Biochemistry at La Trobe University: a Proud History
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Biochemistry “Bruce built his department with a strong focus on research and from at La Trobe University his staff demanded nothing but the best. A comment to a staff member seen arriving at work at 9:30am of “did you bring the Herald” was taken as more than a throw away line. He led the department from the front and the attitude of professionalism has remained with the department despite the substantial turnover and expansion of the department since.“ - Nick Hoogenraad A Proud History Biochemistry at La Trobe University A Proud History Nick Hoogenraad Published by the Department of Biochemistry and Genetics La Trobe University 2017 All photographs used in this book are courtesy of the Biochemistry at La Trobe University La Trobe University Media Library and from personal collections from members of the Department. A Proud History Authored by Nick Hoogenraaad Nick Hoogenraad Cover, internal design and layout by Fung Lay A PROUD HISTORY | 1 Foreword From the outset, the basis for this book lay As for my own association with the with one of the Biochemistry department’s department, starting from an undergraduate most esteemed leaders, Nick Hoogenraad. science degree with a major in biochemistry An educator, researcher and administrator, in the early 90s, to Honours and PhD training Nick felt, and rightly so, that it was and a continuing postdoctoral position within imperative to record the contributions and the department, I feel privileged to have history of the people who were instrumental lived a part of this department’s history. As in establishing and shaping of what is an enthusiast of photo taking from my days arguably one of the finest biochemistry in Honours, I have inadvertently amassed departments in Australia - lest it be lost in a collection of photos that now form part the abyss of time. of the collection in this book. Together with the contributions of other members of the Expressed so eloquently in the Preface, department and those from the University’s Nick puts the history of the department in photo archive, this has allowed for the the broader context of what went on in the weaving of a complementary pictorial rest of the world of biochemistry. As will be narrative to the stricter penned history that evident from the pages of this book, the capture the people, events and the culture department has moved with the times from that make the department it is today. In early work on gene cloning and monoclonal pictorializing this book, it has been satisfying antibody production, to research on protein to reflect on how far the department has structure–function and the application come. of research outcomes for commercial translation. In this regard, Nick has himself On behalf of a grateful department, I made several important contributions to would like to acknowledge the immense science advancement and technological contribution Nick has made over many innovation. For example, he was personally decades and allowing his work to be involved in developing the first modern-day reimagined in this way. A big thank you also Western blot apparatus, whilst on sabbatical to Joan Hoogenraad and Don Phillips for in Stanford University in 1979. He was to their insightful discussions and assistance bring this technology back to La Trobe the on this project, and to the Department following year and many researchers from of Biochemistry and Genetics 50th around Australia visited his lab in those Anniversary Organising Committee (chaired early years to use his apparatus. by Kaye Truscott) for their enthusiastic support. The reputation of the department has largely been driven by the strategic recruitment of Fung Lay excellent staff for its research and teaching pursuits. Together, they have trained a multitude of students and early career researchers. It is worth noting that the department has been under the stewardship of five passionate department heads in its time – Bruce Stone, Nick Hoogenraad, Mike Ryan, Andy Hill and most recently, Robyn Murphy – who have each made or “Just as light shining through raindrops at different angles can are making their own indelible mark on the reveal the unseen colours of a rainbow, so too can illumination from department’s history. scientific endeavour lead to the solving of global problems and improvement in the welfare of human societies. This is the vision of the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science.” - Fung Lay 2 | BIOCHEMISTRY AT LA TROBE UNIVERSITY A PROUD HISTORY | 3 won in 1980, the same year Paul Berg won and they had their origins in the post- I was motivated to write this brief history the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the first war years. Significantly, our Biochemistry of the department as I realised that all too Preface gene cloning experiments, both advances department developed alongside the soon, there will be no people left who have making the way for modern molecular many major discoveries that were made travelled the journey from the beginning to As the University passes its 50th biology. Thus, these key findings were in the last 30-40 years, with staff that the present. My aim was to make sure we anniversary and the Biochemistry made during the life of our Biochemistry were at the forefront of embracing new have a record of who served the department department approaches its 45th department. I like to point out that when developments as they came along. The over the years: when they came and when & anniversary, it is worth considering this Sanger retired at age 65, he had won two early cohort of staff members had access where they went. For accuracy, I have been celebration in the context of the history of Nobel Prizes yet his total publications were to very little technology. We started our assisted by Don Phillips, who unlike me the biochemistry discipline. Biochemistry less than 100, making the best argument I protein sequencing using the basic Edman was here from the start, and Geoff Fincher has its origins in the old disciplines of know that quality should always take priority methods and made our first DNA probes and Mike Ryan who also cast their eyes Chemistry and Medicine/Physiology. This over volume. on glass beads on sintered glass funnels. over this history. Thank you for your input. origin dates back to the early years of We embraced new technology with gusto, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Fung the twentieth century when Otto Warburg We all recognise the importance of the being early users of the monoclonal Lay for recording so much of our history discovered that cancer cells have a different relationship between protein structure antibody technology for which Kohler and through the eye of his camera: from lab metabolism from normal cells in that they and function. Indeed, from the early life Millstein won the Nobel Prize in 1984. photographs to happy snapshots of social are predominantly glycolytic and produce of the Biochemistry department, we were functions such as the Christmas parties lactic acid, a process that has become associated with the Protein Structure and and annual football matches between the known as the ‘Warburg Effect’. Warburg Function Conferences, started by Syd Leach “Significantly, our Biochemistry LIMS Lazers, WEHI and the Peter Mac. I won the Nobel Prize for Physiology and from Melbourne University and held annually department developed alongside have deliberately made as few descriptive Medicine in 1931. Biochemistry itself moved at Lorne since the mid-70s. A key aspect of the many major discoveries comments as possible as I feel that I am along slowly for the next 20 years until Carl these conferences was a recognition of the that were made in the last 30-40 too close to the core of the story to do it and Gertie Cori were awarded Nobel prizes importance of solving protein structure via years, with staff that were at justice. So I will leave a more definitive in 1947 for their discovery of the enzymes crystallography in helping us to understand the forefront of embracing new account of the history of the department to which control glycogen synthesis and Hans protein function and this emphasis is developments as they came along.” some independent person. There certainly Krebs, himself a former PhD student of epitomised by the production of a T-shirt are some good stories yet to be told. Warburg, described the Citric Acid Cycle, for each Lorne conference displaying and Fritz Lipmann discovered the role of a new protein structure. Through these Their work was published in Nature in 1976 Nick Hoogenraad Coenzyme A in intermediary metabolism, conferences, we also formed close ties with and by 1980 we were making monoclonal for which they won Nobel Prizes in 1953, the CSIRO Division of Protein Chemistry antibodies at La Trobe. From the manual just 20 years before the Biochemistry in Parkville and later with the Biomolecular protein sequencing methods, in the early department was founded in 1972. Research Institute (BRI), directed by Peter 1980s we rapidly installed new equipment Colman and through collaborations with as it became available such as protein In parallel with developments in the Peter Hudson, both long standing adjunct sequencing, DNA synthesis and mass Physiological aspects of biochemistry, appointments of the department, we gained spectrometry. Because of this emphasis the Chemical aspects developed. Linus access for our research and training of on embracing the latest technology and Pauling produced his ground breaking students to structural biology. So it is our inclination to collaborate with leading research on bonds and bond angles, in the worth looking back on the hallmarks in this colleagues both in Australia and overseas, early 50’s which formed the basis of our area.