RR_2009

Research
Review 2009
…institutes,
innovation,
infrastructure…

The University of Melbourne
Research Review, August 2009
Published by the Deputy
Vice-Chancellor (Research)
through the Marketing and
Communications Office
Level 3, 780 Elizabeth Street
Victoria 3010
ISSN 1441–3302
Enquries for reprinting information
contained in this publication
should be made through the
Editor, Research Review.
Marketing and
Communications Office
Level 3, 780 Elizabeth Street
Victoria 3010
t +61 3 8344 5267
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A complete listing of University of
Melbourne research projects is
available at: www.research.unimelb.
edu.au/rpag/reports/research
Editor: Silvia Dropulich
Cover Image: Nobel
Laureate Professor Peter
Doherty Photo: Fred Kroh
Writers: Silvia Dropulich, Nerissa
Hannink, David Scott, Rebecca
Scott, Emma O’Neill, Katherine
Smith, Helen Varnavas
Views expressed by contributors to Research
Review are not necessarily endorsed or
approved by the University. Neither the
University nor the Editor of Research Review
accepts any responsibility for the content
or accuracy contained in this publication.
4
6
10
22
Melbourne Newsroom
Newsroom.melbourne.edu – The University
of Melbourne has launched a new-look
dedicated news website that provides expert
comment, news and views from across the
University. The Melbourne Newsroom (TMN)
includes featured video clips of Melbourne
academics giving expert comment on the
latest news, as well as information on breaking
research and organisational announcements.
You can follow the Newsroom on Twitter, and
keep up to date with public lectures, seminars,
exhibitions and performances on campus
through the What’s On section of the site.
The website is also home to the University’s
suite of news tools, including Up Close
podcasts, Visions vodcasts, Voice newspaper,
selected blogs from our academics, and
Who’s Who at the University of Melbourne,
a searchable database of academics
available to provide expert comment on
issues in the news. To find out the latest
news from the University of Melbourne
go to www.newsroom.melbourne.edu
RESEARCH REVIEW 2009

Contents
2 Introduction and Overview (text to come)
Features
4 Melbourne Lands Key Role in $1bn Cancer Centre
6 The Future of Sight
8 The Nano Revolution
10 The Science of Scepticism: Peter Doherty Profile
12 SPECIAL REPORT: The Parkville Research Precinct
16 Emerging Institutes
20 Bio21 Institute Builds Research Critical Mass
22 Mental Disorders a Major Problem for the Young
24 Greening our Rooftops
26 It’s all in the Brain
28 Telecommuting Future
30 Music in the Digital Age
32 News
36 The University at a Glance
12
1

researchinstitutes.melbourne.edu
World-class expertise and knowledge -
all in the one place.
Our Research Institutes are taking new directions,
applying new ways of thinking, and bringing together
the best minds from over 50 disciplines. From energy
and sustainability, to biotechnology and neuroscience,
we’re all working together to make a positive
contribution to the world and provide cutting-edge
opportunities for the next generation of researchers.
The answers to some
of the world’s most
challenging problems
lie in cross-disciplinary
research.
A Global Research Powerhouse
2

T
he University of Melbourne
has a long and proud
tradition of research and
teaching excellence. The
sheer scale of research facilities,
institutes, researchers, fellows and
postgraduates in the Parkville precinct,
and surrounds, is without parallel in
the southern hemisphere, and one
of the very few such concentrations
of research excellence worldwide.
It is an extraordinary time for major
infrastructure projects at, and around,
the original campus of the University of
Melbourne. Over $1.6 billion of capital
works are under way or soon to start
– more than at any other time in the
University’s history.
This edition of Research Review is
dedicated to the timely theme of
‘Institutes, Innovation and Infrastructure’.
In the pages ahead we bring insights into
the projects and research that will help
build the Parkville precinct as a world
centre of research and scholarship.
Recent announcements from the
Commonwealth and State governments
include the $1 billion Parkville
Comprehensive Cancer Centre
(Parkville CCC), after some 10 years of
planning. The feature on page 5 shows
how the defining characteristic of a
comprehensive cancer centre is the
linkage between research and treatment
of the patient.
Medical research capacity will be
boosted further by the University’s
$210 million Peter Doherty Institute for
Infection and Immunity and $100 million
Victorian Life Sciences Computation
Initiative (VLSCI), to be built on the site of
the Elizabeth Towers hotel.
The Doherty Institute will co-locate the
University Department of Microbiology
and Immunology with a number of
Victorian Government and World
Health Organization laboratories, and
the VLSCI will provide computational
biology expertise and peak computing
infrastructure to institutions throughout
Victoria.
These projects have been made possible
by Commonwealth and Victorian
Government funding, with the Doherty
Institute expected to open by the end of
2012.
On page 11 we profile Nobel Laureate
Peter Doherty about his life as a scientist
and about the Institute. On page 7 we
feature new developments with the
bionic eye. This is an example of strong
research partnerships at work to tackle
the problems of society.
The Special Report on pages 12–15
provides a snapshot of the magnitude
and research capabilities of the Parkville
Research Precinct.
Complementing these developments is
the emergence of new multidisciplinary
institutes. The new institutes, featured
on pages 16–19, are one of the primary
means of the University meeting the
demands of society and engaging with
the new ways of research required.
Research Review is a stimulating
and inspiring publication. There are
wonderful opportunities to interact with
us or to become part of the ‘Melbourne
Experience’. I hope you will be as excited
as we are about these opportunities.
Professor Peter Rathjen
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research)
Welcome to the
2009 Edition of
Research Review
3

MELBOURNE LANDS
KEY ROLE IN $1bn
CANCER CENTRE
BY Rebecca Scott
Photo iStockphoto
4

C
ancer research and
patient care is set
to be revolutionised
in Victoria after the
announcement of a world-class
$1 billion Parkville Comprehensive
Cancer Centre, by the Premier of
Victoria, John Brumby and Federal
Health and Ageing Minister
Nicola Roxon in May this year.
will join other leading cancer
research centres and treatment
institutions under the one roof:
the Peter MacCallum Cancer
Centre, Melbourne Health and
the Ludwig Institute for Cancer
Research. The Walter and Eliza
Hall Institute of Medical Research
and the Royal Women’s Hospital
are also partners in the project.
“With its critical mass of cancer
expertise, the Parkville CCC will
be a powerful tool in the fight
against cancer. The University
of Melbourne is delighted to
be part of this exciting venture,
which is truly a project of national
significance,” said University
of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor
Professor Glyn Davis.
The Parkville CCC will be
built on the site of the former
Dental Hospital in Grattan
Street and the southeastern
corner of the Royal Melbourne
Hospital city campus site.
Professor Davis says the
generous funding from both the
Commonwealth and Victorian
governments will enable
the partner organisations to
create a world-class centre for
cancer research, education
and treatment in Australia.
Victorian Premier John Brumby
and Federal Health and Ageing
Minister Nicola Roxon announced
the joint funding totalling
$852.2 million for the Parkville
CCC. The remainder will be
funded from the sale of surplus
sites, partner contributions
and philanthropic donations.
The University will contribute
$25 million to the project.
The Parkville CCC will have
more than 30,000 square
metres of research space
capable of accommodating
up to 1,400 researchers and
a clinical trials facility with 24
treatment places. There will
be educational and training
facilities, an outpatient clinic and
six radiation therapy bunkers.
The Parkville CCC follows in
the tradition of leading cancer
centres around the world which
have grown out of partnerships
of hospitals, universities
and research institutes:
>> the Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Centre at the Gerstner
Sloan-Kettering Graduate
School of Biomedical
Sciences in New York,
>> the M D Anderson
Cancer Centre at the
University of Texas,
>> the Kimmel Cancer Centre
at Thomas Jefferson
University; and
>> the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer
Centre at Vanderbilt University.
Dean of the Faculty of
Medicine, Dentistry and Health
Sciences, Professor James
Angus, says building enduring
partnerships is a major plank
in the Faculty’s strategy.
“This landmark joint venture
will benefit all Victorians. It
will enable the University of
Melbourne, as a public-spirited
institution, to use its research
and educational resources to
enhance this great project.”
For the University of Melbourne,
the Parkville Comprehensive
Cancer Centre is a truly integrated
approach to cancer, bringing
together the University’s
research, clinical and teaching
and learning expertise in cancer
to the Parkville Precinct.
“The defining characteristic of a
comprehensive cancer centre is
the linkage between research and
treatment of the patient,” said Max
Rogers, who has been appointed
as the interim Executive Officer
for the Parkville CCC collaborative
project. Max Rogers is working
with the six partners to facilitate
the development of an interim
incorporated joint venture.
“It’s about having all expertise
into cancer under the one roof
– to ultimately speed up the
process from research bench to
patient care at the bedside.”
“Also that it be a seamless
experience for the patient
care, from hospital admission,
involvement in clinical
trials, through to specialist
treatment,” he says.
In addition, Professor Angus
points out that by creating a
critical mass of intellectual and
practical endeavour, the Parkville
CCC will attract and retain
world-class researchers and
draw the best and the brightest
to study and train in cancer at
the University of Melbourne.
is already renowned as
Australia’s leading biomedical
enterprise, training more health
professionals and attracting more
nationally competitive grants
for biomedical research than
any other Australian university
Demolition works on the
former Dental Hospital
site will commence shortly
with construction of the
comprehensive cancer centre
to begin in the first half of 2011.
The centre is expected to be
completed by 2015. RR
“The defining
characteristic of a
comprehensive cancer
centre is the linkage
between research and
treatment of the Patient.”
5

THE FUTURE
OF SIGHT
BY Emma O’Neill
An example of the microchip that will be
inserted into retinas to help restore sight.
Photo supplied courtesy of NICTA.
6

I
magine being able to cross a road by
yourself, read a book and know what shirt
you’re wearing. These were the humble
dreams recently listed by a group of vision-
impaired people during a focus group outlining the
impact restored vision would have on their lives.
The focus group was organised by Professor
Jill Keeffe and her team at the Centre for Eye
Research Australia (CERA), University of
Melbourne. The session was not designed to
identify challenges of being vision-impaired, but
to refine functionality requirements for a new,
advanced bionic eye being developed by the
Bionic Vision Australia partnership of which the
University of Melbourne is a key member.
The new device will enable unprecedented high
resolution images to be seen by thousands
of people with severely diminished sight, and
could eventually allow people with severe vision
loss to read large print and recognise faces.
Research Director of Bionic Vision Australia and
Professor of Engineering at the University, Professor
Anthony Burkitt, says the new device will ultimately
be far superior to other retinal implants being
investigated by groups throughout the world.
The new device will use a video camera – fixed
to a person’s glasses – to capture images which
are then translated into electrical impulses which
stimulate electrodes inserted into the retina.
These images are then sent to the visual cortex
of the brain to stimulate the same area usually
stimulated by visual cues. Over time the patient
then learns to interpret these electronic impulses
as parcels of light, and use these as useful vision.
Head of the Macular Research Unit at the
Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA), and
Professor of Ophthalmology at the University, Dr
Robyn Guymer, says the new device will do a lot
more for patients than existing bionic eyes that
simply enable people to differentiate between
large and small objects and detect shadows.
According to Professor Burkitt, if Federal
Government funding is received, the first retinal
implant should take place at the Royal Victorian
Eye and Ear Hospital within two years and
commercialisation of the device should take place
within five years. Researchers at Bionic Vision
Australia are currently conducting pre-clinical work
involving safety and efficacy testing of the device.
“We are making sure that the device is safe to implant
in a patient, that it functions as designed, and that
it gives the expected form of electrical stimulation
to the optic nerve fibres in the eye,” he says.
It is almost three decades since a team from the
University developed the bionic ear, and Professor
Burkitt says the same multidisciplinary approach
– using biomedical engineers, clinical experts
and neuroscientist from across the country – is
the key to success with this development.
“To be successful, an implant must not only
function reliably in terms of its electronics, it must
also be made of biocompatible materials that will
last the lifetime of the patient and it must also be
possible for surgeons to implant the device without
damaging either the device or the patient.”
Professor Guymer says it is a very exciting time for
researchers at Bionic Vision Australia, and says
that the hard work by all members of the group will
soon pay off when the device is functioning and
improving the quality of life for thousands. RR
“The new device will enable
unprecedented high resolution
images to be seen by thousands
of people with severely
diminished Sight.”
7

THE NANO
REVOLUTION
BY Silvia Dropulich
Photo iStockphoto
8

T
he world is poised
to be revolutionised
by nanomedicine
[a combination
of nanotechnology and
biomedicine], with global
economic and social benefits,
according to Professor Frank
Caruso, an Australian Research
Council Federation Fellow in the
Department of Chemical and
Biomolecular Engineering.
Professor Caruso seeks to
make an impact on the world by
mentoring the next generation
of scientists and translating
his research outcomes into
benefits for the community.
“Nanotechnology is
underpinning a number of
developments in a diverse range
of areas from computing to
diagnostics and therapeutics,”
Professor Caruso said.
“Breakthroughs in the area
of nanotechnology are
expected to have significant
outcomes on society.”
Professor Caruso is Director
of the University’s Centre
for Nanoscience and
Nanotechnology and leads the
Nanostructured Interfaces and
Materials research group in the
Department of Chemical and
Biomolecular Engineering.
He is a world leader in polymer
science and technology
research aimed at engineering
polymer nanostructures,
focusing on the self-assembly of
polymers to produce advanced
nano- and bio-materials.
Professor Caruso pioneered
the modification of colloidal
particles with ultrathin polymer
coatings. This has opened
new opportunities for the
creation of ‘smart’ colloidal
materials, which have potential
applications in medicine,
diagnostics and catalysis.
Professor Caruso’s group has
produced, for example, hollow
polymer colloids that are being
examined for targeting cells to
help treat colorectal cancer. Once
specifically targeted to cancerous
tissue, the particles can be
stimulated to release the drugs.
The group is also using
polymers with tailored and
well-defined macromolecular
architectures to make a
generational leap in the design
of responsive ultrathin films.
“Nanotechnology is an
enabling technology which
covers a variety of disciplines,”
Professor Caruso explains.
“My interest in it stems from the
fact that you can introduce new
properties into materials as a
function of size and/or structure.
“If you can structure materials in
a certain way or reduce their size,
they can have new properties.
“And these new properties
can then be used to
engineer new systems.”
Professor Caruso completed his
PhD in chemistry at the University
of Melbourne (UniMelb). In 1997,
he became an Alexander von
Humboldt Fellow at the Max
Planck Institute for Colloids
and Interfaces in Germany,
where he undertook research
into advanced biomaterials,
before returning to the University
of Melbourne in 2002.
He has been awarded several
awards and prizes, including the
Max Planck Institute Research
Excellence Award (1998); the
German Federal Ministry of
Education, Science, Research
and Technology BioFuture Award
(1999); the Royal Australian
Chemical Institute Rennie
Memorial Medal (2000); the Royal
Society of Chemistry–Royal
Australian Chemical Institute
Exchange Medal (2001); the
Australian Academy of Science
Le Fèvre Memorial Prize for
significant contributions to the
chemical/physical sciences
(2005); and the Royal Australian
Chemical Institute Australian
Polymer Science and Technology
Achievement Award (2006).
Professor Caruso was awarded
the 2008 Woodward Medal
in Science and Technology.
The Medal recognises his
outstanding body of published
work exploring nanoengineered
particles for a new generation
of advanced drug delivery
systems, aimed at improving
healthcare and medical outcomes
for the treatment of diseases
such as cancer and AIDS.
Professor Caruso is an editor
of the journal Chemistry of
Materials (the number one
journal in materials science
by citations), published by the
American Chemical Society,
and is on the editorial advisory
boards of Advanced Functional
Materials, International Journal of
Nanomedicine and Nanoscale
Research Letters. He was also a
member of the ARC College of
Experts panel for Engineering
and Environmental Sciences
(2005–2008). In 2009, he
was elected a Fellow of the
Australian Academy of Science.
Professor Caruso was also
among the academics whose
work was celebrated by the
Australian Research Council in
the book, Outcomes: Results of
Research in the Real World 2008.
Some of the projects that
Professor Caruso’s team is
currently involved with include
developing drugs for colon cancer
with the Ludwig Institute for
Cancer Research, and developing
vaccine delivery systems with
the Department of Immunology
and Microbiology (UniMelb).
Research programs are also
being undertaken with the Bionic
Ear Institute on the bionic ear
and delivering drugs to the
inner ear to preserve hearing
and prevent hearing loss.
A fourth research area, with
the Baker Heart Medical
Institute, focuses on the
detection and diagnosis of
cardiovascular disease. RR
“If you can structure
materials in a certain way
or reduce their size, they
can have new properties.”
9

THE SCIENCE
OF SCEPTICSIM
BY Silvia Dropulich
Photo by Fred Kroh
10

C
limate change is
not the professional
speciality of
world-renowned
immunologist Professor Peter
Doherty. That he has written
about it in A Light History of Hot Air
provides a great insight into how
this innovative thinker operates,
and unveils a key element
behind his scientific success.
“The reason I wrote the little
book on hot air, which is only
partly about climate change,
was that I wanted to find out for
myself,” Professor Doherty said.
“I don’t take things at face value, I
always have to find out for myself.
“So, I read into it [climate
change] quite a lot.
“Some of the science is very
hard to read because it’s way
outside my area of expertise,
but I came away from it really
convinced that this is a very
substantial and serious issue.”
Peter Doherty originally trained
in veterinary medicine. He is the
first veterinarian or veterinary
scientist to win a Nobel Prize. He
started out hoping to save the
world by helping to produce more
food by being an agricultural
scientist, but by the time he
qualified as a vet, he realised that
food production was more about
agricultural scientist economics
and politics than cows and sheep.
He then became interested in
virology and immunology after
reading books by Sir Macfarlane
Burnet (another Australian
Nobel Laureate in Medicine and
Physiology) and decided to do a
PhD at Edinburgh University on
the viral infection of sheep brains.
After returning to Australia he
accepted a postdoctoral position
with the John Curtin School of
Medical Research because there
was interesting work there on
immunity to viral infections.
Professor Doherty is driven
by intellectual curiosity.
“I spend a lot time looking at
the actual data rather than
worrying too much whether it
fits somebody else’s ideas.”
“I’m very, very sceptical,” he said.
“I look at the science. I’m an
experimental scientist. I spend a
lot of time looking at the actual
data, the actual results, rather
than worrying too much whether
it fits somebody else’s ideas
or conceptual framework.
“I want to think it through for
myself. Doing that has caused
me to come up with some
conclusions that are at times
different – and that’s what winning
the Nobel Prize means.”
Professor Doherty is passionate
about trying to understand
complex systems. Immunity
is a very complex system.
“If we can dissect that
complexity better we would
do better with making, for
example, vaccines,” he said.
Professor Doherty and Dr Rolf
Zinkernagel from Switzerland won
the 1996 Nobel Prize in Medicine
and Physiology for work they did
together in Canberra in the 1970s.
The prize-winning discovery was
made in 1973 at the John Curtin
School of Medical Research at
the Australian National University.
Their work explained how the
body’s immune cells protect
against viruses. They discovered
how T cells recognised their
target antigens in combination
with major histocompatibility
complex (MHC) proteins.
Viruses infected host cells and
reproduced inside them. Killer
T cells destroyed those infected
cells so that the viruses could not
reproduce. The pair discovered
that, in order for killer T cells to
recognise infected cells, they
had to recognise two molecules
on the surface of the cell – not
only the virus antigen, but
also a molecule of the major
histocompatibility complex (MHC).
Peter Doherty Institute for
Infection and Immunity
Late last year the Federal
Government awarded the
University $90 million under the
Higher Education Endowment
Fund for the establishment of the
Peter Doherty Institute for Infection
and Immunity. Subject to securing
additional financial assistance, the
$210 million Institute will co-locate
the University’s Department of
Microbiology with a number of
Victorian Government and World
Health Organization laboratories.
This critical mass will create a new
world-class national capability in
infectious diseases in a broad-
based partnership providing:
>> shared vision, historical links,
complementary skills, cohesive
organisational structure
and joint infrastructure
>> broadened undergraduate
and postgraduate education
>> coordination of interdisciplinary
research programs reflecting
community and policy needs
>> new high-throughput DNA
sequencing and peak
computing facilities
>> enhanced national and
international links attracting
outstanding researchers,
students and collaborations.
The Institute will pursue a number
of integrated research programs
in strategic areas, including
emerging infections; respiratory
infections (e.g. influenza);
mycobacteria (e.g. TB); food-
borne and enteric infections;
blood-borne infections (e.g.
HIV, hepatitis); and vaccine-
preventable infections.
Academic virology, historically
a strength in Australia, is
now in decline, according
to Professor Doherty.
With their expertise in virus
detection and surveillance, VIDRL
and the WHO Collaborating
Centre for Influenza will work
with University of Melbourne
researchers, creating enhanced
national capability in this
area. The Institute will provide
outstanding advice to help
protect us against diseases
caused by micro-organisms.
It will help to eliminate many
traditional pathogens that
challenge us, and create a level
of preparedness for the inevitable
influenza pandemic, so that
when it comes we are ready,
Professor Doherty explains.
Professor Doherty describes
his concern for environmental
issues as a personal interest,
not a professional activity. He
has been watching it with some
interest for some years now.
“The climate change issue
has been sort of sneaking
up on us,” he said.
“I believe the so-called
sceptics, position is now being
eroded enormously rapidly.
“Unless we act really aggressively
on the climate change issue, we’re
heading for a total catastrophe.”
Professor Doherty has also been
very interested in literature and
history. In fact, at one stage
he thought about going into
journalism, but he decided to do
something practical and useful.
“That’s why I went to the
veterinary school,” he said.
“I didn’t want to talk about things
– I wanted to do something.
“I’m a doer, not a watcher –
a player, not a fan.” RR
“I spend a lot time looking at the actual
data rather than worrying too much
whether it fits somebody else’s ideas.”
11

SPECIAL REPORT:
THE PARKVILLE
RESEARCH PRECINCT
• Co-location and centralisation
• Critical mass and collaborative culture
• Strong positioning and snowballing investments
• Parkville snapshot
• Research activity in the Parkville precinct
12

In 2008 research
organisations in the
Parkville Precinct and
immediate surrounds:
>> engaged over 10,000 researchers -
including 6500 research staff and 3500
postgraduate research students
>> hosted one Nobel Prize winner, some
200 Fellows of learned Academies
including 16 Fellows of the Royal Society
and 68 Fellows of the Australian
>> Academy of Sciences. It also
hosts 9 of the 23 Australia Fellows
and 16 Federation Fellows
>> secured 26% of all National Health and
Medical Research Council funding
(part of the 41% of NHMRC funding
attracted to the State of Victoria)
>> produced 24% of Australia’s outputs in
journals of highest impact factor (IF >20)
>> produced around 10,000 publications1
including 4000 different instances
of countries named in address
by-lines from 97 countries
>> produced 117 articles or reviews of
impact factor greater than 20 in which
collaborative country addresses
numbered 267 from 55 countries
>> created and commercialised numerous
medical innovations, including the Bionic
Ear, colony stimulating factors, Relenza®
,
Recaldent®
, retinal imaging, discovery
of Rotavirus, vaccines, diagnostics,
microsurgical instruments and antibiotics
>> managed a $1.3B annual
research expenditure.
These organisations have also created
and commercialised numerous medical
innovations, including the Bionic Ear,
colony stimulating factors, Relenza®
,
Recaldent®
, retinal imaging, discovery
of Rotavirus, vaccines, diagnostics,
microsurgical instruments, and antibiotics.
The research workforce within the Parkville
Precinct is over 10,000 – 6600 research
staff, including around 200 who are Fellows
of learned Academies, and around 3500
postgraduate research students. Annual
research expenditure is in the order of $1.3bn.
Co-location and
centralisation
Many facilities sit side by side in the
immediate surrounds of the University
of Melbourne or within easy distance.
The centralised position of the Parkville
Precinct, adjacent to the central
business district of Melbourne, enables
the University to take advantage of
downtown industry savvy, excellent public
transport, quality inner city housing, and
a rich cultural and intellectual life.
Critical mass and
collaborative culture
Synergistic opportunities grow from the
large numbers of high-quality co-located
researchers and clinicians working across
faculties, hospitals, research institutes
and specialist medical practices. A
collaborative approach to research, student
training and infrastructure provision has
evolved over time and is fostered by
current academic and political leaders.
Synergies and opportunities evolve constantly
from the co-location of large numbers of
high quality, researchers and clinicians in
the Precinct’s faculties, hospitals, research
institutes and specialist medical practices.
Collaboration is a hallmark of research in the
Precinct and this is now actively and explicitly
fostered by the University leadership.
Strong positioning
and snowballing
investments
Building off this strong base, recent and
ongoing investment approaching $5bn
around the Parkville Precinct has been
used to augment capabilities, bring new
partners to the Precinct, facilitate interactions
between basic and translational programs,
enhance research infrastructure and
build new capabilities in ICT, especially
as it pertains to life sciences research.
These investments are expected to take the
Parkville Precinct from being the premier
site for life sciences research and training
in the southern hemisphere to a major
international player, and to position the
Precinct as the key southern hemisphere
hub for the generation, storage, interrogation
and exchange of life sciences data.
The sheer quantity of life sciences research
facilities, institutes, researchers, Fellows and
postgraduate students in the Parkville Precinct
and surrounds, and the comprehensive breadth of
bioscience disciplines, is without parallel in the
southern hemisphere and one of the very few such
concentrations of research excellence worldwide.
* This data is based on information provided in annual
reports and on websites, and will include a number of
co-attributed publications.
13

Parkville
SNAPSHOT
INVESTMENTS IN THE PRECINCT’S NEW LIFE
SCIENCES & ICT RESEARCH FACILITIES
1. The Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative
2. Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (see feature on page 11)
3. Parkville Comprehensive Cancer Centre
4. Centre for Neural Engineering and the Data Storage Centre
5. Parkville and Austin Neurosciences Facility
6. Institute for a Broadband Enabled Society (see story on page 19)
7. The Royal Women’s Hospital (total rebuild)
8. The Royal Children’s Hospital and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (total rebuild)
9. The Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne and The Melbourne Dental School (total rebuild)
10. Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (proposal in collaboration)
EXISTING PRECINCT FACILITIES BEING EXPANDED
11. BioGrid Australia
12. National ICT Australia: Victorian Research Laboratory
13. Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute
14. Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
15. Australian Synchrotron
OTHER CONTRIBUTING PRECINCT FACILITIES
16. University of Melbourne Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences
17. University of Melbourne Faculty of Science
18. University of Melbourne School of Engineering
19. University of Melbourne School of Land & Environment
20. University of Melbourne School of Veterinary Science
21. Melbourne Health and the Royal Melbourne Hospital
22. Peter McCallum Cancer Centre
23. The Bionic Ear Institute
24. Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research
25. Austin LifeSciences
26. Orygen Research Centre (see feature on page 23)
27. Bernard O’Brien Institute of Microsurgery
28. Centre for Eye Research Australia (see feature on page 7)
29. Mental Health Research Institute
30. National Ageing Research Institute
31. St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research and St Vincent’s Health
32. CSIRO Molecular & Health Technologies Parkville
33. Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Ltd
RESEARCH INSTITUTES, FACULTIES AND
FACILITIES IN THE PARKVILLE PRECINCT
14

10
RESEARCHINSTITUTES,FACULTIES&FACILITIESINTHEPARKVILLEPRECINCT
EastMelbourne
6
5
4169
20
2417
19
1
3
13
11
7
1821
14
8
31273028232210
122
15

D
eputy Vice-Chancellor Professor
Peter Rathjen believes the
removal of barriers to new
ideas and a ten-year outlook
for emerging institutes will give us the
tools to cope with a challenging future.
The genie is out of the bottle and
Peter Rathjen couldn’t be happier. “If
you remove barriers, it turns out that
academics are naturally engaging of
others,” says Professor Rathjen.
“They are driven by ideas – that’s why
they work in universities – and if you
enable them to pursue ideas without
restriction that’s exactly what they’ll do.”
After taking up the position of Deputy Vice-
Chancellor in March 2008 with responsibility
for research, world-renowned stem cell
authority Professor Rathjen began a program
to harness Melbourne’s research breadth
to meet contemporary challenges.
“What we’re seeing is the marshalling
of enormous intellectual energy
across the institution,” he says.
“We’re seeing significant new projects
and new funding bids that we hadn’t
previously conceptualised. I think the
reason is that our researchers are pursuing
their interests in an interdisciplinary
context, focused on problem solving.”
The first of the new multidisciplinary
institutes was the Melbourne Sustainable
Society Institute, followed by the Melbourne
Institute of Materials, the Melbourne Energy
Institute and the Institute for a Broadband-
Enabled Society. The May Federal Budget
delivered funding for the Melbourne Neural
Engineering Institute. Proposals for several
other institutes spanning the breadth of
University activity are well advanced.
The institutes are virtual rather
than a physical presence, with an
anticipated ten-year life span.
“It’s a conversation. We get top-
down ideas and bottom-up ideas, we
look for opportunities in the external
marketplace, and from this complexity
of internal and external drivers we
synthesise directions forward.”
Professor Rathjen sees the new institutes
as a means of the University meeting the
demands of society and engaging with
the new ways of research required.
“We have an aspiration to being a publicly-
spirited institution and we have to inspect
what it means to be publicly-spirited in our
research agenda. One of the things that
we have decided we would like to do is to
harness that magnificent research strength
that is Melbourne University in pursuit of
the most pressing societal problems.”
According to Professor Rathjen the
institutes will not necessarily manage
the research projects. Rather they will
allow researchers from across a range
of disciplines to self-assemble to tackle
what he terms “really big challenges”.
“Those challenges are largely defined
by society rather than defined by
the researchers themselves.”
To meet this shift to alignment with external
problems Melbourne’s institutes build on the
trend of the past 20 years away from single
discipline alone to interdisciplinary research.
“We find within our institutes researchers
from quite different disciplinary backgrounds
coming together united by a wish to solve
a common problem, and it seems it’s at
those interfaces that much of the more
exciting research is done,” he says.
Such a seismic shift in the focus of
research calls into question the form of the
existing foundation of research, the PhD.
“We are having to have a hard think
about what a PhD program means
for this University because our PhD
structure is basically disciplinary-
based,” Professor Rathjen says.
EMERGING
INSTITUTES
BY Shane Cahill
16

“My understanding is that in the
best US universities now more than
50 per cent of PhD students are
enrolling in interdisciplinary projects
and we’re going to have to find
our way to enable that trend.”
Professor Rathjen believes the
Melbourne Model’s core of depth
and breadth will allow for such a
transformation. But the change
goes much further than curriculum
or administrative issues.
“What we’re really exploring is
research in the context and service
of society. To advance that, you
are going to have to bring together
more than one disciplinary focus.”
So how is this new social
engagement going to emerge?
“It’s a challenge. We’re going to have
to try things and see which ones work
and discard those things that don’t
work. A lot depends on leadership.”
The prizes of success are
substantial, with a brace of multi-
million dollar projects and potential
partnerships in development.
“The institutes are very powerful ways of
articulating our research to the external
world. We’re big and we’re complex
and it has been hard for us to find a
way to explain to others what we do.
“As we assemble under terms like
energy or materials, those outside
the University can look in and see
what we do and from that we find we
are becoming a target for various
forms of partnerships, sometimes
with external large corporations,
sometimes with government bodies
and sometimes with benefactors
who are very interested in funding
research and like to fund it through
these large thematic approaches.”
The Melbourne institutes are also in the
process of establishing partnerships with
leading universities around the world.
Secondary education too will need
to take account of these moves
beyond single-discipline research.
“My sense is that cross-disciplinary
research is based in disciplinary
expertise. You’ve got to be trained
in discipline-based skills, but you’ve
got to combine these with the
breadth that enables you to interpret
your training in a social context.
“The Melbourne Model, with its
emphasis on both depth and
breadth, is ideally suited to this.”
What are the next areas for examination?
“We see these institutes having a natural
life of about a decade and therefore we
want to form them around areas that will
be of enduring value. We want to make
sure we tackle things that are bound
to be important in ten years’ time.”
Emerging areas cited by Professor
Rathjen include materials; energy
and sustainable societies; social
equity; creative cultures; brain
science; and communication. RR
“The institutes are very powerful ways of
articulating our research to the external world.
We’re big and we’re complex and it has been hard for
us to find a way to explain to others what we do.”
17

Melbourne
Sustainable Society
Institute
The University has recently announced the
appointment of Professor Craig Pearson as
Director of the newly established Melbourne
Sustainable Society Institute (MSSI),
commencing full-time in September 2009.
Professor Pearson has an international record
of academic and research achievement in
agricultural and environmental policy and
extensive senior leadership experience,
including institution building and strategic
change management. In his distinguished
career Professor Pearson has worked
in government, industry and universities
and currently sits on the Advisory Board,
International Centre for Sustainable Cities
and a number of review and editorial boards.
The University late last year launched the
Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute – a
key interdisciplinary research institute whose
work advances the goal of a sustainable
society in Australia and the Asia-Pacific
region. MSSI addresses the socioeconomic
aspects of environmental change as well
as the biological and physical issues.
Research at the Institute focuses on
issues surrounding the sharing of
resources between humans and their
physical environment, particularly in
the areas of agriculture, sustainable
cities, risk and resilience (including
climate change), and water.
The Victorian Centre for Climate
Change Adaptation Research and the
National Climate Change Adaptation
Research Network (Social Economic
and Institutional Dimensions) are two
significant climate change initiatives in
the MSSI space. The Institute provides
a portal to the important sustainability
research undertaken at the University.
Melbourne
Energy Institute
Concerns about climate change, diminishing
resources and rising energy demand provide
one of the key challenges of our time. To
meet this challenge and advance research
towards securing a sustainable, affordable
energy supply into the future, the Melbourne
Energy Institute takes an interdisciplinary
and collaborative research approach.
By bringing disciplined-based
research strengths together and by
engaging with stakeholders outside the
University, the Energy Institute offers
the critical capacity to rethink the way
we generate, deliver and use energy.
The Melbourne Energy Institute is an
access point for industry, government
and community groups seeking to work
with leading researchers on innovative
solutions in the following areas: new
energy resources; developing new ways to
harness renewable energy; more efficient
ways to use energy; securing energy
waste; and framing optimal laws and
regulation to achieve energy outcomes.
The Energy Institute presents research
opportunities in bioenergy, solar, wind
and geothermal power; nuclear and cell
options; and carbon capture and storage.
It also engages in energy efficiency for
urban planning, architecture, transport
and distributed systems, and reliable
energy transmission. Economic and
policy questions constitute a significant
plank of the Energy Institute’s research
program and include: market regulation
and demand; carbon trading; system
modelling; climate change feedbacks; and
social justice implications of energy policy.
The Melbourne Energy Institute brings
together the work of over 150 researchers
providing international leadership in
energy research and delivering solutions
to meet our future energy needs.
MELBOURNE
MATERIALS INSTITUTE
The Melbourne Materials Institute is the
entry point for researchers and industry
seeking to work with leading researchers at
the University of Melbourne on innovative
solutions in the materials science domain.
Advances and innovations in materials
science are essential if we are to the bridge
the great problems of our age – in water,
medicine and energy – and their solutions.
One of the global challenges we face
in this century is reinventing the use of
materials, including more nearly complete
cycling of technological materials, to help
capture the CO2
from our carbon fuel-
burning power plants, to provide universal
access to clean, safe water, to extract
energy from the sun more effectively, and
to create the new generation of batteries
so that we can escape our dependence
on oil and convert to electric cars.
These problems have no simple
solutions: they are big, complicated
and multifaceted, requiring large-scale,
sophisticated interdisciplinary responses.
The Melbourne Materials Institute brings
together researchers from a range of
disciplines – physics, engineering and
biomedicine – capable of providing an
interdisciplinary perspective to unlock these
intractable issues. We aim to link with industry
to provide sustainable real-world applications
that solve these problems. We believe that
the new industries of the middle of the
21st century will arise from fundamental
advances in areas of our expertise.
The Melbourne Materials Institute has
established strengths in the nanomedicine,
energy, quantum technology and photonics
fields with a strong track record of delivering
advances in fundamental science leading to
innovation and commercialisation. Together
with industry, we will provide the enabling
technologies for a more sustainable future.
18

Melbourne
Brain Institute
The newest institute to be added to the
University of Melbourne’s stable of cross-
disciplinary research institutes is the
Melbourne Brain Institute. MBI will focus
the University’s neuroscience research
activities to optimise productivity and impact,
increase funding for research in this area and
enable more efficient use of existing facilities
and infrastructure. The institute will be
responsible for enhancing interdisciplinarity
in neuroscience through stewardship
of cross-faculty activities which involve
collaboration with researchers from areas
such as Engineering, Optometry and Vision
Sciences, Ophthalmology, Law, Economics,
and Social Sciences. It will provide an
international neuroscience research-based
focus that will attract and retain talented
researchers from around the world in addition
to the best postdoctoral researchers and
research higher degree students; develop
new research ventures to address significant
gaps in the University’s knowledge base
in the neurosciences; and enhance the
University’s connectivity with the community
and with key stakeholders in order to
optimise research outcomes and knowledge
transfer and maximise the translation of
neuroscience research to clinical outcomes.
The Institute will work through a small core
unit that will draw together key researchers
and administrators whose activities will be
enhanced to meet a broader objective,
namely to promote interdisciplinary
research in the neurosciences across the
University of Melbourne. The core unit
will create opportunities for links between
the University’s researchers in areas such
as disease, social context and health
costs, thus strengthening University-wide
responsiveness to neuroscience-related
matters. The Institute will also provide a
focused opportunity to collaborate with
institutional, hospital and commercial
partners, in order to maximise research
outcomes, facilitate knowledge transfer and
strengthen the standing of the University
of Melbourne as a leader in research in the
neurosciences nationally and internationally.
Professor Trevor Kilpatrick, world-renowned
MS researcher, has been appointed as
the inaugural director for this initiative.
Institute for a
Broadband-Enabled
Society (IBES)
The Institute for a Broadband-Enabled
Society (IBES) is a cross-disciplinary
research institute dedicated to innovations in
broadband products and services that benefit
Australian society.
As this publication was going to press, the
Victorian Government had just announced
that it would provide $2 million for the new
Institute, which is the nation’s first cross-
disciplinary research institute dedicated
to maximising the community benefits of
broadband technologies.
Professor Rod Tucker, Director of IBES, says
the Institute will source skills and resources of
leading University researchers and 10 major
industry leaders. Together they will develop
and test new products and services which
will benefit society, in areas such as e-health,
e-education, e-commerce, and environmental
monitoring.
IBES has attracted the support of leading
global and local companies to join its
research program. They include Cisco,
Microsoft, Alcatel-Lucent, Telstra, Ericsson,
NEC Australia, Optus, Allied Telesis, Pacific
Broadband Networks, and Haliplex. The
research will also be enhanced by the
support of Bell Labs and NICTA, Australia’s
national research centre of excellence in
Information and Communication Technology.
Professor Tucker says IBES will serve as a
national and international focus for research
and innovation across the full spectrum of
social, business and technological activities
associated with and influenced by the new
Australian National Broadband Network.
The strong support of industry, coupled with
the support and commitment of the State
Government of Victoria, positions IBES to play
a key role in the development of an Australian
industry that is ready for the true broadband
revolution, according to Professor Tucker.
“IBES has
attracted the
support of
leading global
and local
companies to
join its research
program.”
researchinstitutes.melbourne.edu
Unlimited Research
Possibilities
19

Photo by Joe Vittorio
20

C
reating a physical and intellectual
environment that fosters world-
class multidisciplinary research
can inspire and motivate scientists
to conduct research of benefit to human
health and the environment. At the Bio21
Institute, building critical mass in key platform
technologies was part of this ‘big picture’
strategy. In an increasingly competitive
international stage, the importance of building
capabilities in key areas, coupled with world-
class infrastructure, is vital for the continued
growth of Victoria’s biotechnology sector and
the Institute’s leadership role in the field.
Recognising the opportunities and challenges
presented by the life sciences revolution, the
University of Melbourne harnessed research
strengths in the science and engineering
disciplines underpinning innovation in the
biotechnology sector. Fundamental to the
research capability was building critical
mass in key platform technologies that allow
researchers to access state-of-the-art facilities
that enhance their research programs.
At Bio21, the technologies that underpin
contemporary biotechnology include nuclear
magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry for
proteomics and metabolomics, high resolution
electron microscopy and bioinformatics. As
the cornerstone of the Institute’s biotechnology
programs, these core platform technologies
help researchers understand the composition,
structure and interaction of molecules and
then use this knowledge to understand
the fundamental biological processes of
life and in biotechnology applications.
Core enabling molecular technologies,
complemented by technical expertise and
know-how, provide a firm base for the
development of a dynamic multidisciplinary
research environment – an environment
likely to generate fundamental research and
commercial outcomes of major significance
on the world scene that otherwise could
not have been achieved. Such a strategic
alignment has enabled the University to
capitalise on the opportunities generated
by the ongoing genomics revolution.
Core Platform Technologies
at Bio21 Institute
The key facilities of Bio21 include the Nuclear
Magnetic Resonance Centre, proteomics and
mass spectrometry capability, an electron
microscopy suite, and animal house facilities.
A recent addition to the Institute’s capability
is the establishment of the Metabolomics
Australia (MA) infrastructure facility.
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)
underpins drug discovery R&D initiatives.
It provides users with 3D structures of a
range of biological and synthetic molecules,
including proteins and drug candidates. It
is a valuable tool for medical diagnostics,
identifying toxins and metabolomics, and
developing pesticides. The Institute’s NMR
Cave is home to nine spectrometers from
the University Departments of Chemistry
and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and
the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical
Research, and includes one of the largest in
Australia, the 800 MHz NMR Spectrometer.
The Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry
Facility provides specialist equipment and
expertise for analysing small molecules
and proteins and includes characterisation,
peptide synthesis, sequencing and post-
translational modification. A stable of more
than 10 spectrometers are co-located at Bio21.
Equipped with five state-of-the-art electron
microscopes, the Institute’s $10m Electron
Microscopy Unit and clean room is a key
facility designed for physical sciences, life
sciences and engineering applications.
The capability includes high resolution
cryo-TEM and expertise to provide
visualisation of sub-cellular details and
three-dimensional information important
across the bioscience applications.
Metabolomics Australia: Headquartered at
the Bio21 Institute and School of Botany at
the University of Melbourne, the MA facility is
funded by Australia’s National Collaborative
Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS),
a Federal and State Government-funded
initiative. The establishment of the MA national
infrastructure facility brings critical mass on
a national scale, minimises duplication, and
strengthens opportunities for researchers
across Australia to allow for study of
metabolic processes. This is an emerging
field of research relevant to the development
of biomarkers for disease and health,
environmental monitoring, monitoring of GMOs
and the understanding of biological processes
in animals, plants and micro-organisms.
Meanwhile, exciting new developments in
the areas of high-performance computing,
data storage and bioinformatics are set to
revolutionise Victoria’s life sciences sector.
The OptiPortal – high definition video
and audio technology – allows real-time
interactive collaboration between researchers
worldwide. Similarly one of the world’s largest
life sciences ‘supercomputers’ will allow
researchers to explore large databases of
information and create complex analytical
models to help with the development of
drugs and treatments tackling life-threatening
diseases such as cancer and diabetes. RR
Bio21 INSTITUTE
BUILDS RESEARCH
CRITICAL MASS
BY Helen Varnavas
“The University of Melbourne has
harnessed research strengths
in the science and engineering
disciplines underpinning innovation
in the biotechnology sector.”
21

MENTAL DISORDERS
A MAJOR PROBLEM
FOR THE YOUNG
BY Silvia Dropulich
Photo by Dave Tacon
22

P
rofessor Patrick
McGorry’s team at the
ORYGEN Research
Centre, Victoria, has
recently been awarded $10
million to continue its wide-
ranging studies into mental
disorders in young people.
The studies examine
neurobiological, personal and
social factors that affect the
way a person moves from early
symptoms to chronic disability,
to reduce the impact of illness
on a young person’s life.
Professor McGorry has
contributed significantly to
research in the area of early
psychosis over the past 20
years, playing a pivotal role
in the development of service
structures and treatments
specifically targeting the needs
of young people with emerging
or first-episode psychosis.
“Mental disorders are a major
cause of disability in Australia,
especially for young people,”
Professor McGorry said.
“We have developed a clinical
staging model covering the
earliest symptoms through
persistent disorder to chronic
disability,” he said.
“We are investigating
neurobiological, personal and
social factors which increase
the risk of progression through
these stages, and novel treatment
strategies which may prevent
or delay onset and relapse,
reduce the impact of illness,
and promote recovery.
“Major public health benefits
and better understanding of
the onset and progression
of illness will result.”
Seventy-five per cent of mental
disorders emerge before the
age of 24, mostly between 12
and 25 years, and a focus on
young people is essential for
early intervention research,
according to Professor McGorry.
The clinical picture of mental
illness in young people is
often complicated, with mixed
symptom patterns, and frequent
comorbid substance use.
“Our aim is to identify as soon
as possible young people who
are developing emerging mental
health problems and potentially
serious mental disorders such
as psychoses, but also a full
range of potentially serious
mental disorders and substance
use problems in young people,”
Professor McGorry said.
“Early diagnosis is a much more
cost-effective way to treat people.
“That’s well established
in cancer, heart disease,
diabetes, and anywhere else.
“It’s been a difficult struggle to
get that accepted in psychiatry,
but now there’s increasing
evidence – particularly for
psychotic disorders, but also
for other kinds of potentially
severe mental illnesses – that
the same principle applies.”
There are a lot of theories
about what contributes to onset
of psychiatric disorder and
psychosis in particular, Professor
McGorry explains. The genetic
risk was the best-established,
but stressful life events could
also be contributing factors.
More knowledge about
how disorders emerged
and what actually brought
them on was needed.
“There are theories about
abnormal brain development in
adolescence and early adult life,
some subtle abnormalities with
that process, but it’s difficult to be
any more specific than that at this
stage,” Professor McGorry said.
“So the best we can do actually is
this whole idea of early detection
and early intervention so that
we don’t wait for someone to be
in extremis before we actually
help the young person.
“Preventing in a primary sense
is still beyond us, but early
intervention is not beyond us.”
From 1987 to 1993 Professor
McGorry was an Associate
Investigator on the NHMRC-
funded Schizophrenia Research
Unit at Royal Park Hospital
and is the founding and
current Executive Director of
ORYGEN Youth Health and
ORYGEN Research Centre.
Professor McGorry has been
successful in gaining numerous
national and international grants
from a variety of sources over
many years and is currently the
Chief Investigator on an NHMRC
Program Grant and a Centre of
Clinical Excellence Grant. He
has published over 300 journal
articles, chapters and books and
has presented at many national
and international conferences.
As well as his contributions to the
field of early psychosis, Professor
McGorry has interests in the
homeless, refugees and torture
survivors, youth suicide, youth
substance use and the treatment
of emerging personality disorder.
He is currently the Chair of the
Executive Committee for the
National Youth Mental Health
Foundation (headspace), the
Treasurer of the International
Early Psychosis Association and
Editor-in-chief of Early Intervention
in Psychiatry journal. He is also
a member of the International
Society for the Psychological
Treatment of Schizophrenia
and Related Psychoses,
the International Society for
Traumatic Stress Studies, the
International Association for
Cognitive Psychotherapy, the
Constitution Committee of the
World Federation of Societies
of Biological Psychiatry, the
Organising Committee of the
Section on Schizophrenia of the
World Psychiatric Association,
and the Founding Board of
Directors of the Schizophrenia
International Research Society
(SIRS). Professor McGorry has
been awarded many prizes for
his significant contributions
to education, research and
clinical psychiatry. RR
“Mental disorders are a
major cause of disability
in Australia, especially
for young people.”
23

Photo by John Rayner
24

GREENING OUR
ROOFTOPS
BY Nerissa Hannink
W
ith climate change predicted
to bring higher temperatures
and lower rainfall to
large parts of Australia,
researchers in the Departments of Resource
Management & Geography and Forest &
Ecosystem Science are investigating the
potential of green infrastructure to adapt
our cities and lessen these impacts.
Urban green infrastructure incorporates
parks, gardens, urban agriculture, street
trees and new technologies such as green
roofs and green walls to reduce the energy
demands of cities and create a more
pleasant environment for its inhabitants.
Green roofs are roofs with vegetation
growing in a lightweight designed substrate
on a specialised drainage layer. They are a
climate change adaptation technology that is
widespread in Europe and North America, but
is rarely used and still untested in Australia.
A recently awarded Australian Research
Council Linkage Grant of $380,000 will develop
green roofs suitable for the Australian climate.
Dr Nick Williams, based at the School of Land
and Environment’s Burnley campus, is leading
the project and says that Australian climatic
conditions are different to those in the northern
hemisphere, meaning that we can not easily
import green roof substrates or plants from
overseas and have to find our own solutions.
“Our research will significantly
progress the Australian green roof
industry by overcoming barriers to their
implementation,” said Dr Williams.
“Hopefully this will lead to multiple
environmental, economic and health
benefits at a variety of scales.”
Benefits of green roofs for individual buildings
include greater energy efficiency, increased
roof life and the attenuation of noise.
Environmental benefits include biodiversity
habitat, reduced volume and improved quality
of stormwater flows and cooling of the urban
environment through evapotranspiration.
This further reduces urban energy use and
greenhouse emissions, while reducing
human health risks during heatwaves.
The project also involves Dr Stefan Arndt
and Mr John Rayner and is co-funded
by Melbourne Water, the Department of
Sustainability and Environment, the City of
Melbourne and the Committee for Melbourne.
The new grant will enable the development
of new green roof substrates from Australian
resources and will identify local plants that can
survive the extreme conditions on green roofs.
The need for this research was demonstrated
by the results of a pilot study at the Burnley
campus which was established in July 2008.
“Almost all plant species that were
planted on Australia’s first experimental
green roof died over the summer of
2008/2009,” said Mr Rayner.
“The conditions were extreme this summer
but our results demonstrate that further
research to identify plants that can survive
on Australian green roofs is a priority.”
The research is also needed by local
industries. “We are constantly getting
requests from architects and landscape
architects who are keen to install green
roofs on buildings. They need information
on which plants work best and what
substrates they can use,” said Mr Rayner.
Other green infrastructure research being
conducted by Dr Steve Livesley and colleagues
in the School of Land and Environment includes
investigations into the greenhouse gas balances
of garden management. Studies include the
measurement of carbon dioxide, methane and
nitrogen dioxide fluxes in lawn versus mulched
garden beds and the quantification of the
environmental benefits of urban street trees.
A team led by Dr Geoff Connellan and
Professor Nigel Stork at the Burnley
campus has also launched a website
called ‘Smart Garden Watering’:
www.smartgardenwatering.org.au
The site helps gardeners work out the
best species for their location, calculate
the amount of water needed through
the year and plan for water tanks to
replace mains water. The website was
designed by the University of Melbourne’s
Department of Information Systems with
support from the Smart Water Fund.
This leading-edge research into green
infrastructure is providing a new focus
for the Burnley campus, putting it at the
forefront of urban sustainability. RR
“Green roofs are a climate change
adaptation technology that is
widespread in Europe and North
America, but is rarely used and
still untested in Australia.”
25

IT’s ALL IN
THE BRAIN
BY Silvia Dropulich
Photo by Joe Vittorio
26

F
or Professor Sam Berkovic the
brain is the most complex and
fascinating organ in the body.
The major focus of Professor
Berkovic’s work involves the study of the
genetic basis of epilepsy. He and his research
team showed that many types of epilepsy
have a significant genetic component.
Once this was established, Professor
Berkovic’s team looked deeper into
the illness and, with collaborators at
the Women’s and Children’s Hospital,
Adelaide, discovered a number of new
inherited epilepsy syndromes, which led
to identifying the first gene for epilepsy.
Professor Berkovic is currently leading an
NHMRC-funded Program entitled ‘Epilepsy:
Molecular Basis and Mechanisms in the
Era of Functional Genomics’. The study
focuses on epilepsy through a number of
different avenues. One is to continue to
study the genes that are involved in epilepsy.
Animal models with the identical genetic
change as people with epilepsy have
been developed and are being studied.
The Program will also carry out investigations
such as magnetic resonance imaging and
positron emission tomorgraphy on people with
epilepsy. This will improve the understanding
of the relationship between abnormalities in
genes and the brain structure, and epilepsy.
“This multi-faceted Program of epilepsy
reserach aims to determine how gene changes
causes seizures,” Professor Berkovic said.
“The different forms of research will, when
combined, help the team towards their goal of
developing new and better forms of diagnosis
and treatment for people with epilepsy.”
Professor Berkovic is Director of the
Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at Austin
Health, Director of the Epilepsy Research
Centre, and Scientific Director of the Brain
Research Institute. He is Laureate Professor
in the Department of Medicine, Austin
Health/Northern Health at the University of
Melbourne, and is an adjunct Chair in the
Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery
at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
The son of holocaust survivors, Dr Berkovic
says he always wanted to be a doctor. He does
not believe that his view of humanity has been
shaped or affected by stories of the holocaust,
but he believes that as a first-generation
Australian he was influenced by the work ethic
of his migrant parents, who worked extremely
hard to get themselves financially established.
None of Professor Berkovic’s immediate
family or circle of friends are diagnosed
with epilepsy – his interest in the condition
is derived from the condition itself.
Professor Berkovic’s first job at the Austin
was as a neurology intern in 1978. The first
physician he worked for was Dr Peter Bladin,
Austin’s first neurologist, who formed the
neurology unit. Dr Berkovic found Dr Bladin
highly inspirational. Epilepsy was an area
that Dr Bladin was very passionate about.
“When you’re dealing with epilepsy, you’re
not merely dealing with the physical aspects
of a condition,” Professor Berkovic said.
“If you’ve got a broken leg, everybody
can relate to a broken leg,” he said.
“It hurts, your leg doesn’t work, you fix
it and that’s kind of about what it is.
“Everybody can understand that.
“But with something like epilepsy
where you’re rendered suddenly and
unpredictably unconscious, and you’re
placed suddenly and unpredictably in
sort of embarrassing circumstances,
and you lose control – that’s something
extremely difficult for people to deal with.
“Epilepsy is a much more complicated
condition and there’s a major sort of
psychological element to dealing with it.”
As far back as Hippocrates (the great Greek
physician of 2000 years ago), there has
been a lot of mythology, superstition and
prejudice against people with epilepsy.
At the time of Hippocrates epilepsy
was called the ‘sacred disease’.
In some cultures epilepsy sufferers were
seen as special, but for many it is also seen
as a condition that should be expunged.
“Sadly, there are still hangovers today
from those discriminatory aspects
of epilepsy,” Dr Berkovic said.
“And I think that this is because of the difficulty
in relating to the suffering and change in
the person with epilepsy, who is normal one
moment and literally seizing the next.”
The brain is an electrical organ,
Professor Berkovic explains.
Electrical changes can be measured by
EEGs, recorded by wires on the head.
The problem or challenge is in the fact
that the circuits are organised at levels
beyond human comprehension. The
ability to find the genes sheds some light
on knowledge that is fundamental to the
biology of epilepsy and understanding how
and why the circuits may go haywire.
Professor Berkovic observes that compared
to his days as an intern at the Austin,
the technology that is now available
for genetic studies has ‘exploded’.
“It’s a totally different environment
today,” Professor Berkovic said.
“And it keeps getting more interesting.
“From the perspective of genetics, I believe
individuals will have much more understanding
and control over their destinies in terms of
their personal choices about lifestyle.” RR
“Epilepsy is a complicated condition
and there’s a major psychological
element to dealing with it.”
27

TELECOMMUTING
FUTURE
BY Shane Cahill
Photo by Fred Kroh
28

S
uperfast broadband will
transform the way we
work and offers great
environmental benefits.
Picture an airline terminal
anywhere in the developed
world. It is 7 am. There they are
in their thousands – expectant
holidaymakers, world-weary
backpackers, eager first-timers.
All the usual suspects.
Minus one – the commuter
business class. Barely a suit in
sight and no sign of Qantas Club
members. No laptops on knees,
spreadsheets unravelled or urgent
barked mobile conversations.
If Laureate Professor and Director
of the ARC Special Research
Centre for Ultra-Broadband
Information Networks (CUBIN)
Rod Tucker has his way, in the
next decade the notion of flying
to another city for a business
meeting with a same day return
will be recalled as another
example of discarded 20th
century excess and madness.
“The new fibre to the premises
(FTTP) superfast broadband
network will transform
broadband in Australia,”
says Professor Tucker.
“It will have a huge social
impact and produce profound
cultural changes. There will
be a new set of ways people
do things from business to
community activities to travel.”
FTTP will deliver broadband
services via optical fibre to 90 per
cent of Australian homes, schools
and workplaces at speeds of
100 megabits per second –
100 times faster than services
currently used by most people.
People living in more remote
parts of Australia will have
access to broadband of 12
megabits per second delivered
by next generation wireless
and satellite technologies.
“Really effective telecommuting
will definitely happen and it will
replace a significant portion of
current business travel,” says
Professor Tucker. “Rather than
flying to Sydney and back in a day
at a cost of a thousand dollars
and a tonne of CO2
, business
will be done using very high
definition videoconferencing.”
The energy savings of
telecommuting over travel are as
impressive as they are undeniable.
While a return flight from
Melbourne to Sydney for a
business meeting produces
500 kg of CO2
emissions per
person each way, six hours of
videoconferencing between the
two cities produces only 5 kg
of CO2
emissions per person.
According to Professor Tucker
the new broadband will deliver
an ‘in the room’ simulation.
“Put it this way for example:
if the conference is about
negotiations, the very high
definition video will produce an
immersive environment where
you can follow eye movements
and even see who is sweating.”
Beneath the changes to long-
held patterns of behaviour
that the new broadband will
usher in lie unprecedented
opportunities for energy savings.
To achieve this goal, the growth
of electricity used by the internet
– expected to rise from 0.5 per
cent to 1.0 per cent of the national
total in 2020 – has to be slowed.
First priority is to prevent ‘energy
bottlenecks’ occurring in providing
the electricity needed to power the
equipment used by the internet.
The internet has rapidly evolved
from its initial simple functions to
now encompass e-commerce,
banking and a wide range of
information activities containing
increasingly complex image
and multimedia content.
This functionality is delivered by
specialised equipment housed
in large facilities using large
amounts of energy to provide
information to users scattered
around the globe. Energy use by
these data centres is 1.0 per cent
of the global total and doubled
between 2000 and 2006.
“It is essential we make the
best use of renewable energy
by locating computing and
storage resources near
sources of renewable energy,”
Professor Tucker says.
“And if we are going to move
data to follow the sun and the
winds we will have to greatly
expand data transport capacity
and find efficiency trade-offs.”
At the same time replacement
of high energy activities such as
much business travel by efficient
internet use can significantly
reduce carbon emissions.
“There is potential for enormous
carbon emissions savings with
appropriate use of the internet
to replace existing business,
community and leisure activities,”
“The internet and associated ICT
must work efficiently to ensure
these opportunities are achieved.”
However, energy savings are
not all one way in favour of
the internet. If the internet’s
capacity to deliver information
virtually instantaneously is not
critical, airmailing data on high-
capacity USB memory sticks
uses less energy than sending
the data over the internet.
And what about the
environmental cost of spam?
McAfee, the antivirus software
company, recently did a study
of the environmental effect of
spam emails. Based on work
carried out by Professor Tucker’s
group, McAfee calculated that
globally, annual spam energy
use totals 33 billion kilowatt-
hours. The greenhouse impact of
these spam emails is the same
as the greenhouse impact of
three million passenger cars.
Professor Tucker is also the
Director of the new Institute for
a Broadband-Enabled Society
(IBES), which is dedicated
to ensuring this mix of next
generation efficiencies and
large-scale savings is transferred
into benefits for society
“The Institute will focus on new
applications of broadband,
including remote and distance
medicine and distance education.
Widespread usage of broadband
in rural and remote areas will be
as great an advance as when
radio first allowed the School of
the Air to be brought to children
in remote areas of Australia,”
Professor Tucker says.
The new National Broadband
Network will also take Australia
from lagging in internet
technology to world leadership,
with enormous resultant
commercial opportunities.
“Australia will be the first western
country to have universal
broadband and will be one
of the lead nations in the field
after having been backward
for so long. Australia will be
up there with world leaders
South Korea and Japan.
“There are great opportunities
for Australian businesses to
develop and export applications
and services. Australia has the
potential to be the world leader
in broadband products for other
western nations, while there will be
an enormous boost for research.”
But will it all end up on our
mobiles? According to Professor
Tucker, most unlikely.
“Mobile use of conferencing
will grow, but only for voice and
one-person videoconferencing,”
So while the day in Sydney might
be on the way out, a bigger
and better large-screen office
theatre is on the way in. RR
See also: www.researchinstitutes.
melbourne.edu
“The new fibre to the
premises (FTTP) superfast
broadband network will
transform broadband
in Australia.”
29

Photo iStockphoto
30

MUSIC IN THE
DIGITAL AGE
BY Katherine Smith
N
ew software called MelodicMatch,
designed for people who “make
a living by understanding how
music is put together” is enabling
researchers to formulate and identify musical
patterns, and the relationships between them.
Developed in the C++ programming
language by Philip Wheatland, a PhD
candidate in the Faculty of the VCA and Music,
MelodicMatch enables musicologists to make
comparisons in large numbers of musical
pieces that might not be possible manually.
Mr Wheatland, a Melbourne music and
education graduate, spent three years teaching
secondary school music before crossing over
into IT. While working as a programmer, he
became aware of the possibilities of computer-
based musical analysis of this type, and
set about to create a suitable application.
“MelodicMatch is not for the average
music buff, but could become a valuable
tool for musicologists, composers, and
people who edit music or put together
new editions of printed music,” he says.
Mr Wheatland’s doctoral thesis involves
several case studies of the successful
practical application of the software.
Dr Jan Stockigt, a musicologist at the
School of Music (Parkville), has been
working on the music of Dresden in the
1730s, a golden age for music that saw
a great flourishing of opera and song.
Mr Wheatland explains that in that period,
composers would often have a particular
singer in mind when writing new music,
but this is not necessarily documented.
MelodicMatch is helping to match specific
singers to individual pieces, thereby shedding
new light on the intricate inter-relationships
of composers, musicians, singers and
courtly patronage of the first Augustan age.
“The analysis can’t be absolutely
conclusive, but can provide additional
information to build the body of evidence
that musicologists draw from,” he says.
“I have also been analysing very early
music from the sixteenth century, and
the software is proving useful in isolating
particular structures of music from that time
which might otherwise escape detection.
“The unique quality of MelodicMatch is that is
can present results in a highly visual manner.
“Its presentation complements traditional
music notation by enabling music researchers
to see the outline of a large-scale piece
and to throw into relief the relationships
between melodies, rhythms and lyrics.
“In the hands of a skilled analyst,
MelodicMatch can also help to reveal
the compositional processes that are
common to a collection of works.”
Philip Wheatland (BMus, BMusEd 1991)
is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of the
VCA and Music. MelodicMatch is available
commercially via the University of Melbourne’s
Curriculum Licensing Services. The software
is described fully at www.melodicmatch.com.
Contact: pskw@iinet.net.au RR
“The unique
quality of
MelodicMatch
is that it can
present results
in a highly
visual manner.”
31

RESEARCH NEWS
A $115m HEARing Cooperative
Research Centre (CRC) and
the University of Melbourne’s
new state-of-the-art Audiology,
Hearing and Speech Sciences
facility was co-launched
recently by Senator Kim Carr.
Hearing loss affects one in
six Australians, with the real
economic cost estimated to
be $11.7 billion per annum
– with an aging population
and increasing noise in our
everyday lives, prevalence and
costs are projected to rise.
The HEARing CRC is a
consortium of Australia’s foremost
hearing research, clinical and
industry organisations. The
CRC will receive $32.5 million
in Commonwealth funding over
seven years; funding began
in the 2007 financial year.
With additional funds as cash and
in-kind contributions from the five
core members (Australian Hearing,
Cochlear Ltd Pty, Macquarie
University, Siemens Ltd Pty and
the University of Melbourne) and
21 support members, the total
investment in hearing research
will be over $115 million.
The HEARing CRC was launched
in conjunction with the opening
of the University’s world-
leading Audiology, Hearing
and Speech Sciences building,
which is the CRC’s new home.
The University’s new $3.5 million
custom-designed facility at 550
Swanston Street has been a
major refurbishment project. It
contains the largest sound booth
in Australia for cutting-edge
acoustic research, high-spec
engineering facilities, as well as
state-of-the-art AV equipment
for teaching and research.
The building also houses the
University’s Audiology Clinic,
which like the Department of
Otolaryngology, retains close
connections with the Royal
Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
and its world-renowned
Cochlear Implant Clinic.
Research advanced by
Fulbright Scholars
Restoring human vision, reducing
carbon emissions, fitter gamers
and fire regeneration for grapevines
will be addressed by four University
of Melbourne researchers
named as winners of this year’s
Australian Fulbright Scholarship.
The bionic eye will be closer
to reality thanks to the work
of award recipient, Dr Byron
Wicks from the University’s
Department of Electrical and
Electronic Engineering.
Dr Wicks will travel to Berkeley with
his scholarship to further work he
has been doing with the National
Information Communication
Technology Australia (NICTA)
Victorian Research Laboratory.
“We aim to develop a device that
will restore human vision lost
to diseases which destroy the
photoreceptor cells in the retina
but leave the subsequent neurons
such as retinal ganglion cells
relatively intact and functional,”
he said (see story page 6).
“These diseases include retinitis
pigmentosa and age-related
macular degeneration and are
responsible for 48 per cent of
all blindness in Australia.”
The University’s other winners were:
>> Dr Tina Bell, who will travel to the
US and research the effects of
smoke from fires on grapevines.
>> Floyd Mueller, a PhD
candidate at the University
of Melbourne, who will travel
to Stanford University to help
designers create video games
that help make you fit.
>> Colin Scholes, a Research Fellow
at the Cooperative Research
Centre for Greenhouse Gas
Technologies (CO2CRC) at
the University, who will head
to the University of Texas to
work on cheaper ways to
minimise carbon emissions.
The four researchers were among
23 recipients of the prestigious
award, which is issued annually
by the Australian-American
Fulbright Commission.
Measuring the size and age of
the universe has won University
of Melbourne Professor Jeremy
Mould and his international
colleagues the prestigious 2009
Gruber Prize for Cosmology,
announced by the Peter and
Patricia Gruber Foundation
in the United States.
Professor Jeremy Mould of
School of Physics shares the
prize worth $US500,000 with
Wendy Freedman, Director of the
Observatories of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington in
Pasadena, California, and Robert
Kennicutt, Director of the Institute
of Astronomy at the University
of Cambridge in England.
The award recognises the
astronomers’ leadership in
the definitive measurement
of the Hubble constant,
which explains the expansion
rate of the universe since its
beginning, thus connecting the
universe’s size with its age.
The findings of the Hubble
Space Telescope Key Project
in 1999 have since been
confirmed and recognised
as one of the most important
measurements in astronomy.
The expansion rate of the
universe has been hotly debated
since Edwin Hubble’s original
discovery in 1929 that galaxies
were rushing away from each
other at a rate proportional to
their distance, i.e. the further
apart, the faster the recession.
“We were able to greatly improve
the accuracy of the measurement”
says Professor Mould. “We
are receiving this prize now
because a lot of additional work
has confirmed our findings,
allowing the prize givers to be
very confident of our results.”
World-leading facility
opened for Australian
hearing research
Hubble constant
wins Professor
prestigious prize
32

The University’s new Economics
and Commerce building has
been awarded a five-star
Green Star Education Pilot
rating by the Green Building
Council of Australia (GBCA).
And it has also been short-
listed for the Victorian Premier’s
Sustainability Award, which
recognises the hard work and
innovation of the business
and community sectors to
reduce their carbon footprint
and resource use.
Announcing the short-list,
Victorian Environment and
Climate Change Minister Gavin
Jennings said the finalists all
share a vision for a sustainable
present and future and the
ingenuity to see it through.
The new Economics and
Commerce building, affectionately
known as ‘The Spot’, is the largest
construction in Australia to be
awarded the five-star rating under
the Green Building Council of
Australia’s Pilot Educational Tool.
The 25,000-square-metre
12-storey building forms part of the
southern gateway to the University
campus and houses a range
of collaborative and individual
teaching spaces, open access
laboratories, theatres, student
break-out areas and academic
and administrative offices for the
Economics & Commerce Faculty.
The building’s rating is part of
a pilot for education institutions
designed to improve the health
and wellbeing of students.
It includes environmentally
sustainable initiatives including
a double-glazed facade with the
ability to minimise glare, features
for rainwater collection, low-energy
light fittings, and bike storage.
Current modelling indicates
the ‘green’ building will result
in carbon reductions of 73 per
cent and water use reductions
of 90 per cent compared with a
conventional education building
of the same size and use.
See: www.pb.unimelb.edu.
au/building_projects.html
Measuring the size and age of
the universe has won University
of Melbourne Professor Jeremy
Mould and his international
colleagues the prestigious 2009
Gruber Prize for Cosmology,
announced by the Peter and
Patricia Gruber Foundation
in the United States.
Professor Jeremy Mould of
School of Physics shares the
prize worth $US500,000 with
Wendy Freedman, Director of the
Observatories of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington in
Pasadena, California, and Robert
Kennicutt, Director of the Institute
of Astronomy at the University
of Cambridge in England.
The award recognises the
astronomers’ leadership in
the definitive measurement
of the Hubble constant,
which explains the expansion
rate of the universe since its
beginning, thus connecting the
universe’s size with its age.
The findings of the Hubble
Space Telescope Key Project
in 1999 have since been
confirmed and recognised
as one of the most important
measurements in astronomy.
The expansion rate of the
universe has been hotly debated
since Edwin Hubble’s original
discovery in 1929 that galaxies
were rushing away from each
other at a rate proportional to
their distance, i.e. the further
apart, the faster the recession.
“We were able to greatly improve
the accuracy of the measurement”
says Professor Mould. “We
are receiving this prize now
because a lot of additional work
has confirmed our findings,
allowing the prize givers to be
very confident of our results.”
Green light
for ‘The Spot’
University
researchers awarded
Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation grant
Funding boost
for University of
Melbourne–led ARC
Centres of Excellence
Two University of Melbourne–
led Centres of Excellence have
been awarded $17 million
by the Australian Research
Council to continue their
groundbreaking work.
Based at the University of
Melbourne, the ARC Centre
of Excellence for Free Radical
Chemistry and Biotechnology
and the ARC Centre of Excellence
for Coherent X-ray Science have
received additional funding in
recognition of their achievements,
and to allow them to continue their
research for the next three years.
“Australia has been a world leader
in free radical chemistry research,”
said Professor Carl Schiesser,
Director of the ARC Centre of
Excellence for Free Radical
Chemistry and Biotechnology,
which received $9.8 million for
the next three-and-a-half years.
“This additional funding will
allow us to continue to push
the frontiers of free radical
chemistry, with significant impact
on good health and disease
prevention, materials science and
environmental best practice.”
More than 140 researchers from
five institutions across Australia
are part of the Centre, which was
established in 2005 following a
$12 million grant from the ARC.
The Monash University–led
ARC Centre of Excellence in
Design in Light Metals and the
University of Tasmania–led
ARC Centre of Excellence in
Ore Deposits, in both of which
the University of Melbourne is a
partner, also received more than
$17 million in extra funding.
33

Former Dean of Science
Professor Liz Sonenberg will join
Melbourne Research part-time
in the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor
(Research Collaboration) and will
have oversight of development of
the University Research Institutes
and implementation of a strategy
to manage research infrastructure.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
(Research) Peter Rathjen says
that Professor Sonenberg is an
“outstanding research leader”
with a strong background
in facilitating and engaging
in collaborative research,
including personal research
engagement with colleagues in
Psychology, Computer Science,
Education and Medicine,
and with colleagues in The
Netherlands for over a decade.
She has also developed
collaborative research links with
industry partners, including the
Australian Artificial Intelligence
Institute, Agent Oriented
Software, Clarinox, the Defence
Science and Technology
Organisation, Neuragenix,
Hewlett Packard and Microsoft
The University maintains 59
University research centres
and 46 centres in collaboration
with other groups. There are
also 12 co-operative research
centres across the faculties.
Melbourne scientists
awarded International
Science Links grants
Six University of Melbourne
scientists have been awarded
grants totalling $47,000 to undertake
important international collaborative
research under the International
Science Linkages – Science
Academies Program, funded by
the Australian Government.
The grant funding is part of
$3.9 million provided to the
Australian Academy of Science
(AAS) by the Department of
Innovation, Industry, Science and
Research over five years for the
International Science Linkages –
Science Academies Program.
The program supports collaboration
by Australian scientists with
international partners on science
and technology projects in order to
contribute to Australia’s economic,
social and environmental wellbeing.
The Melbourne recipients are:
>> Associate Professor
Muthupandian Ashokkumar,
School of Chemistry:
Sonochemically synthesised
composite nanomaterials
as catalysts in fuel cells
>> Dr Todd Lane, Senior Lecturer
in Meteorology, School of Earth
Sciences: Improved analysis
and forecasting of precipitation
through assimilation of Doppler
radar observations with an
ensemble Kalman filter
>> Professor Paul Mulvaney,
Federation Fellow, School of
Chemistry and Bio21 Institute and
a co-director of the University
of Melbourne’s Centre for
Nanoscience and Technology:
Plasmonic superstructures –
light coupling and sensing
>> Dr Frances Separovic, Deputy
Head, School of Chemistry:
Synchrotron radiation
circular dichroism studies
of antimicrobial peptides
>> Dr Elaine Wong, Senior Lecturer,
School of Engineering: Compact
VCSEL base-stations for optical-
wireless integrated networks
>> Associate Professor and Reader
Paul Taylor, Melbourne School
of Land and Environment:
Molecular mechanisms of
chickpea defence to pathogens.
See: www.science.org.au/internat
Professor James McCluskey joined
Melbourne Research on 3 August
in the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor
(Research Partnerships) with
responsibility for fostering the
relationships with affiliated medical
research institutes and other
external research partners.
Professor McCluskey is Professor
of Microbiology and Immunology
and Associate Dean Research,
Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and
Health Sciences at the University of
Melbourne.
He has been a consultant
immunologist to the National
Transplantation Services, Australian
Red Cross Blood Service for the last
17 years, and is the Editor-in-Chief
of the international immunogenetics
journal, Tissue Antigens.
He will maintain his role as
Professor and Deputy Head,
Department of Microbiology and
Immunology, and will also hold
an appointment on the Faculty
Executive within the Faculty of
Medicine, Dentistry and Health
Sciences.
Liz Sonenberg named
Pro Vice-Chancellor
(Research Collaboration)
Jim McCluskey
named Pro Vice-
Chancellor (Research
Partnerships)
African-Australian community
leader Dr Berhan Ahmed,
a Senior Research Fellow
in the Department of Forest
Ecosystem Science at the
University of Melbourne’s School
of Land and Environment,
has been named the Victoria
Australian of the Year 2009.
Dr Ahmed is chairman of
the African Think Tank, an
organisation whose mission is
‘to act as the voice of refugee
communities, mainly the African
Australians in Victoria’. Dr Ahmed
came to Australia as a refugee in
1987. He spoke little English at
the time. He has since completed
his PhD in forest industries
and has been instrumental in
building bridges between the
African and the wider Australian
communities in Victoria.
Melbourne School of
Land and Environment
academic wins
Victorian of the Year
34

Vision
To be one of the finest
universities in the world.
History
The University of Melbourne has been
a centre of learning since 1855. The
main Parkville campus on the edge of
Melbourne’s CBD is a focus of the City’s
‘Knowledge Precinct’ and the prestigious
medical research ‘Parkville Strip’.
Melbourne is a leading research university,
widely renowned for its teaching,
research achievements and social and
economic contributions. The University’s
performance in international rankings
puts it at the forefront of higher education
in the Asia-Pacific and beyond.
Times Higher Education,
World University
Rankings, 2008
>> No. 38 in the world
>> No. 7 in the Asia-Pacific region
>> The only Australian university to rank
in the top 30 in the world in all five
of the THE discipline rankings
>> Leading Australian university in
life sciences and biomedicine
>> No. 9 in the world and the
leading Australian university
as ranked by employers
>> No. 21 in the world by
international peer review
Academic Ranking of
World Universities,
Shanghai Jiao Tong
University, 2008
>> No. 6 in the Asia-Pacific region
>> No. 1 in Australia for scientific
papers published
Locations
Main campus: Parkville. Other campuses:
The VCA and Music campus at Southbank,
Bio21 Institute, Hawthorn, Burnley, Dookie,
Werribee, Creswick, Shepparton.
Research and
Research Training
>> Melbourne is regularly ranked first or
second on national research indicators
of total research income, research
publications, RHD student load and
completions. For 2008, Melbourne is
first for research income and research
publications (2008 RHD student load
and completions were unavailable at
time of going to press). These indicators
are used by the Government to allocate
research block funding, with the University
receiving the highest allocation nationally.
>> Melbourne was ranked first nationally
for Australian Competitive Grants.
>> Melbourne secured substantial
government funding for major institutes,
which will have an impact on national
and international research capacity…
including:
-- the Peter Doherty Institute for
Infection and Immunity
-- a $100 million joint initiative with
the University to develop one of
the most powerful supercomputers
in the world and a leading
computational biology facility
dedicated to life sciences research
-- the Grattan Institute, an independent
non-aligned national public
policy institute affiliated with
and based at the University.
>> Melbourne has the largest cohort
of research students in Australia
with an RHD load of over 3000.
>> The University has a rich history of
pioneering research and technological
development, remaining on the
forefront of innovation: from…
From the Bionic Ear in the 1970s,
bringing hearing to profoundly
deaf children and adults…
>> To today’s advances in the bionic eye,
which will provide unprecedented high-
resolution images to thousands with
severely impaired vision (see page 6).
From HIV vaccine research that
attracted $4 million in funding from the
US National Institutes of Health…
>> To the vaccine set to eradicate a fatal
brain parasite, attracting $15.7 million
in funding from the British Government
and the Gates Foundation…
And the massive 96-million pixel OptiPortal,
a powerful next-generation visualisation
wall, the largest of its kind in Australia.
The University
AT A GLANCE
35

Two-year Statistics
Category 2007 2008
Median ENTER 94.7 93.9
Student Enrolments (EFTSL)
Total Load (EFTSL) 34,677 35,533
Research Higher Degree 3,141 3,213
Postgraduate Coursework 5,947 6,742
Undergraduate 25,589 25,578
% Female Enrolment 55.8% 55.6%
International Load (EFTSL) 9,385 9,899
% International 27.1% 27.9%
Award Completions
Research Higher Degree (excl Higher Doct) 729 718 (est)
PG Coursework 4,396 4,478 (est)
Undergraduate 7,953 7,994 (est)
Total 13,078 13,190 (est)
Staff (FTE) (March, including casuals and excluding TAFE)
Academic (All) 3,250 3,328
Professionals (All) 3,804 3,942
Total 7,054 7,270
Student:Staff Ratio (August)
T&R Faculty Staff 17.7 18.1
All Academic Faculty Staff 10.8 10.8
Research Expenditure ($ million) 562 (est) $653.7
Research Performance Indicators
Research Income ($ million) 309.0 (2) 382.5 (1)
Research Publications 3,909 (2) 4,317 weighted (1)
Research Load (EFTSL) 3,141 3,213
Research Completions (eligible)* 729 718 (est)
Numbers in brackets are Melbourne’s national rank, based on
the proportion of the national total for each category.
* Eligible completions means those included in RTS formula;
excludes Higher Doctorates by publication.
University Facts and Figures
GRADUATES IN FULL-TIME
EMPLOYMENT
%
University of Melbourne
Other Victorian Institutions (average)
Other Australian Institutions (average)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
20082007200620052004
0
4,000
8,000
12,000
16,000
20,000
24,000
28,000
32,000
36,000
20082007200620052004
Total Load (EFTSL)
Researcher Higher Degree
Postgraduate Coursework
Undergraduate
STUDENT ENROLMENTS
BY COURSE LEVELS
36

Repairs and Maintenance 3.4%
Scholarships, Grants and Prizes 3.9%
Employee Related Expenses 50.2%
Other Expenses 36.8%
Depreciation and Amortisation 5.7%
HECS-HELP (Govt and Student
Payments) 7.6%
FEE-HELP 2.2%
Australian Government Recurrent
Financial Assistance* 22.4%
State Government Financial Assistance 3.3%
Investments, Fees and Charges and
Other Income 38.3%
Other Australian Government
Financial Assistance 21.8%
Grants, Donations and Bequests 4.4%
SOURCES OF INCOME
EXPENDITURES
* Australian Government Recurrent Financial Assistance includes funding for the Commonwealth Grants
Scheme, Institutional Grants Scheme, Research Training Scheme and Research Infrastructure Block Grants.
RESEARCH INCOME
($Million)
20082007200620052004
0
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
320
360
400
RESEARCH EXPENDITURE
($Million)
Note: As formal analysis is undertaken biennially for the Australian
Bureau of Statistics data collection, results for odd years are
estimates.
20082007200620052004
0
60
120
180
240
300
360
420
480
540
600
660
SOURCES OF INCOME
%
Australian Government
Recurrent Financial
Assistance
Grants, Donations
and Bequests
Investments, Fees and
Charges and Other Incomes
State Government
Financial Assistance
HECS HELPOther Australian
Government Financial
Assistance
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
37

As one of the nation’s leading research training institutions, we are seeking high calibre students
to become partners in our research endeavours. Our generous scholarships program provides
research students with essential financial support and opportunities for international fieldwork
or study travel. Our researchers and facilities are among the world’s finest and graduate students
can contribute to projects at the forefront of international research.
Melbourne’s strong international reputation and networks open doors for graduates seeking
research and career opportunities at leading universities and organisations around the globe.
At the University of Melbourne, you will become part of a dynamic research community,
working alongside the best and brightest researchers and students.
To find out more about undertaking a graduate research degree at
Melbourne, visit www.futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/research
CRICOS:00116K
www.futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/researchwww.futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/research
Research Training.
Join Australia’s Best.

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