Soroptimist International (SI) of Melbourne Inc

Members of Soroptimist International of Melbourne Inc. A0010754A held their monthly meeting at Graduate House on Wednesday 26th April 2023. Among those in attendance at the meeting were SI Victoria President, Kerry Beer and Dr Ya Hui Hung, past recipient (2004) of the SI Dame Margaret Blackwood Soroptimist Scholarship. Dr Hung who became a member of SI Melbourne in 2018, spoke about progress with her research on Nieman Pick C. Soroptimist International (SI) of Melbourne is a supporter of the Australian NPC (Niemann-Pick type C) Disease Foundation. https://www.npcd.org.au/

About Soroptimist International

Soroptimist International (SI) founded in 1921, is a global voice for women. It is a world-wide notfor-profit organisation for today's professional and business women and they are committed to a world where women and girls together achieve their individual and collective potential, realise aspirations and have an equal voice in creating strong, peaceful communities worldwide.

Soroptimists inspire action and create opportunities to transform the lives and status of women and girls through a global network of members and international partnerships. SI currently operates in 13 countries across the South East Asia and Pacific region. They are Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Singapore and Thailand. SI Australia has 70 clubs Australia wide with over 1500 members.

With a sharp focus on issues affecting women and girls, Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific (SISEAP) is one of the strongest women’s organisations in the region. Soroptimists concentrate their efforts on issues of current global significance. Their members work within their own communities to identify local needs and opportunities and follow the formula “think globally, act locally”.

Issues such as domestic violence and other genderbased violence, girls’ access to education, the lack of women in leadership and the gender pay gap, as well as women’s health issues and reproductive rights are just some of the topics that highlight gender inequality around the world and therefore drive Soroptimist projects and advocacy campaigns at a local level.

Invitation

On Saturday 24th June 2023, Soroptimist International of Melbourne Inc. will be back at Graduate House for their 75th Charter Anniversary Celebration Luncheon; President Shirley Reynolds and members will welcome Graduate House members to join with them on this occasion. Please refer to page 25 for more details. The Anniversary Luncheon with guest speaker, Her Honour Judge Wendy Wilmoth, will focus on the plight of Women and girls in Afghanistan, and the vital work of the Australian Association of Women Judges in bringing judges from Afghanistan to Australia, and will also raise funds for the AADO (Afghan Australian Development Organization). For more info: simelbourne@siswp.org

About the Dame Margaret Blackwood Soroptimist Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to a female Doctor of Philosophy Science or Master of Philosophy Science candidate who is undertaking substantial research in a discipline that aligns to plant, animal or viral genetics.

In 1988, The University of Melbourne (UoM) and Soroptimist International of the South West Pacific (‘SISWP’) conducted an appeal to raise money towards a fund to endow the Dame Margaret Blackwood Soroptimist Scholarship to commemorate Dame Margaret's contribution to the international soroptimist community and celebrate her academic achievements. Dame Blackwood enjoyed a long and distinguished career at the University, both as an academic and in service to the wider University community. She was a scholar of high repute in the field of genetics and was the first woman to become a Deputy Chancellor of the University.

Dame Margaret Blackwood died in 1986. She was one of the earliest members of the Soroptimist Club of Melbourne, which was founded in 1948, being its President from 1957 to 1959. She was well-known and widely respected throughout the international soroptimist world, being accorded honorary

Dame Margaret Blackwood. Her special achievements include: membership of all soroptimist clubs in the South Pacific in 1973, an honour which was confirmed in 1978 when the organisation became SISWP.

• First woman Deputy Cancellor at Melbourne University.

• First woman appointed Honorary Life Member by the Association of Women on Campus Melbourne University.

• OBE 1981.

• First constructor Australian cipher used by RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force).

In March 1988, The UoM and SISWP initiated an appeal for The Dame Margaret Blackwood Soroptimist Scholarship Fund, to be administered by The UoM and provide a grant for a post-graduate student for the study in Genetics, either plant, animal or viral at The University of Melbourne. The aim was to raise about $50,000 from this appeal. It was also stipulated that the UoM be authorised to use the funds in any other way it sees fit to honour Dame Margaret if the amount raised significantly exceeds or falls below target. Whether the fund fails to reach, or exceeds, its target of $50,000, the University could, at its discretion apply the fund to another appropriately related academic purpose. The appeal raised the sum of $45,415 and additional donations totaling over $30,000 were made to the fund over the period 2007 to 2010. All income from the capital sum, and any accumulations and additions together form a fund called Dame Margaret Blackwood Soroptimist Scholarship (‘fund’)

In order to implement the trust terms, The UoM determined to award the scholarship to a female postgraduate student to undertake study at the University in plant, animal or viral genetics and each scholarship was awarded upon the recommendation of a selection committee comprising -

• the dean of the faculty of Science or nominee;

• (a professor of Genetics nominated by the head of the school of BioSciences; and

• a representative of Soroptimist International of the South West Pacific approved by the dean.

Two esteemed members of the Soroptimist International of Melbourne Inc. Dr Christine Paton, a SISWP Past President 1988-1990, and Dr Anne Binkley, SI Victoria Regional President 2011-14, are the current representatives of the Federation on the selection committee.

Reflections from past recipients of the Dame Margaret Blackwood Soroptimist Scholarship.

From 2004: Dr Ya Hui Hung, PhD, BSc(Hons), BMus. About 2 million Australians and 300 million people worldwide live with one of 7,000+ rare diseases (Australian Government, Department of Health). 70% of rare diseases are of genetic origin. 95% of rare diseases have no approved treatment. People born with rare genetic diseases often live with lifelong disabilities and die prematurely.

Trained in molecular biology and biochemistry, Dr Ya Hui Hung is dedicated to developing effective treatments that will improve health outcomes for people living with rare genetic diseases. Her PhD studies at The University of Melbourne set her on the path of rare disease research. Her PhD project contributed to the understanding of ATP7A protein function, a major copper transporter in the body. Mutations in the ATP7A gene underlie a number of rare neurological disorders, which include Menkes disease and ATP7A-related motor neuropathy.

Her current research focus is on Niemann-Pick Disease Type C (NP-C), a rare metabolic disorder with progressive neurodegeneration. This research evolved from her early postdoctoral research that investigated the interplay between copper and cholesterol metabolism in the development of neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s disease. Her NP-C research has contributed to the mapping of the metallobiology landscape of NP-C and identified early neurological changes in an NP-C mouse model that may have clinical implications for human carriers of the NPC1 gene. She is now exploring new treatment solutions for NP-C, which include using the mRNA technology to replace the faulty genes that cause NP-C.

Ya Hui Hung is a co-organiser of the Australian NP-C conference.

Fiona Kang 2022

Ebert lab and Persson lab, or it could also be 'Plant Cell Wall research lab'. My project title is 'Investigating the function of cell wall biosynthetic genes in Marchantia polymorpha'.

It is a great honour to be one of the recipients of the 2022 Dame Margaret Blackwood Soroptimist Scholarship. I am a fourth year Ph.D. student at The University of Melbourne, and my research aims to characterise the function of two genes in building the plant cell wall of a liverwort called Marchantia polymorpha. M. polymorpha has a simple genome that makes it easier to unravel the genetic basis of complex biological processes like cell wall synthesis. Better understanding how cell walls are made and respond to stresses such as drought, could lead us to manipulate wall composition for more drought resistant plants. This scholarship is particularly meaningful because Dame Margaret Blackwood left a legacy, not only as a renowned scientist, but also as a soroptimist who uplifted other women and girls. It reminded me that great science requires first and foremost a safe, inclusive and a supportive environment. So, through this scholarship, I funded myself and a master’s student Miss Amelia Keynton to attend a prestigious plant science conference in Germany this year called ‘Botanik-Tagung’. It was an incredibly productive journey that has contributed to our personal and professional development as plant scientists. I’d like to offer my deepest gratitude to Soroptimist International and the judging panel for the scholarship and the members of SI Victoria for making me feel so welcomed at the 100th Anniversary Luncheon. Thank you.

Neke Ibeh 2022

Gallego Romero Lab

Project: Profiling genetically driven alternative splicing across the Indonesian Archipelago.

One of the most vital regulatory mechanisms influencing the functional capacity of genes is alternative splicing (AS). Despite the key role that splicing plays in human adaptation and the immune response, this phenomenon remains uncharacterised in most global populations. One notable region is the Indonesian archipelago, the world’s fourth largest nation by population. In order to elucidate the genomic and regional drivers of gene regulatory variation in this area, we used a set of 115 Indonesian samples from three traditional island populations spanning the region’s genetic ancestry cline. Using a hierarchical event-based statistical model, we identified a high degree of functionally significant differential splicing across these groups. Moreover, an immune signature was detected across these events, suggesting differential immune pressure between these islands. We also characterized population-specific patterns of splicing regulation by comparing our data to European data. Altogether, this project will contribute greatly to our understanding of the underlying genetic architecture of a widely uncharacterized region.

with Guest speaker, Her Honour Judge Wendy Wilmoth

The plight of Women and Girls in Afghanistan, and the vital work of the Australian Association of Women Judges in bringing judges from Afghanistan to Australia, and raise funds for the AADO (Afghan Australian Development Organization)