2014 -2015 Annual Report ANNUAL REPORT 2014 -2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter of compliance 2 Research highlights 3 Awards and achievements 5 Message from our patron 6 Chair’s report 7 Director’s report 8 Our organisation 9 Our governance 10 Our people 19 Our performance 25 Our support 28 Our research achievements 30 Compliance 57 Financial statements 58 Supporting information 96 Awards 96 Invited lectures 98 Patents 113 Grants and funding 115 QIMR Berghofer Fellows 125 Scientific publications 126 Compliance checklist 167 Glossary/Acronyms 169 1 LETTER OF COMPLIANCE 2 QIMR Berghofer Annual Report 2014-15 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS CANCER Found a new treatment approach that could offer hope to patients with the aggressive blood cancer, acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Completed a Phase I clinical trial for experimental immunotherapy treatment for aggressive brain cancer. Changed international practice for the treatment of leukaemia patients undergoing bone marrow transplants through Phase I and II clinical trials. Identified a way to prevent bone marrow transplant patients from Professor Geoff Hill (second from left) and Dr Jeannette suffering serious complications. Young at G20 announcing new bone marrow treatment practices for leukaemia patients. Found new markers for melanoma which may allow the disease to be accurately monitored via a routine blood test. Determined that sudden ‘chromosomal catastrophes’ may trigger a third of oesophageal tumours, the fastest rising cancer in Australia. Determined more people die from thin melanomas (less than one millimetre) than thick melanomas (greater than four millimetres). Used an experimental drug produced from the seeds of a rainforest plant to cure solid cancer tumours in pre-clinical studies. Determined that some anti-inflammatory drugs have the potential to prevent squamous cell carcinoma. Dr Steven Lane and cancer biologist Claudia Determined how a single DNA variant increases a woman’s risk of Bruedigam, from QIMR Berghofer’s Translational Leukaemia Research Laboratory have found a new developing breast cancer. treatment approach that could offer hope to patients with the aggressive blood cancer acute myeloid Found that women in rural and remote areas of Australia have a leukaemia (AML). higher risk of dying from ovarian cancer than those in richer, urban areas. Discovered a novel family of toxins in the venom of box jellyfish, opening the door for further investigation into the use of the venom in the treatment of cancers. 3 INFECTIOUS DISEASES Collaborated with the CSIRO on developing a Conducted research into the Asian Tiger breath test to diagnose malaria. Mosquito in QIMR Berghofer’s state-of-the-art insectary. Commenced a pre-clinical study of a genetic treatment to permanently suppress HIV. Tested more than 2000 patient samples from Timor L’este for intestinal parasites. Developed a unique methodology for conducting clinical trials for the treatment of malaria. MENTAL HEALTH AND OTHER COMPLEX DISORDERS Developed a method to predict developmental Commenced using cutting-edge imaging and outcomes for pre-term babies. information technology to develop a diagnostic test for major depressive disorders. Comprehensively mapped the connections in the healthy elderly brain, laying the groundwork Found that hypoglycaemia significantly increases for new research into Alzheimer’s disease and the risk of cardiovascular disease and death in dementia. diabetic patients. Identified genes associated with the most Commenced a two-year trial of a rheumatoid common form of glaucoma, the world’s leading arthritis medication to treat asthma. cause of irreversible blindness. Identified five genetic variants that influence the size of structures within the brain. Dr Manuel Ferreira and a trial participant at the announcement of new asthma treatment clinical trials. 4 QIMR Berghofer Annual Report 2014-15 AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS Announced full ownership of the clinical trial facility, Q-Pharm. Six QIMR Berghofer scientists were elected Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Professors Frank Gannon, Geoff Hill, Rajiv Khanna, Mark Smyth, Nick Martin and Adele Green were inducted into the Academy. QIMR Berghofer and QUT entered a collaboration between the organisations. Under the agreement, QUT has access to specialist health and medical research facilities at QIMR Berghofer. QIMR Berghofer Director and CEO Professor Frank Gannon and QUT Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake sign an MOU at a ceremony at BIO Philadelphia with witnesses including Queensland Dr Andrea Schuessler won the Australian Society Premier, the Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk. for Medical Research Postdoctoral award. QIMR Berghofer was granted approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to manufacture cellular therapies for human use, opening the way for clinical trials of new cancer treatments. Professor Nick Martin was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Senior Scientist Professor Geoff Hill was awarded the Translational Research Institute (TRI) National Professors Mark Smyth, Rajiv Khanna, Geoff Hill, Frank Gannon and Prize for research improving health outcomes for Nick Martin at their induction to the Australian Academy of Health patients. and Medical Sciences in Canberra, March 2015. QIMR Berghofer entered into a major research collaboration with Medicines for Malaria Venture on behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop the Human Challenge Malaria Model. 5 MESSAGE FROM OUR PATRON Message from the Governor of Queensland for the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute Annual Report As Governor of Queensland, Patron of the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, and former Chair of the QIMR Council, I congratulate the Institute on its 70th anniversary in 2015. The Institute continues to build on its reputation as a world-renowned medical research hub dedicated to improving the health of communities in Queensland, and much further afield. While “research” is rightly prominent in the Institute’s title, the organisation’s activities extend to collaborations and alliances with other distinguished institutions, patents, clinical trials and commercialisation. To borrow QIMR Berghofer’s own words, the Institute is committed to taking the research “from the laboratory bench to the hospital bedside”. The Institute’s achievements in the year under review are a prime illustration of its commitment to that admirable mission. These include, but are by no means limited to, advances that promise better and more targeted prevention, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of serious conditions ranging from aggressive breast, ovarian, skin and pancreatic cancers to asthma. These are outcomes that will affect directly, and for the better, the lives of individuals everywhere. I thank the QIMR Council, the CEO and his highly skilled research and support teams for their dedication and hard work over the past year. The work of the more than 600 personnel at QIMR Berghofer would not be possible without generous support from governments and from all those organisations and individuals whose time, energy and philanthropy have provided the resources needed for QIMR Berghofer’s work. As Governor and Patron, I thank all concerned for their roles in supporting the Institute’s impressive work program and achievements over the past twelve months, and in further strengthening the foundations for continued success as this outstanding Queensland institution enters its eighth decade. 6 QIMR Berghofer Annual Report 2014-15 CHAIR’S REPORT It is a great privilege and pleasure to provide my first report as Chairman of QIMR Berghofer as this iconic Queensland institution enters its 70th year of improving health through medical research. From humble beginnings, QIMR Berghofer is now a major medical research institute by world standards and has established an international reputation for research excellence and extraordinary research achievements. The Institute’s work in infectious diseases—the original purpose for which it was established—continues apace. Malaria continues to be a key target for our researchers, who are testing anti-malarial medicines in healthy volunteers. This is important work as this preventable and curable disease kills more than half a million people every year, most of them children. QIMR Berghofer has also cemented its place as a global leader in the fight against cancer. From a new treatment approach for acute myeloid leukaemia, to cutting-edge work in cancer immunotherapy, and an antibody that could fight an aggressive brain cancer, the Institute’s world-class research brings hope for those suffering terrible diseases. Mental health and complex disorders are growing areas of focus for the Institute. Our scientists are collaborating with colleagues around Australia and overseas to develop Two of these have been honoured in the past year. diagnostic tools for dementia and major depressive orders. Legendary American philanthropist Charles ‘Chuck’ We are researching debilitating illnesses such as asthma and Feeney was awarded Research Australia’s Great Australian anorexia nervosa. As always, the Institute’s research agenda Philanthropy Award and Toowoomba businessman Clive is driven by the needs of the community. Berghofer was a finalist for Queensland Senior Australian of the Year. Both are shining examples of the ‘giving while QIMR Berghofer has a unique capability to take its world- you’re living’ movement making the world a better place by leading