Australian Biochemist The Magazine of the Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Inc. December 2020, Volume 51, Number 3 VOL 51 NO 3 DECEMBER 2020 AUSTRALIAN BIOCHEMIST PAGE 1 ISSN 1443-0193 Table of Contents 3 Editorial Committee 4 From the President 5 ASBMB 2020 Meeting Reports 9 Publications with Impact Unravelling the Speciation, Trafficking, Autoinflammatory Potential of the Killer Protein, MLKL Fluid Coupling in the Rotary Motor of Life The Natural Function of a Multidrug Resistance Transporter Uncovering a New Way in Which Tumours Co-opt Their Microenvironments to Promote Disease Progression Mutational Landscape of Gall Bladder Cancers Structural Venomics: from Single to Double Knots and Everything in Between 19 ASBMB Education Feature Online Lessons From Our Students – 2020 ASBMB Education Symposium Ten Reasons to Crowdsource Exam Questions (and How to Do it Properly) Transitioning Case-based Biochemistry Workshops to Online During COVID-19 25 SDS Page A Beginner’s Guide to Milestone Preparation 27 Competition: Campus Visit 28 Perth Protein Group: an ASBMB Special Interest Group 29 Metabolism and Molecular Medicine: an ASBMB Special Interest Group 31 Off the Beaten Track Follow Your Dreams, Until Something Better Comes Along 32 ASBMB Member Wins Western Australian Premier’s Science Award 34 Intellectual Property Timing is Everything: When to Pull the Trigger on Patent Filing 37 News from the States 41 Great Expectations It’s Not Only What You Know, It’s Who Front Cover You Know – an Unplanned Career ASBMB President, Joel Mackay, 45 ASBMB Member Named Melburnian delivers the opening address at the 2020 of the Year ASBMB Research Symposium held online. 45 In Memoriam 47 ASBMB Annual Reports 51 Our Sustaining Members The Australian Biochemist Editor Tatiana Soares da Costa 56 ASBMB Council Editorial Officer Liana Friedman 57 Directory © 2020 Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Inc. 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PAGE 2 AUSTRALIAN BIOCHEMIST VOL 51 NO 3 DECEMBER 2020 Australian Biochemist Editorial Committee Editor Editorial Officer Dr Tatiana Soares da Costa Liana Friedman Department of Biochemistry and Email: [email protected] Genetics La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science La Trobe University Bundoora VIC 3086 Email: [email protected] Phone: (03) 9479 2227 Dr Doug Fairlie Dr Sarah Hennebry Olivia Newton-John Cancer FPA Patent Attorneys Research Institute and La Trobe 101 Collins Street University Melbourne VIC 3000 Heidelberg VIC 3084 Email: sarah.hennebry@ Email: [email protected] fpapatents.com Phone: (03) 9496 9369 Phone: (03) 9288 1213 Joe Kaczmarski Associate Professor Tracey Kuit Research School of Chemistry School of Chemistry and Molecular Australian National University Bioscience Canberra ACT 0200 University of Wollongong Email: joe.kaczmarski@ Wollongong NSW 2522 anu.edu.au Email: [email protected] Phone: (02) 4221 4916 Dr Erinna Lee Dr Nirma Samarawickrema La Trobe Institute for Molecular Department of Biochemistry and Science and Olivia Newton-John Molecular Biology Cancer Research Institute Monash University Heidelberg VIC 3084 Clayton VIC 3800 Email: [email protected] Email: nirma.samarawickrema@ Phone: (03) 9496 9369 monash.edu Phone: (03) 9902 0295 Dr Gabrielle Watson Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute Monash University Clayton VIC 3800 Email: gabrielle.watson@ monash.edu Phone: (03) 9902 9227 VOL 51 NO 3 DECEMBER 2020 AUSTRALIAN BIOCHEMIST PAGE 3 From the President This piece is my swan song as ASBMB President, as One of our aims this I hand over the reins to Jacqui Matthews for the next year was to increase our two years. Jacqui will be well known to many of you involvement in science in the Australian biochemistry and molecular biology advocacy. We achieved community, particularly those of you who attend the an important first step in Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function. that direction – Tatiana Jacqui has just finished up her term as Chair of that Soares da Costa has meeting and was obviously looking for a new challenge! recently been elected to The last two years have seen some change at the the board of Science and ASBMB, particularly in our trialling of a new Society Technology Australia conference timetable. We decided to host an ASBMB- (STA) – the advocacy focussed meeting every two years and have ComBio group that represents only in the alternate years. We thought this might offer over 80,000 STEM members the opportunity to meet in a more intimate professionals, including venue than one of the large convention centres that we ASBMB’s members, to government – as the Biological need to use for ComBio meetings. Sciences Cluster Representative. We look forward to Our first ASBMB-only meeting was held in Perth in hearing from her about the role and about what we October 2019. Nic Taylor from the University of Western can do to further the cause of science on the political Australia put a huge effort into coordinating a team to agenda in Australia. run this meeting. The overall consensus amongst the What else have I been trying to do during my term as attendees was that it was a very enjoyable meeting with President? We have done quite a bit of ‘internal’ work, a good atmosphere and a great program. Attendance clarifying guidelines for State Representatives and at the meeting was lower than we would have hoped Special Interest Groups, providing State Representatives for, no doubt in part due to it being situated on the with a forum to connect with each other on a regular west coast, and possibly also partly due to uncertainty basis to exchange ideas, and reinvigorating the website on our part about the best way to focus the topics of (thanks to our webmaster Liana Friedman!). I would the meeting. When we were planning the meeting, we still like to survey members about the Society and to thought that highlighting a small number of topics in the consider whether we should coordinate an annual program (while still allowing talks in any subject area) meeting of Heads of Discipline in our field, as a way to might attract more attendees. With hindsight, we may share knowledge. I am hoping to organise these things have been wiser to not showcase particular subject before the end of 2020. areas, as it might have given the impression that other I’d like to finish off by giving enormous thanks to the topics would not be covered at all during the meeting. people who have contributed to ASBMB during my time We are still keen to see if we can get the ASBMB-only as President and who, without exception, have been format to work – scientifically and financially – and I think inspired, efficient, thorough and good humoured. Briony we will try to cast the net wider in future incarnations of Forbes and Dominic Ng have been stalwart Secretaries, the meeting. We will also seek feedback from members Marc Kvansakul has been a trustworthy Treasurer, to gauge their thoughts on meeting formats. Tatiana Soares da Costa, an energetic Editor (and Speaking of meetings, the online ASBMB symposia savvy social media specialist – follow @ITSASBMB on in September were a real success and it makes me Twitter), Liana Friedman, our expert Webmaster and wonder whether we could continue the momentum Editorial Officer, and Leann Tilley as Past President. with that format of having one or more short online And of course, Sally and Chris Jay have been the meetings (or even mixed live plus online, once that’s consummate professionals who have continued to hold permitted) as part of our regular offering (alongside it all together for us at the National Office – and have face-to-face conferences). I know most of us prefer the engaged with our ever-valuable Sustaining Members. face-to-face format, but there are some advantages in Jackie Wilce and Mark Hulett have allowed me to not terms of ease of organisation, low cost of attendance be concerned at all about the next ComBio, by doing and the opportunity to give more members a chance to a superb job of organising the one that will be held in present their work (particularly ECRs). The Education- Melbourne in 2022 (and locking in the 2020 Nobel Prize focussed meeting was particularly well attended, and in Chemistry Jennifer Doudna as a keynote speaker). I really would like to see us take advantage of that Leann has also strengthened our conference portfolio success to create a regular forum for presentations by leading a team to run the IUBMB Congress in and discussions in the biochemical education space. Melbourne in 2024. Having people doing great jobs like Encouraging the Society to increase its focus on this makes the role of the President infinitely easier! biochemistry education has been on my agenda, and Finally, thank you all too as members – you of course I am pleased that we have attracted an Education are the Society. See you all at the next meeting! Plenary speaker for ComBio2022. Joel Mackay President, ASBMB PAGE 4 AUSTRALIAN BIOCHEMIST VOL 51 NO 3 DECEMBER 2020 ASBMB 2020 Meeting With the postponement of ComBio2020 until 2022, ASBMB hosted a virtual meeting in 2020. The ASBMB Council felt it was important to provide our members with opportunities to come together to maintain a sense community and celebrate our award winners. We held an Education Symposium chaired by Nirma Samarawickrema on 29 September and a Research Symposium chaired by Tatiana Soares da Costa on 30 September. Education Symposium COVID-19 was the thunderbolt that hit our universities they experienced as a result of the sudden shift to remote in 2020 and forced educators into remote teaching. learning, the strategies they used to adapt, and their Biochemistry educators, like other educators worldwide, visions for a post-COVID learning environment.