2019 WEHI Annual Report
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ANNUAL REPORT 2019 Make this cover come alive with augmented reality. Click here for details. Contents About the Institute 1 The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research President’s report 2 Parkville campus Director’s report 4 1G Royal Parade Parkville Victoria 3052 Australia Strategic Plan 6 Telephone: +61 3 9345 2555 Our supporters 12 Bundoora campus 4 Research Avenue Exceptional science and people 15 La Trobe R&D Park Bundoora Victoria 3086 Australia Cancer Research and Treatments 16 Telephone: +61 3 9345 2200 Infection, Inflammation and Immunity 21 www.wehi.edu.au WEHIresearch Healthy Development and Ageing 26 WEHI_research New Medicines and Advanced Technologies 30 wehi_research WEHImovies Computational Biology 34 Walter and Eliza Hall Institute 2019 Graduates 38 ABN 12 004 251 423 Patents granted in 2019 40 © The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research 2020 A remarkable place 41 Produced by the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s Communications and Marketing department Staying connected with our 44 alumni community Pairing researchers and consumers Director 45 to drive research forward Douglas J Hilton ao BSc Mon BSc(Hons) PhD Melb FAA FTSE FAHMS Diversity and Inclusion 46 Deputy Director, Scientific Strategy Reconciliation 48 Alan Cowman ac BSc(Hons) Griffith PhD Melb FAA FRS FASM FASP Organisation and governance 49 Chief Operating Officer Institute organisation 50 Carolyn MacDonald BArts (Journalism) RMIT Institute Board 52 Chief Financial Officer Members of the Institute 54 Joel Chibert BCom Melb GradDipCA FAICD Institute supporters 56 Company Secretary 2019 Board Subcommittees 58 Mark Licciardo BBus(Acc) GradDip CSP FGIA FCIS FAICD 2019 Financial Statements 59 Honorary Governor and Patron Financial statements contents 60 Sir Gustav Nossal ac cbe MB BS BSc(Med) Syd PhD Melb HonLLD Mon HonLLD Melb Statistical summary 96 HonMD Mainz HonMD Ncl HonMD Leeds HonMD UWA HonDSc Syd HonDSc Qld HonDSc ANU HonDSc UNSW HonDSc The year at a glance 100 LaT HonDSc McMaster HonDSc Oxon FRCP FRACP FRCPA FRACOG(Hon) FRCPath FRACGP FRSE FTSE FAA FRS FAHMS 2019 Publications 101 Together, we can fight COVID-19 122 Augmented reality 123 We acknowledge the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which our campuses are located, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation, and pay our respects to their elders past and present. ABOUT THE INSTITUTE About the Institute The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute is one of Australia’s leading biomedical research organisations, with a strong national and international reputation for performing highly influential basic and translational research. The Institute was founded in 1915 with financial support This Institute is committed to delivering long-term from a trust established by Eliza Hall, following the death improvements in treating and diagnosing diseases, with of her husband Walter. The vision was for an institute many national and international clinical trials underway that ‘will be the birthplace of discoveries rendering signal based on research undertaken at the Institute. service to mankind in the prevention and removal of Our main laboratories are located in the world-renowned disease and the mitigation of suffering’. Parkville precinct, a vibrant and collaborative life science Today, with more than 1100 staff and students, the research, education and healthcare hub. Institute is addressing some of the major health The Institute offers postgraduate training as the challenges of our time, with a focus on cancer, infection, Department of Medical Biology of the University of inflammation, immune disorders, development Melbourne, and is affiliated with the University of and ageing. Melbourne and The Royal Melbourne Hospital. We are at the forefront of research innovation, with a strong commitment to excellence and investment in research computing, advanced technologies and developing new medicines and diagnostics. Our researchers are strongly supported by Professional Services teams. Our mission Mastery of disease through discovery Our vision To be an innovative medical research institute that enriches society through discovery and education and improves health outcomes through translation Our values • Pursuit of excellence • Integrity and mutual respect • Collaboration and teamwork • Creativity • Accountability • Contribution to society ANNUAL REPORT 2019 1 ABOUT THE INSTITUTE President’s report It is a pleasure to be able to report to you on the past We were grateful to receive generous investments to year at the Institute, having taken on the role of Board pursue important new initiatives this year. The National President in May 2019. Drug Discovery Centre (p8), which opened in early 2020, is an exciting ‘Australian first’ that will enable researchers As the Institute’s first female Board President, I hope my appointment will influence the progression of more from across Australia to fast-track their research women into leadership positions within the Institute and discoveries to life-saving new medicines for patients. We the wider scientific community. It is our duty to identify thank the Australian and Victorian governments for their and remove barriers that may inhibit our female scientists substantial investments in helping to establish the centre, from progressing in their careers, and I am proud of the along with philanthropic donations from our supporters. work already underway at the Institute towards gender We are also proud to have invested $32 million of the equality. Institute’s funds, made possible through our monetisation of venetoclax royalties. Together, this funding will make Positive impact this wonderful facility accessible to Australian researchers in a highly subsidised way. My warm wishes and thanks go to retiring Board President Mr Chris Thomas am who served the Institute for nearly 20 years, including six years as President. It “The Board is committed to ensuring the has been a privilege to work with Chris since I joined the Institute continues to deliver on its mission Board in 2013, and his dedication and contributions will to produce influential basic research be missed by us all. and translate this into improved disease As President, Chris was an astute leader and oversaw a number of transformative projects at the Institute. prevention, diagnosis and treatment.” In recognition of his significant impact, the Institute Our thanks also to the Colonial Foundation, who invested created the Chris and Cheryl Thomas Leadership $15 million with us to establish the Colonial Foundation Award, providing development opportunities for our Healthy Ageing Centre, with the goal of developing an emerging leaders. early diagnostic test for dementia (p27). It is one of the I would also like to thank Dr Graham Mitchell ao largest philanthropic donations made to the Institute who retired from the Board last May, after more in our history. We thank Colonial Foundation for their than more than a decade of service. As well as being support of this visionary research, a joint initiative a highly respected scientist and alumnus, Graham between the Institute and The Royal Melbourne Hospital, was instrumental in building a commercial mindset and look forward to delivering exciting news on this at the Institute, which led to the commercialisation program in the future. of venetoclax and set the course for new medicines currently in development. As always, we are indebted to the generous supporters and bequestors, who contributed almost $19 million Associate Professor Pippa Connolly joined the Board to research at the Institute this year. This funding is in April. A senior executive building engineer with critical to many research programs at the Institute, but experience in delivering large multidisciplinary is especially important for supporting our early-career infrastructure projects, including our own building, researchers and hard-to-fund research and technologies. she also served as non-executive director at The Royal Melbourne Hospital, the State Board of Arup and the Centenary Campaign National Association of Women in Construction. The Institute has always been a magnet for the brightest As we look to the future, the Board reaffirms its young scientific talent. For early-career researchers, no commitment to good governance, with renewed focus matter how talented, their comparative lack of track on leadership development, succession planning and record to their senior counterparts hinders their ability sustainability. to secure vital government funding. In 2015, we launched the Centenary Campaign – a five-year campaign to secure Vision for the future funding to support our early-career researchers. The Board is committed to ensuring the Institute continues to deliver on its mission to produce influential “With the vital help of our Centenary basic research and translate this into improved disease donors, our brilliant young leaders – our prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Our Strategic Plan 2019-2023 emphasises our core values of collaboration Centenary Fellows – have been able to take and innovation, and details how we will maintain our their promising research to the next level.” international standing as a creative, ambitious and nimble research organisation and workplace in an increasingly With the vital help of our Centenary donors, our complex and rapidly changing world (p6). brilliant young leaders – our Centenary Fellows – have 2 WALTER AND ELIZA HALL INSTITUTE ABOUT THE INSTITUTE been able to take their promising research to the next For our part,