Newsletter Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology INCORPORATED Summer 2015/16 President and President Elect
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ANZSCDB Newsletter Australia and New Zealand Society for Cell and Developmental Biology INCORPORATED Summer 2015/16 President and President Elect. This committee was lead by Carol Wicking (President) and included Josephine Bowles (Secretary), Rohan Teasdale (Treasurer) and Dear Peter Currie (Past President). Friends and Serving as President Elect Colleagues, on this committee made me really appreciate the time, effort and commitment The Society's newsletter this committee devotes to has always been a highlight running the society for us of my summer. It brings all. A special thanks to Carol together the activities of the Wicking who worked really Read Up On: last six months, reminding well with her Queensland me of the vibrancy of the mob and made many The President's report ANZSCDB. It also allows us improvements in the way to reflect on the successes we do business; importantly Member profiles of many in our Society. This Carol also increased the - our award winners year the newsletter has number of society members a special meaning for me by a magnificent 30% ComBio 2015 because now, as President, using a very effective I can thank the many personal approach. To Student Activities who have made, and who Carol, Josephine, Rohan -Leica Travel Award continue to make, important and Peter I say THANK contributions to the running YOU from all members of State of the States of our society. the ANZSCDB. I wish now to welcome three new Paper highlights As many of you are aware members to our Executive the ANZSCDB holds its Committee: Annemiek Membership news annual general meeting at Beverdam (Secretary), Mike Combio and it is at this time Piper (Treasurer) and Sharad that some have to step down Kumar (President Elect). from their positions of service on the Executive Committee, State and New Zealand President's Report the Advisory Committee, or Representatives as a State Representative. The State Representatives are a big part of our Society Executive Committee and increasingly so, with The ANZSCDB Executive the annual State Meetings consists of the President, becoming more popular Secretary, Treasurer, Past by the year. Look out for Page 1 President's report emails advertising these Guillermo Gomez (QLD) co-Chair (ANZSCDB) and events or check out details Edwina McGlinn and Paul on the Society's website. Thanks also must go to Gleeson organised the Cell Put the date in your diary Megan Wilson (Otago) for and Developmental Biology and start preparing to keeping us all informed Streams- a huge THANK YOU present your research. If you about Society news, what to you all, to the session would like to get involved our members are up to, chairs and to the speakers. in these meetings in any conferences and other A ComBio2015 wrap up, by way or need information, interesting things, via Marie Bogoyevitch, appears please contact your State facebook and twitter. later in this newsletter, so Representatives, whose please enjoy. details are on the Society's The Advisory Committee website. State (and New This committee provides I hope that the dates of Zealand!) Representatives advice to the Executive ComBio2016 are in your serve the society for Committee and participates diaries: 3-7 October at the two years, with new and in decision-making, Brisbane Convention Centre. experienced representatives especially with respect to the Joseph Rothnagel is the working together each year. President's Medal and the meeting Chair, and Rebecca THANK YOU very much to Emerging Leader Award. I Ford and Dominic Ng are all of you for getting us would like to thank retiring, the Program Chairs. The together so that we can continuing and new members Cell Biology Stream is being share our research and our to this committee for their organised by Andrew Brooks experiences. sage contributions to the and Ingrid Winkler and Society. Alpha Yap (QLD) the Developmental Biology The retiring State and Sharad Kumar (SA) are Stream by Josephine Bowles Representatives are: retiring from the committee. and Mike Piper. The website Elizabeth Duncan (NZ), Edna Hardeman (NSW), is now active and I encourage Nathan Pavlos (WA) Miranda Grounds (WA), Phil you to take a look at it and to Michael Samuel (SA) Crosier (NZ), Joan Heath get in touch with the Chairs Louise Cheng (VIC) (VIC) and Peter Koopman and Stream Organisers if you Julia Horsfield and Kristen (QLD) are continuing, and would like to get involved in Barratt (ACT) Pete Currie (VIC) and Rob organising the meeting or if Annemiek Beverdam (NSW) Saint (SA) are joining the you wish to suggest possible Mat Francois (QLD). committee. speakers. Keep an eye on http://www.asbmb.org.au/ The ongoing State combio2016/. Representatives are: Fiona Pixley (WA) Society Awards at Michael Lardelli (SA) ComBio2015 Jan Kaslin (VIC) The Society really enjoys Kazu Kikuchi (NSW) awarding prizes to students Annette Shewan (QLD) President's Medal and postdoctoral researchers ComBio and this year the competition The incoming State ComBio2015 was held in was as fierce as ever. I Representatives are: Melbourne and both the would like to congratulate Ralene Endersby (WA) weather and the science the following winners on you Sophie Wiszniak (SA) were exemplary. Marie behalf. Sebastian Dworkin (VIC) Bogoyevitch and Ed Newbigin Cell Biology Poster Koula Diamond (ACT) were the conference Chairs, Prize: Lauren Forbes Beadle, Stuart Fraser (NSW) David Jans the program Monash University. The Page 2 President's report Drosophila melanogaster MACPF sponsored by Sigma-Aldrich $53m in 2016/2017, $130m protein torso-like is required for since 2003. The Society is very in 2017/2018 and $224m in the cellular immune response. grateful for Sigma-Aldrich's 2018/2019. Keith Dixon Prize for ongoing and generous support a Developmental Biology of this important award. In Membership Poster: Bassem Akladios, 2015 the President's Medal was UNSW Australia. YAP activates awarded to Professor Melissa beta-catenin in murine Little at the Murdoch Childrens epidermal stem/progenitor cell Research Institute. The proliferation. Emerging Leader Award was David Walsh prize for bestowed on Assoc Professor the best student talk: Heidi Brett Collins from the University Neubauer, Centre for Cancer of Queensland. Biology, SA. Determining the oncogenic role of sphingosine Our Society is only as great as kinase 2. our members, their interactions Toshiya Yamada prize and their achievements. for the best postdoctoral talk: Therefore I call on all of you Nicole Schonrock, Garvan to get involved and to stay Institute of Medical Research. involved. Also, please keep Exploring the epitranscriptome: your membership current and m22G and intellectual disability. please see if you can encourage others to join the ANZSCDB. President's Medal and the Emerging Leader Brett Collins with Membership runs for the President Carol Wicking Emerging Leader Award calendar year (January 1st to I am sure you will enjoy reading December 31st), but note that about these two stars of the members joining after ComBio ANZSCDB, as Fiona Wylie in the last quarter of the year profiles both Melissa and Brett (after October 1st) will also in this newsletter. receive membership for the following year. Also note that Research Funding at the 2015 Annual General As always, talk surrounding Meeting the motion was passed funding is all around us. As that fees should increasing many of you would be aware relative to the consumer price for grants starting in 2016, the index. Please remember to success rate for NHMRC Project renew and see the website for Grants was 13.7% and for ARC details. Discovery Grants 17.7%. It is President's Medallist Melissa Little with President Carol Wicking not yet clear to what extent Wishing you all a very happy the Medical Research Future and prosperous 2016! Society Awards are to Fund (MRFF) will improve the acknowledge the important funding rates of NHMRC grants, contribution that our members but the promise is there for Sally Dunwoodie are making to the research improvement. According to field of cell and developmental the Federal Government's President ANZSCDB biology and beyond. They 2015 budget papers, there is also serve to encourage us positive news for our sector. The all to strive to make the best MRFF currently holds $3.1bn contribution that we can. The and it is expected that $10m President's Medal has been will be dispersed in 2015/16, Page 1 Sanger Arrayed Lentiviral CRISPR Libraries The Next Generation of Screening Tools has Arrived Two leaders in genome editing, Sigma-Aldrich® and the Wellcome Vector Trust Sanger Institute, have joined forces to make the first ever arrayed lentiviral CRISPR knockout libraries. Based upon validated • Simplify the workflow with puromycin selection techniques published in the literature, the Sanger CRISPR libraries • Illuminate CRISPR-expressing cells with BFP will put your lab at the forefront of the race to make the next Flip the expression components into and out of the genome big discovery. • using transposase Content Additional Features • 2 knockout clones for every human and mouse protein-coding gene • Better, not bigger: Two optimized clones per gene reduce the • Nearly 40,000 sequence confirmed clones per species library time, cost, and scale of screening experiments • Ready-to-screen: Clones are arrayed in a robotics-friendly 96-well gRNA Design format for high throughput screening • Sanger clones maximize gene knockout by targeting the first half • Collaborative: Real-time, library validation continues through the of the protein coding region while avoiding the first 90 bp Sigma-Aldrich and Sanger Institute partnership • Genomic target sequences are highly conserved, avoiding SNPs, to ensure representation in multiple cell lines • Stringent design rules reduce or eliminate the potential for off-target effects Transposase site T2A Transposase site LTR gRNA U6 PGK PuroR tagBFP LTR 20 bp Target region Sanger Lentiviral CRISPR vector U6-gRNA:PGK-puro-2A-tagBFP oriAmpr ©2015 Sigma-Aldrich Co.