The Voice- of Slovenia Year 2 No 16 December 2001
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The voice- Of Slovenia Of Slovenia Year 2 No 16 December 2001 Science Prize Reward Media Seminar Australian Excellence For achievement in the Slovenia life science, September 2001 MINISTER’S PRIZE dr. Boštjan Kobe The Science Prizes are a national tribute to excellent and dedicated Mitja Meršol - Editor /Delo/, work and are part of the Govern- ment’s ongoing commitment to sup- Stanka Gregorič and porting and promoting the impor- Dragica Bošnjak tant contribution made to our daily lives by Australian innovations in science and technology. The Prime Minister and Minister Foto: Florjan Auser for Industry, Science and Resources presented the 2001 Science Prizes to the winners during a gala dinner in the Great Hall of Parliament With dr. Dimitrij Rupel, Minister for Foreign Affairs House on 25 September 2001. Australia’s premier science award, the $300,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science, was won this year by Emeritus Professor Donald Metcalf of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, for his life-saving white blood cell research. The Science Prizes also celebrate the efforts of Australia’s young sci- entists who are 35 years of age or younger. Elica Rizmal at RAI The $35,000 Malcom McIntosh television in Trieste dr. Zvone Žigon and At the University Library in Ljubljana Prize for Achievement in the Physi- Magdalena Tovornik cal Sciences was awarded to Dr Pe- Dear Stanka, ter Bartlett who, while researching at the Australian National Univer- Adrian Vatovec and sity in Canberra, made significant Vlado Kreslin I have pleasure enclosing a preview CD of Vlado Kreslin advances in discovering how a com- performing one of my compositions called Play with puter can do what so many living Play with Fire Fire. The recording took place in Adelaide last year creatures can do: learn. when Vlado was here with his band as the headline act The $35,000 Minister’s Prize for for the Victor Harbor Folk Festival, an event that at- Achievement in Life Sciences was tracts some 10,000 people. awarded to Associate Professor Play with Fire has a rhythm and blues feel about it with Bostjan Kobe of the University of added central European texture as only Vlado and his Queensland, for his invaluable re- search in exploring the shape of ba- musicians can uniquely muster. As author Richard sic building blocks-proteins. Flanagan says about Kreslin’s stature in the musical world - ‘ … a musician of such standing that everyone who 2001 Winners: comes to central Europe – from Dylan to REM – plays with him …’ The Age, Melbourne, December 30, 2000. - 2001 PRIME MINISTER’S PRIZE FOR SCIENCE It was certainly a pleasure to work with Vlado in the Emeritus Professor Donald Metcalf, studio. Thanks must go to Helena Drnovšek Zorko from AC FAA FRC the Slovenian Embassy in Canberra for arranging the introduction with Vlado. - 2001 MALCOLM MCINTOSH The preview CD of Play with Fire has been sent to some PRIZE radio stations in Australia and American university/col- FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN THE lege radio stations. The song is being well received. PHYSICAL SCIENCES Other versions of the song are in the pipeline for later Professor Peter Bartlett release. Yours sincerely, - 2001MINISTER’S PRIZE Adrian Vatovec FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN THE Adelaide, October 23, 2001 LIFE SCIENCES Associate Professor Bostjan Kobe 2 December 2001 TH ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR 27 Annual Slovenian Concert DR. BOŠTJAN KOBE FUSION 2001 By Lenti Lenko The 2001 Minister’s Prize for ‘This is like a big microscope where The 27th annual Slovenian concert accordion maestros, Peter Grivic, Achievement in Life Sciences is we look in the finest detail at how was held this year on the 6th of Rudi Crnčec and Frank Petelin. It awarded to Associate Professor things fit and from there we begin October at the Slovenian Reli- was pleasing to see so much Bostjan Kobe, of the University of to understand how they work to- young talent on the stage particu- Queensland, for his groundbreaking gious and Cultural Centre in gether,’ he says. ‘It’s complicated larly from our 2nd and 3rd genera- work which is helping to piece to- because so many different proteins Merrylands NSW. Once again, gether the jigsaw of how our cells Slovenians from different parts of tion Slovenian youth. Of course work together-we have decades of st work. research ahead of us before we will Australia got together to show off our 1 generation folk also showed see the full, integrated picture. For their talents and abilities no mat- us what they are capable of! All The 35-year-old Associate Profe- example, we know that the whole ter what their age as these concerts in all, no matter what our abilities ssor is doing so by exploring the human genome has thousands of are now also open to people of all we all gathered together to once shape of basic building blocks-pro- proteins, but the real challenge we teins. There is enormous potential ages and not just the youth. again show our community that face is that we only actually know whether born in Slovenia or Aus- for this work. Associate Professor how a fraction of them work.’ Kobe’s research will be invaluable Associate Professor Kobe is in- There were 33 different acts rang- tralia, we are proud of our for developing highly-targeted ing from poetry recitals, solo and Slovenian heritage, culture, mu- drugs that can manipulate what a spired by the work of others in the same field, including Australian choral singing and folklore danc- sic and language. protein does and, as a result, suc- ing to various bands, solo instru- cessfully fight off deadly viruses scientists in Melbourne who deve- like HIV. loped the flu drug, Relenza. mental performances and dance The next morning a special youth Piecing together the jigsaw by sol- ‘It is an exciting area to be involved items. As always our proud mass was celebrated at St. ving the three-dimensional struc- in. We’re looking at three-dimen- Slovenian youth showed us their Rapheals church in Merrylands ture of proteins is detailed and time- sional shapes of molecules that no abilities to the fullest. There are with our very own Pater Ciril one has seen before-we’re the first consuming, but important work. so many talented names I would Bozic (whom we are very fortu- Proteins perform many important scientists to see them in such in- credible detail. Of course, you have love to mention however space nate to have with us again in Aus- functions in every cell in every or- unfortunately does not permit this! ganism. The way protein molecules to go through a lot of work to make tralia!) giving an inspirational interact with one another controls a discovery, but not knowing exactly One name I will mention however homily to everybody present. Af- the way all living things grow and what you will find tomorrow excites is our young 6 year old Mathew ter mass, we gathered in the hall reproduce. ‘Each type of molecule me’, he says. Bratina from Melbourne who put for a BBQ lunch and then it was has a complex three-dimensional Associate Professor Kobe already on a fantastic show both at the time to depart for the long trip shape which influences how they has an outstanding publication concert and the next mor-ning in back to Melbourne. behave. If we can learn exactly how record for a young researcher, with church and stole everyone’s hearts they are shaped, we will be able to papers in the top scientific journals in the process! use this information to work out of the field. For example, the pres- The theme for this years concert ways of regulating how they func- tigious international journal Nature for ‘FUSION’. And this concert, tion’, explains Associate Professor published an article on his work in A group of dedicated people got (like all other past concerts) really Kobe. December 1999. together a number of months in showed this to the fullest - a FU- Each protein has pockets and Associate Professor Kobe’s passion advance to organise this very ma- SION of Slovenia and Australia, grooves that determine how it fits, jor annual event in the Slovenian for scientific discovery began as a a FUSION of the old and the new binds and reacts with other proteins young child in Slovenia. After community calender. It is impor- and a of course a FUSION of dif- and molecules within a cell. studying chemistry there, he wor- tant to note that the majority of the ‘Once we have determined the ferent people who lead very dif- ked in the United States where he organisers were not born in structure, we can use it as a tem- obtained his PhD. He was more re- fering and varying lifestyles in plate to help us design drugs that Slovenia but are proud of their may manipulate how a protein func- cently at St. Vincent’s Institute of different part of this God blessed Medical Research in Melbourne, Slovenian heritage and want to do tions. This information will help us something positive for the Slo- country of Australia who came fight the viruses that attack our before last year moving to the Uni- together from near and far to keep versity of Queensland’s Department venian community in Australia cells, like HIV. By understanding and that is why they got involved. the Slovenian spirit and tradition the shapes of the molecules that of Biochemistry and Molecular Bio- alive and kicking! enable a virus to function, we can logy and Institute for Molecular They must all be contratulated- design chemicals that will find and Bioscience.