Science Communication at Stony time, experiencing magnetism?” Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at ANU. Brook University in New York and Shell Australia amongst Dr Walker and teammate Joe Duggan lugged the magnets many others. gave them one.” “It’s not a place where people are sitting in ivory towers, and other everyday items to be transformed into science stroking their chins,” he says. “They actually get out there experiments on their Science Circus tour of Mauritius, South and do prolific science communication. Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Malawi. “I’m rapt to be at an institution where you can propose a fairly out-there plan like this and get support for it. It’s a credit to ANU that they’ll back something that no one has When the ever done before.” Science Circus came to Africa

Photo: Bro. Graham Walker

42 43 SCIENCE, ENVIRONMENT, MEDICINE & HEALTH UNDER THE MICROSCOPE

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Figures from 2015 data Percentage of students who 44 are international 45 CONTACT US

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