1998 was an important year for both the JCSMR and Canberra. It was the 100th anniversary of Florey’s birth, and in September the Florey Centenary Symposium celebrated the occasion here in Canberra. This Symposium was focused on Helicobacter pylori and its relationship to stomach ulceration and the development of stomach cancer. All members of the School and their friends were invited to attend the public lecture. The public lecture considered two aspects of Florey’s life. Sir James Gowans (United Kingdom) presented “Florey - the Scientist” and Dr Stephen Foster (Canberra) presented “Florey - the Man”. Students and staff also participated in the symposium.
In this, my final report as Director, I would like to express my thanks for the administrative and scientific support I have received over the last 5 years. It has not been an easy time. There was a need for some change if the School is to proceed into the new century with the vigour it has demonstrated over the latter portion of the 20th Century, and significant change has been set in place.
When I came to the School in 1993 my strategic plan was:
Progress has been made with the first two of these aims but the third requires further development.
The existing research activities in the School have been strengthened by the introduction of major initiatives in the areas of protein structure and function (Dr Jill Gready), immunology and medical genetics (Prof Chris Goodnow), integrative neuroscience (Drs Walmsley, Taylor and Sah), and cytokine gene transcription (Dr Frances Shannon). These new recruits are now working together with other members of the School and with other Schools within the University. I would say, few institutions in the world equal the JCSMR in terms of its academic strength and depth.
Professor Chris Goodnow is the Director of the School’s Medical Genome Centre, which was funded in part by a $1 million grant from the Australian Cancer Research Foundation. This facility, which will concentrate of the mutagenesis of mice with a view to developing models for human disease situations, will have interactions across the School with the study and analysis of relevant mutants.
The activities of the JCSMR are focused on medical research and as such the product of such research must be shown to be of clinical relevance. The emphasis on clinical relevance must be balanced against the basic science focus of the School. The School is currently collaborating with clinical colleagues in Canberra and in other parts of the country on clinical interactions that flow from the basic science. The activity will develop further as the hospitals in Canberra expand.
One-line budgeting for individual laboratories has facilitated the development of a more flexible administrative structure within the School. The divisions look after student education and provide a forum for the discussion of strategic initiatives. The Divisional structure is important in facilitating the transmission of strategic planning and other matters to the Faculty Board which is the primary advisory board for the Director. The provision of one-line budgets has allowed flexible scientific interaction both within and between the divisions in the form of thematic programs. Such programs facilitate the use of different technologies to tackle particular scientific problems. The programs provide a somewhat broader educational background for students and such programs have the flexibility to expand and contract according to need.
The effect of reduction in government funding for the Institute of Advanced Studies and the JCSMR in particular, in recent years, has required investigators within the School to use their intellectual potential to draw in funds from both industrial interactions and national and international granting agencies. This level of grant funding has increased three fold over the last five years and is now standing at approximately $6.5 million committed to the School for this year. What this means is that approximately one third of the School’s recurrent budget is supplemented by external grant support. This major change in the ethos of the School has come about because of the academic strength exhibited by individual investigators. It is important to point out that some eighty-percent of this $6.5 million commitment is being provided by basic science supporting agencies. The School must continue along this path if it is to protect itself from the reductions in government funding that we will face in the future.
The School is now in a very strong position as it moves towards the year 2000 and into the next century. The School requires the continued recruitment of young investigators into its structure and this process necessitates the continued provision of salary and other research support. Thus, it will be important for senior investigators to take advantage of their retirement options and make way for younger scientists, while continuing to contribute to the activities of the School and the University.
Both the School and the University will need to demonstrate their capacity to develop new initiatives, and the ANU’s Institute of Advanced Studies must demonstrate its unique character within the Australian context. The IAS is unique in its capacity to focus massive technical and scientific skill on a particular problem area, by way of collaborative interactions between individual research schools. The Centre for Molecular Structure and Function - collaboration between, the Research School of Biological Sciences, the Research School of Chemistry and the JCSMR is an example of such an interaction. It is important that the School continues to be involved in such cross-campus collaborations. Another activity that has been briefly discussed at Faculty Board is the development of an advanced training centre at the ANU. Such a centre would run courses in the use of developing technologies along with workshop courses on new research areas. Such courses would be open to scientists at PhD level and above. It will be important to consider the development of these and other initiatives over the remaining half of this year.
Finally I would say that the School is well placed now to cope with the needs of the coming 21st century. The last half of the 20th century has seen the School awarded a wealth of scientific recognition from the awards of multiple Nobel Prizes to recognition of its research activities by many other national and international bodies. The School has the scientific strength and infrastructure required to continue along this path of excellence. The last five years, for me, has been a period of active interaction with all members of the School at both the academic and general staff levels. For me, it has been most satisfying to see the JCSMR emerge as a strong and vibrant organisation, well placed to continue its leadership role in the field of medical research.
Professor IG Young (3 July 1998 - 31 December 1998)
I am pleased to have been able to serve as Interim Director for the last half of 1998 and to assist the John Curtin School of Medical Research continue its important research mission in the life sciences underpinning medicine.
One of the important events of the year was the Florey Centenary Symposium on Helicobacter Pylori held in September to mark the centenary of Howard Florey’s birth. The symposium recaptured the excitement of the discovery of the role of Helicobacter pylori in duodenal disease. It was a great success and much of the credit for its organization goes to Professor Adrian Lee of the University of New South Wales. The symposium was a fitting tribute to Howard Florey who was a pioneer in antimicrobial therapy and who played a significant role in the establishment of the Australian National University and the John Curtin School of Medical research.
It was also a pleasure to note the establishment of a large number of talented young investigators in the School. The JCSMR has used renewable fixed term appointments extensively in recent years providing an attractive career option for young scientists. The School played an important role in the establishment of this type of appointment in the ANU when I last served as Director in 1992-3 . It is of course disappointing that this type of post has been phased out by the latest higher education award but arrangements are in place for comparable standard appointments.
During the latter part of 1998 the School has made further attempts to improve its links with the Canberra Clinical School and collaborations are continuing to develop. The Canberra Clinical School will participate in the JCSMR scientific retreat to be held in March 1999. The importance of applying knowledge gained from the research of the School to community benefit and the creation of employment is well recognized in the JCSMR and there are a number of commercially oriented projects of great potential currently being carried out in the School. These projects include new ways of combating cancer, HIV and diabetes. The development of the Innovations Building adjacent to the School provides an excellent opportunity to develop a vibrant biotechnology interface on campus.