THE SCHOOL OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES AND PHARMACY ANNUAL REPORT 2018 “A glimpse at junctional dynamics” A top down view of a differentiating airway epithelium from an asthmatic donor cultured in air-liquid interface. Structural proteins in tight junction region – zonula occluden and claudin-1 were stained in red and green respectively. Nuclei stained in blue. By Ngan Fung Winnie Li (PhD Candidate) April 2018 Beautiful Science Winner 2 | Page Table of Contents WELCOME ..................................................................................................................................................... 4 SCHOOL STRUCTURE ................................................................................................................................. 5 SCHOOL ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE ............................................................................................. 5 SCHOOL STAFF COMPOSITION .............................................................................................................. 7 SCHOOL PERFORMANCE – 2018 ............................................................................................................ 8 ACADEMIC PROMOTIONS – 2018 .......................................................................................................... 10 TEACHING ................................................................................................................................................... 11 SCHOOL TEACHING AND LEARNING ................................................................................................... 11 TEACHING SUPPORT UNIT .................................................................................................................... 11 ADVANCED SURGICAL ANATOMY POSTGRADUATE TRAINING COURSE ....................................... 12 PHARMACY PROGRAM .......................................................................................................................... 13 SCHOOL RESEARCH ................................................................................................................................. 14 RESEARCH SUPPORT UNIT .................................................................................................................. 15 EXERCISE, REPRODUCTION, GENETICS AND NUTRITION RESEARCH CLUSTER ......................... 16 IMMUNOLOGY & MICROBIOLOGY RESEARCH CLUSTER .................................................................. 24 MOLECULAR BIOLOGY RESEARCH CLUSTER .................................................................................... 34 NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH CLUSTER .............................................................................................. 45 PHARMACY AND EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY RESEARCH CLUSTER .................................. 60 STUDENTS .................................................................................................................................................. 68 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ............................................................................................................ 68 POST GRADUATE RESEARCH .............................................................................................................. 70 SCHOOL INITIATIVES ................................................................................................................................. 72 RESEARCH PAPER OF THE MONTH ..................................................................................................... 72 BEAUTIFUL SCIENCE COMPETITION - 2018 ........................................................................................ 72 SCHOOL ACTIVITIES 2018 ......................................................................................................................... 75 AWARDS RECEIVED BY STAFF/STUDENTS ........................................................................................ 75 ACADEMIC HONOURS RECEIVED BY STAFF/STUDENTS .................................................................. 76 EDITORIAL SERVICE .............................................................................................................................. 76 EXPERT REVIEWS FOR INSTITUTIONS OR ORGANISATIONS .......................................................... 77 HONORARY OR CONJOINT PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS ......................................................... 78 INVITED OR PLENARY SPEAKER (NATIONAL AND/OR INTERNATIONAL) ........................................ 79 OUTREACH TO COMMUNITY AND/OR MEDIA ..................................................................................... 81 REVIEW NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL GRANTS ................................................................................... 82 VOLUNTEERING – WORK RELATED OR NON-WORK RELATED - update ......................................... 82 PUBLICATIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 84 3 | Page WELCOME Welcome to the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy at the University of Newcastle. The School is an amalgamation of several interrelated disciplines and enjoys a reputation as a world-class place to conduct biomedical research. The high profile of the School has enabled continued significant grant funding success and the recruitment of stellar researchers who draw on a sophisticated array of tools and techniques to answer relevant and important biomedical questions. Indeed, research in the School was judged as in the top two categories -"well above" or "above" world standard in the 2012 Excellence in Research for Australia University assessments. In 2018 our School included 90.91 full-time equivalent research and academic staff, 52.95 full-time equivalent professional staff (41.76 lab based, 11.19 non-lab based), 166 Research Higher Degree students and 16 Honours Students distributed across the Newcastle (Callaghan) and Central Coast (Ourimbah) campuses and the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI). We are also proud to have 46 Conjoint appointed staff, 9 Emeritus Professors and 2 Laureate Professors. Complementing our outstanding research, the School recognises the importance of education and mentoring and prides itself in the delivery of quality undergraduate and postgraduate learning opportunities. The School has primary responsibility for the Bachelor of Biomedical Science and Biomedical Science Honours programs, the Master of Pharmacy and the new Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) program. The School also provides teaching into medicine and health-related programs, including physiotherapy, nutrition and dietetics, medical radiation science and nursing. With teaching and research based across 6 campuses, our staff and students are geographically widespread, and external affiliations and collaborations, both domestically and internationally, ensure the School is well known for high quality teaching and research excellence. The School is driven by a central vision of excellence and we are excited about the future. We welcome your interest and seek to recruit outstanding staff and students. Professor Darryl Knight Head, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy Faculty of Health and Medicine University of Newcastle 4 | Page SCHOOL STRUCTURE SCHOOL ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE Executive Officer Head of School Head of School Personal Assistant School Executive (Head of School, Deputy Head of School, Executive Officer, Director Teaching & Learning, Director Research) Director Teaching and Learning Steering Committee Research Committee Discipline of Immunology & Immunology & Microbiology Teaching Support Unit Microbiology Research Cluster Research Support Unit Discipline of Pharmacy & Pharmacy & Pharmacology Experimental Pharmacology Research Cluster Discipline of Medical Molecular Biology Biochemistry & Genetics Research Cluster Discipline of Human Physiology Neuroscience Research Cluster Exercise, Reproduction, Genetics Discipline of Anatomy & Nutrition Research Cluster 5 | Page School Executive 2018 Professor Phil Hansbro (Director Research), Professor Darryl Knight (Head of School), Associate Professor Phillip Dickson (Deputy Head of School) Mrs Diane Nesbitt (Executive Officer), Associate Professor Suzanne Evans (Director Teaching & Learning), 6 | Page SCHOOL STAFF COMPOSITION Staffing Profile as at December 31 2019/January 1 2019 Male/Female School Staff Members (Not FTE Based) 49 41 29 19 19 15 16 11 6402 7 2 PROFESSIONAL DR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LAUREATE CONJOINT EMERITUS PROFESSOR PROFESSOR PROFESSORS Male Female Male/Female School Staff Members (FTE Based) 39.77 35.56 19 13.18 14.2 11 63.1502 PROFESSIONAL DR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR PROFESSOR LAUREATE PROFESSOR Male Female 7 | Page SCHOOL PERFORMANCE – 2018 Research Funding New Grants Commencing by Type 13,000,000.00 12,000,000.00 11,000,000.00 10,000,000.00 9,000,000.00 8,000,000.00 7,000,000.00 6,000,000.00 5,000,000.00 4,000,000.00 3,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 ‐ 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Fellowships Scholarships Equipment Grants Research/Project Grants Other New Grants Commencing By $ Value 10,000,000.00 9,000,000.00 8,000,000.00 7,000,000.00 6,000,000.00 5,000,000.00 4,000,000.00 3,000,000.00 2,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 ‐ 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 ARC NHMRC HMRI Other 8 | Page Publications Publication Category Groups 325 300 275 250 225 200 175 150 125 100 75 50 25 0 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2015 2015 2016* 2017 YTD* 2018 YTD* B1 Book Chapter ‐ Research (HERDC) C1 Refereed Article in a