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Melbourne, Where Science Is Fuelled by a Better MELBOURNE NATUREJOBS CAREER GUIDE MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA BY JAMES MITCHELL CROW biomedical research is Melbourne. Two of the country’s top three universities for life sci- WELCOME TO hen Irish-born materials scien- ence, Monash University and the University tist Cathal O’Connell finished his of Melbourne, are based here (see 'Ahead of undergraduate degree at Trinity the pack'). MELBOURNE, WCollege, Dublin, in 2008, he started looking “In biomedical research, only two cities in for opportunities to apply his knowledge to the world, Boston and London, would com- biological challenges. “Australia was the obvi- pare to Melbourne,” says Ian Smith, vice-prov- IMAGES BIBIKOW/GETTY WALTER WHERE SCIENCE IS ous place to come,” he says. ost for research and research infrastructure at It was a pragmatic move. With a total popula- Monash, who moved from the United King- tion of approximately 24.5 million, Australia is dom to Australia in 1984. FUELLED BY A BETTER home to around only 0.3% of the world’s popula- Besides its two biggest universities, Mel- tion — but it produces 2.6% of the high-quality bourne boasts six others with their own noted research, with a particular focus on biomedicine. research strengths, along with renowned CLASS OF COFFEE. And Australia’s weightiest contributor to medical research institutes and several NATUREJOBS CAREER GUIDE | MELBOURNE | S33 NATUREJOBS CAREER GUIDE MELBOURNE large research hospitals. These institutes — connects electrodes to auditory neurons, was a employing more than 10,000 scientists, clinicians highly collaborative effort. “You had physicists and technical staff — are generally clustered into and engineers, biologists and materials scien- geographic hubs, fostering easy collaboration (see tists, all working together to solve a problem,” 'Clustering innovation'). says O’Connell. The state of Victoria consistently wins around Today, O’Connell manages a collaboration of 45% of Australia’s National Health and Medical his own: BioFab3D, a recent addition to Mel- Research Council funding. “That tells you some- bourne’s biomedical research scene. Launched in 203.8m thing about the quality of research here,” says late 2016, BioFab3D is pioneering the 3D print- Smith. Core strengths include cancer, infection ing of living cells to replace damaged or diseased Melbourne has the world’s largest and immunity, rational drug design, and medical tissues. Supported by the University of Mel- urban tram network. It took devices, he says, offering good career opportuni- bourne, O’Connell’s lab is located at St Vincent’s passengers on 203.8 million ties for young researchers. Hospital, and is also co-funded by the University trips in 2015. Historically, Melbourne has lagged behind at of Wollongong in New South Wales, the Royal cashing in on those strengths. “We don't have a Melbourne Institute of Technology University lot of the industries that should be coming out and Swinburne University of Technology. of universities like Monash, so career oppor- “This lab is a small pathfinder for what will tunities outside academia are a little limited,” come later,” says O’Connell, pointing to plans for Smith says. “But the culture is changing.” a new Aus$180 million (US$135 million) facil- 10K Medical devices is one area in which Mel- ity devoted to biomedical engineering called the Melbourne’s renowned bourne researchers can find significant com- Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery. Royal Botanic Gardens mercial role models — most famously Cochlear The centre will focus on exactly the kind are home to more than Limited, which commercialized the ‘bionic ear’, of collaboration that O’Connell was hoping 10,000 individual species a hearing implant developed by Graeme Clark at to find when he moved to Melbourne: bio- of flora. The gardens were the University of Melbourne. This device, which medicine meeting materials science. He established in 1846. CLUSTERING INNOVATION Melbourne’s research landscape is characterized by small clusters of collaborating institutes Darwin around leading universities. The University of Melbourne in Parkville, for example, enjoys the close company of the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and many more medical research institutes. They are all a half-hour walk from another Cairns world-leading university: the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University. NORTHERN TERRITORY QUEENSLAND WESTERN AUSTRALIA Brisbane Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health SOUTH AUSTRALIA University of Melbourne Perth NEW SOUTH WALES Sydney The Royal Children’s Hospital Adelaide Canberra Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology Walter and Eliza Hall MELBOURNE, Institute of Medical Research VICTORIA Hobart La Trobe Royal Melbourne Hospital University Melbourne's total contribution to Australia's output Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre 36% in the Nature Index* PARKVILLE Commonwealth Scientic Swinburne and Industrial Research University of Organisation, ALFRED HOSPITAL Technology AND ST KILDA ROAD Deakin University, Manufacturing Flagship Burwood Campus Monash University, Monash University, Cauleld Campus Clayton Campus Deakin University, Geelong Campus Australian Synchrotron Baker IDI Heart and Alfred health ~73km from city centre Diabetes Institute Hudson Institute of Medical Research Burnet institute CLAYTON Cancer Council Victoria S34 | NATUREJOBS CAREER GUIDE | MELBOURNE MELBOURNE NATUREJOBS CAREER GUIDE A CAREER IN COFFEE University during which was something you drank the city’s renowned café with a couple of sugars Monika Fekete is sitting in the culture had her hooked. tipped in to get you through Melbourne sunshine sipping “Coffee is a Melbourne exam revision,” she says. In a locally roasted, cold-drip thing — you meet lots of Melbourne, going out for coffee. All in the name of people very passionate coffee is an event in itself. research. about it,” she says. Today, Melbourne’s wider Just over 18 months ago, Fekete runs a consultancy gastronomical and social the Budapest-born scientist helping to bring scientific scene is exceptional. “We’ve was coming to the end rigour to Melbourne’s never had a bad meal,” says of a postdoc in chemical buzzing coffee making and Tina Overton, who joined engineering at Monash brewing scene. Monash from the University VICTORIA BLAIR She’s run double-blind of Hull, UK, in 2014. tastings to test new “Melbourne is an easy Organometallic chemist Victoria Blair products, and helped place to enjoy yourself,” she moved from Strathclyde University local specialist roasters adds. “We like to go into in her native Scotland to work as a use refractometry the city, down by the Yarra postdoc at Monash University in May to consistently River, where you can sit and 2011. She started her own research achieve the admire the view. There are group in 2014 and gained Australian perfect quantity of so many lovely places. It’s a citizenship the following January. dissolved solids in very safe, laid-back city, but an espresso. there’s always something How did you find the move TONEFOTOGRAFIA/GETTY IMAGES TONEFOTOGRAFIA/GETTY “In Budapest, coffee going on.” J.M.C. to Australia? We touched down in May — in the Australian winter, which has the same temperatures as a Scottish summer. AHEAD OF THE PACK After I got on Australian time, I started In funding and academic output, the University of Melbourne my postdoc. Since then I’ve applied for and Monash University lead the city’s research eorts. KEY my own funding and set up a research Chemistry 120 group through the Australian Research Earth & environmental sciences Council. I came here thinking I’d be Life sciences 100 Physics here for a year or two, but I fell in love with the city. 80 What do you love about it? It’s vibrant. Melburnians are so 60 outdoors-oriented; they’ve got nature trails and cycling trails all over the 40 city. Melbourne has been voted by Academic output (WFC)* The Economist Intelligence Unit's 20 Global Liveability Ranking as the most liveable city in the world for six 0 years running. Australians are friendly and speaking the same language was helpful. It didn’t take long to make 5 friends. The food is some of the best 4 I’ve had. When I moved here six years ago, I told myself that, although it was 3 the other side of the world, I could be back home in 24 hours if it 2 doesn’t work out. 1 What’s the scientific environment like? There’s a lot of collaboration. We funding 2012–16 (US$ millions)† 0 have joint conferences regularly with other universities, and there are many Basic science and clinical & medicine partnerships between medical and Hospital Melbourne non-medical researchers and institutes University of Mental Health of Technology Cancer Centre in Melbourne. There are also grants Hall Institute of Burnet Institute Walter and Eliza Royal Melbourne Peter MacCallum Florey Institute of Deakin University Diabetes Institute Medical Research across Australia that encourage links Neuroscience and Monash University La Trobe University Baker IDI Heart and Swinburne University between professional teams. That helps of Technology University to progress the field really quickly. The Royal Melbourne Institute * Weighted fractional count (WFC) accounts for the relative contribution of authors to papers in high impact journals and applies a weighting to balance culture is geared towards that. subject coverage. Data from 2016 calendar year. Source: Nature Index. † Funding from competitive grants obtained by researchers listed as working at Melbourne institutions from 2012-2016. Non-competitive nances, such as the funding behind the Australian Synchrotron, are excluded. Source: Dimensions/ÜberResearch. Interview by Jack Leeming BLAIR VICTORIA NATUREJOBS CAREER GUIDE | MELBOURNE | S35 NATUREJOBS CAREER GUIDE MELBOURNE cites an example from 2015, when Span- dark-matter detector — housed in Victoria in a ish surgeons needed a replacement ribcage gold mine, a kilometre underground, to protect for a patient with a tumour growing in his it from interference from atmospheric particles. chest wall. The scientists asked Melbourne Swinburne’s strength in the emerging field firm Anatomics to design it, uploading their of data science will be crucial for the project.
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