Gravida 2012 Annual Report by Jane Duffy

2012 ANNUAL REPORT

How do we reach our vision of a healthier and more productive New Zealand?

Contents Foreword: Professor Lord Robert Winston

Report from the Chair

Report from the Director

Gravidaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategic framework

Gravida steps up

2012 Organisational highlights

Introducing our new Director

Scientific excellence

Collaboration

Translation

Developing capabilities

Current major projects

Outcomes

Financial statements

Members and associates

Foreword: Professor Lord Robert Winston Patron of Gravida

Gravida: New Zealand’s Centre of Research Excellence in the science of growth and development directs its attention to the early life events that influence short and long term consequences for health and disease. Through Gravida, New Zealand is investing in the frontiers of science for the future of its people, and for the guardianship of its economy. The recent ‘CoREs and effect’ report (published by the Ministry of Education) emphasised the success of the New Zealand government’s investment in Centres of Research Excellence. Gravida exemplifies this by bringing together science and scientists of world renown, to focus on the origins of lifelong health and wellbeing – for both its people and its agricultural animals.

2012 was a remarkable year of achievement for Gravida – from advances in discovery and the creation of knowledge that can be translated into measurable impact. Gravida has established partnerships in the community at large working with schools, patient groups and farmers. Research now shows that nutrition during early development is important in determining the health of the individual throughout life. And the future of all societies lies in the health and wellbeing of its offspring – Gravida is truly working for New Zealand’s future. I’m delighted to be a patron of Gravida. Professor Lord Winston is Professor of Science and Society and Emeritus Professor of Fertility Studies at Imperial College London

Report from the Chair

In August 2013, Gravida (formerly the NRCGD) will be 10 years old – a significant milestone in any organisation’s history. Since Gravida’s inception it has developed into a world renowned centre of research excellence in growth and development. International organisations and individuals alike can now see that the biggest health challenges are preventable, if intercepted in the earliest stages of life. This level of international acceptance of the science around which Gravida rotates has been facilitated in no small part by our Founding Director Distinguished Professor Sir Peter Gluckman. This recognition of New Zealand’s expertise, combined with the quality of our individual members’ research, has built a very sound platform upon which it can grow in the next 10 years.

This report tells the story of our scientists and the projects which they have designed and led; it tells of our investment in technology and young scientists’ aspirations; it reveals personal reflections of our scientists on the exceptional benefits and opportunities which result from belonging to Gravida. Professor Phil Baker became our new Director in mid-2012. His appointment, and other significant appointments which he initiated, moved Gravida into new networks of collaboration, both nationally and internationally. We are already witnessing a marked impact on major stakeholders within New Zealand, increasing the translation of our science into clinical practices. International collaborations are becoming formalised and the attraction to New Zealand of the world’s leading scientists for events scheduled for May 2013, March 2014 and June 2014, with the heightened publicity, will put Gravida on the radar of many young New Zealanders. This CoRE has experienced internal reform and refocus under the leadership of Professor Baker. He has identified opportunities for strengthening processes, transparency and accountability, and also opened up opportunities for development of capability. Our Scientific Advisory Board has been refreshed and with the enrolment of international 2

colleagues to an International College, there is intellectual leadership across a range of disciplines available to Gravida. In addition to impartial peer review of funding applications or projects, there will be exceptional opportunities for our rapidly expanding numbers of PhDs and postdoctoral fellows to gain international experience. The CoRE charter has always been to optimise investment in science which is cutting edge - science which pushes the boundaries to find linkages between early and later life outcomes or animal productivity. These new approaches will enhance our capability. This report tells the story of our scientists and the projects which they have designed and led; it tells of our investment in technology and young scientists’ aspirations; it reveals personal reflections of our scientists on the exceptional benefits and opportunities which result from belonging to Gravida. Above all, it demonstrates the leverage gained through the CoRE model and the outcomes of the substantial investment of respective governments in the science of growth and development. Our goal is to improve the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders and the productivity of our farming sector. This is a substantial mandate but attainable through the talent and commitment of Gravida’s Board of Governance, its Executive, its administration team, its host The University of Auckland, its partners and its members. My thanks to you all for your support of this exceptional centre of research excellence.

Alison Paterson Chair, Board of Governance

Gravidaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Chair and Director, Alison Paterson and Professor Phil Baker, outside Gravidaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new premises at The University of Auckland

Report from the Director

The last few months have been a real journey of discovery – learning about New Zealand, getting to grips with the diverse disciplines that go to make up Gravida, and perhaps most importantly getting to know the high calibre investigators who are the essence of our Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE). One of the things that attracted me to this new role is the CoRE model; researchers from different disciplines, across different sites and institutions, working towards a collective, focussed goal with a genuine spirit of collaboration. The CoRE model was a tremendous vision and has enabled New Zealand to over-achieve (for its size and funding) in crucial areas of science. Undoubtedly, one of these is in early-life research. One of the most rewarding aspects of my job has been to meet and interact with some of the brightest and best scientists bar none – both principal investigators and young talented researchers who clearly have the potential to build on Gravida’s rich history. Gravida excelled in each of its strategic objectives during 2012. This report demonstrates that while extending our impact, collaboration, outreach and capability activities, we have maintained our strong investment in the scientific excellence of our research mission - to reveal how conditions encountered in early life affect the way an individual grows and develops throughout life. New insights included: understanding the effects of dietary restriction and life extension; the effects of prematurity, childhood outcomes and increased risk of adult diseases; the link between maternal diet and offspring development; how genetic plasticity in bees helps our understanding of how humans respond to environmental changes; how metabolic profiles affect growth performance in lambs; and what the economic impact is of an unhealthy start to life. We must now ensure that the value and implications of our research are appropriately recognized and utilised. In 2012, we made a whole series of changes to strengthen Gravida’s position. We strengthened the administrative and executive teams, appointed a breathtakingly impressive Scientific Advisory Board, and initiated a tool for thought leadership in the International College. We have already gained insight from our Scientific Advisory Board in guiding 4

our scientific strategic direction for the remainder of the current funding cycle; our new International College is guiding us through their peer review of our members’ funding applications and students’ research proposals. One of the most notable changes was the rebranding and renaming of our CoRE. This is but a part of our efforts to increase engagement with stakeholders, partners, schools and students, indeed, with every New Zealander. We are working more closely with key stakeholders – from the District Health Boards to the College of Midwives to farming organisations. We are growing efforts to strengthen early-life endeavours through partnerships with charities such as Plunket, the Heart Foundation, Cure Kids and Tipu Ora, as well as increased engagement with farmer groups, industry and business. Increasingly, we will be judged on the impact of Gravida – that impact can only be enhanced by such synergies and partnerships. It is not possible to thank everyone who has proffered support and encouragement of my first few months as Director. These individuals range from my Board Chair and leadership of our host and partner universities, to our founding Director, my administrative team and my colleagues on the Executive, particularly Hugh Blair who did such a great job as Gravida’s Acting Director (and Deb Sloboda and Frank Bloomfield prior to him), through to my academic and clinical colleagues in Auckland. 2012 was a year of change and transition but also, as detailed in our report, of great successes. Together we can face 2013 with optimism, enthusiasm and confidence. Gravida is an organisation of the highest calibre – but let us reach even higher.

Professor Phil Baker

Gravida’s strategic framework

Gravida’s research mission is to reveal how conditions encountered in early life affect the way an individual grows and develops throughout life. Our aim is to advance the understanding of the underlying processes involved in these changes, both in human and in agricultural contexts, with a view to identifying their short term and long term consequences for health and disease. TEC Performance Domains

Gravida’s Strategic Priorities

Gravida’s Strategic Objectives

Research Quality

Priority 1: Scientific Excellence A world-class science research centre reflecting our commitment to scientific excellence.

To be viewed as a national icon of excellent research, teaching and learning. To continue to develop as an internationally recognised centre of excellence undertaking multi-disciplinary research into developmental plasticity, growth, and development. To generate new knowledge and insights into early-life events, from conception to puberty, and how this knowledge can be used to improve long-term human health and farm animal productivity.

Dissemination and uptake

Collaboration, networking and outreach

Organisational development (people and systems)

Priority 2: Effective Translation A catalyst for innovation-led economic and societal benefits reflecting our commitment to the effective translation of our knowledge.

To assist the application of our research over time to improving animal production within NZ agriculture; and to provide knowledge to support health-related industries.

Priority 3: Collaboration An inter- disciplinary, interinstitutional network reflecting our commitment to a collaborative approach.

To further develop our national and international partnerships, and position Gravida as the hub of a global research network.

Priority 4: Education An enabler of informed choice reflecting our commitment to education.

To provide leadership in science communication, ethics and the public understanding of biomedical science.

Priority 5: Capability Development A sustainable organisation emphasising capability development reflecting our commitment to investment in New Zealand’s scientific capability.

To ensure the sustainability of all aspects of the CoRE, including: talent, through mentoring for leadership, academic excellence, translatability, community involvement, and ethics; research excellence, through constant self and external evaluation of our research to ensure it remains focused, edgy, and of highest international standard; organisational capability through robust governance and management, and sound fiscal management through a continual process of seeking leveraged co-funding.

To conduct research that over time will have major impact on human health through translation to clinical medicine and public health policy.

To seek ways to interrelate our research with other leading research groups in NZ (university and CRI sectors, industry and agriculture, and other CoREs) and beyond, while ensuring our research remains focused.

To be an organic and self-learning organisation, reviewing our effectiveness and impact. 5

Gravida steps up

In 2012, Gravida stepped up to the plate internationally in research, collaborations, strategy and positioning. Our most significant achievements this year have been around expansion of capability, gearing up Gravida for even higher performance and greater relevance to the country’s economic and health goals. Building on its robust reputation, we began to pursue our strategic direction with renewed intensity and purpose. Much of the renewed momentum was due to a significant new appointment. In June, Gravida came under the direction of UK scientist and obstetrician Professor Phil Baker. He had been involved in Gravida’s development for the months since the announcement of his appointment, but prior to his arrival in New Zealand, while the organisation was under the acting directorship of Professor Hugh Blair (Massey University). Two new strategic science-driven bodies were formed, each comprising world leading scientists in growth and development - a Scientific Advisory Board and a new International College.

Gravida means ‘pregnant woman’. Its relevance is articulated by Founding Director Distinguished Professor Sir Peter Gluckman when he highlighted that ‘Gravida investigators are pregnant with ideas’. During the year, Gravida’s Executive team was reconfigured and focused to a team of seven, representing top operational and academic leadership. The changes included the strengthening of leadership in the agricultural and translational domains. A series of operational changes refocused management and fixed its concentration on strategic goals, research deliverables and managing relationships with key stakeholders, especially with a view to moving research results into clinical practice, farming practice and community action. In September, Dr Judith Hammond was appointed as Strategic Operating Officer. Under Professor Baker’s and her management, capability development has accelerated. Key performance indicators have been 6

created; an annual plan was developed that will deliver on the centre’s long-term strategic goals. Now, activities are appraised and progress measured constantly towards short- and long-term strategic goals. Measurement of impact is the organisation’s new rallying point. Significantly, the organisation changed its name from National Research Centre for Growth and Development to Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development. Gravida means ‘pregnant woman’. Its relevance is articulated by Founding Director Distinguished Professor Sir Peter Gluckman when he highlighted that ‘Gravida investigators are pregnant with ideas’. The name was chosen because it is distinctive, universal, memorable and reflects the organisation’s mission: to reveal how conditions encountered early in life affect the way a person or domestic livestock develop and how these conditions may influence long- or short-term human health and agricultural productivity. Under Professor Baker’s leadership as Director, Gravida’s team also instigated vigorous initiatives in communication and outreach, including a new website. In October, Gravida moved from its long-term premises to a fresh, new, high-profile location within the University of Auckland’s Liggins Institute, adjacent to the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. These were important new steps in improved engagement with all Gravida audiences, making it easier to translate Gravida’s knowledge into New Zealand life, along with creating a greater awareness of Gravida’s science and value internationally. The combination of energy and discipline put in place at Gravida in 2012 will yield a surge in scientific excellence in years to come.

Professor Lord Winston became a Patron of Gravida

Most-comprehensive funding call announced for short-term projects, PhD scholarships and post-doctoral fellowships

2012 Organisational Highlights

Establishment of an International College

Annual member symposium held

Rebranding of the National Research Centre for Growth and Development (NRCGD) to Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development

Gravida membership refreshed and renewed; number of investigators increases to 79

Professor Caroline Crowther, Liggins Institute, and Professor Warren McNabb, AgReseach, join Gravida Executive

With the Liggins Institute, move to new premises in Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland

Appointment of Strategic Operating Officer, Dr Judith Hammond

New Scientific Advisory Board established

Gravida PhD and Post Doctoral Writing Retreat held

Dr Tom Richardson, CEO of AgResearch, appointed to Governance Board

New website launched

Professor Phil Baker takes up role of Director

Appointment of new Director, Professor Phil Baker, announced

JANUARY

DECEMBER

Introducing our new Director Professor Phil Baker

Professor Phil Baker is an obstetrician scientist with a particular interest in the pregnancy complications preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction

Professor Phil Baker is a highly accomplished and sought after international leader of research institutions, and is also a renowned principal investigator on globally significant scientific projects. His projects alone have successfully accrued over $100 million in research funding, and he has more than 300 international scientific publications to his credit (100 of these with international co-authors). He is an obstetrician scientist with a research interest in pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restrictions. Professor Baker has a history of research in these conditions at a molecular, cellular, blood vessel and whole body level. When he took up his post as Director of Gravida in June, he immediately stamped his experience on the organisation. His first steps to ensure Gravida was best positioned for research of excellence included the invitation and appointment of a large group of top world-recognised scientists as Gravida’s International College. This advisory body is unique in Australasia, and an enormous coup for the organisation. Similarly he strengthened the Scientific Advisory Board. Professor Baker recognised that the branding of the organisation was intrinsic to its success on the global stage. Good branding attracts funding, business partnerships and scientific recognition and collaboration. Professor Baker moved to carve out a distinctive new positioning for what was the National Research Centre for Growth and Development, and led the name change to Gravida. At the time he said: “New Zealand punches way above its weight in the crucial scientific areas of reproduction, pregnancy, growth and development. This is partly due to the massive legacies of Sir Peter Gluckman and Mont Liggins – scientific giants internationally. We are honouring that legacy with the branding, positioning and reputation of this organisation and the continued commitment to scientific excellence.”

young scientists and encouraging that most important of activities: outreach into schools and education.” Professor Baker trained in Nottingham, Cambridge and Pittsburgh. He was appointed Professor of Obstetrics at the Universities of Nottingham and Manchester. There, he established two of the strongest research groups in Europe. He is also the Scientific Director of the International Pregnancy Research Alliance. He is currently co-Principal Investigator of an MRC (UK) programme grant and an EU FP7 programme grant. Previous posts also include leadership of two medical schools and a successful Manchester (UK) application for a National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, where he was the inaugural Director.

His first steps to ensure Gravida was best positioned for research of excellence included the invitation and appointment of a large group of top world-recognised scientists as Gravida’s International College. In New Zealand, in collaboration with other universities worldwide and in conjunction with Gravida, he continues to pursue his studies of the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction, and to seek novel ways of treating these conditions.

On Professor Baker’s watch so far, the organisation has also stimulated new membership. “We are undoubtedly stronger for the recent addition of quite outstanding members. This is helping us to continue to train some of the country’s brightest 9

Scientific excellence Excelling on the world stage

New Zealand has a golden legacy of leading research on early life events â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from pregnancy to childhood and beyond. In 2012, Gravida continued that heritage with a series of outstanding research discoveries. â&#x20AC;&#x153;From its inception in 2003, Gravida has placed great emphasis on scientific excellence. This emphasis has placed New Zealand as a world leader in growth and development research. Our challenge

is to ensure that the exceptional research calibre is maintained, and that the impact of this work can be felt beneficially in health and in agricultural productivity.â&#x20AC;? Professor Phil Baker, Director.

Talent banking for research excellence For New Zealand to continue to achieve on the world stage in research, it must foster and develop talent. Gravida opened its doors to new talent in 2012 increasing its membership to 79.

2012 Membership

Amongst those members were 14 new Principal Investigators – scientists at the top of their field, who sought the capabilities, collaboration and focus of Gravida. All sought the growing benefit of the multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary environment that a virtual centre of research provides.

Principal Investigators: Associate Investigators:

Additional younger researchers also joined Gravida. The organisation’s success in backing new talent is already having an effect on the retention of scientists in New Zealand. Diversification in Gravida’s talent pool through more members will also pay off in future. Those who joined include neuroendocrinologists, animal growth physiologists, developmental scientists and distinguished social scientists with expertise in taking the results of clinical research and communicating them in schools and the community. The benefit of increased membership is already evidenced in the ideas put forward in the funding round of February 2013. A wave of new science, tightly focused on Gravida themes, has resulted. Current research themes involve exploring the following questions:

35 44

Auckland Massey University

3 19

The University of Auckland 1

Auckland University of Technology Hamilton

AgResearch

Palmerston North 6

Massey University

1 2

AgResearch

• What is developmental plasticity and how does it work? • How does plasticity affect an animal? • Can we use plasticity to improve human health? Christchurch

• What is the impact of early-life events on the human population?

1 1 1

• How can we best transfer our knowledge?

AgResearch University of Canterbury University of Otago

• New techniques.

Dunedin 10

University of Dunedin

World leading, ground-breaking research

This year, Gravida investigators published 140 directly-funded or related papers in international journals. Some of these studies provided results that were ‘world firsts’. They generated brand new knowledge and insights into early life. Dietary restriction leads to life extension There have been a myriad of studies which claim to show that dietary restriction leads to life extension. But until now, there has been no systematic and comparative analysis examining whether it was reduction of calories or reduction of protein that had the effect. Dr Shinichi Nakagawa is a researcher at the Department of Zoology, University of Otago. As well as having worldwide recognition for his evolutionary and behavioural biology work, this Gravida member has developed a new meta-analytic or data mining techniques. For this study – Comparative and meta-analytic insights into life extension via dietary restriction – Dr Nakagawa looked at 150 papers already published about dietary restriction in animals. “Up until now, there have been two camps of people: one which believed calorie restriction was needed for extending life; another which believed that protein restriction was best for extending life,” he said. “Our meta-analysis showed that it was protein restriction that extended life in animals and that caloric restriction may play a lesser role.”

Up until now, there have been two camps of people: one which believed calorie restriction was needed for extending life; another which believed that protein restriction was best for extending life. The study also suggested that the benefits of dietary restriction may be more exaggerated for (or confined to) laboratory animals. Those in the wild with dietary restrictions did not seem to benefit to the same degree. The paper was published in the worldwide leading journal of gerontology – Aging Cell magazine. 12

The paper was published in the worldwide leading journal of gerontology – Aging Cell magazine

Publication prompted a flood of interest in both the study and the data mining techniques. Dr Nakagawa was invited to deliver papers at Max Planck Institute (Germany), the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge (UK), Berne University (Switzerland), the University of Sydney and Monash University (Australia) – just to name a few. “It’s a general confirmation of one side of the controversy, and was the first to do this,” he said. “We have to be careful about applying it to humans. In laboratory animals, the environment is free from stressors. For humans, we don’t know whether – for instance – restricting protein might compromise the immune system, or create some other problem. We don’t even know whether it would work in humans. Until we know, the best advice is: eat a balanced diet. Nevertheless, the analysis of food restrictions on lab animals is interesting.”

Investigating the effects of prematurity Epigenetics is the thrilling new frontier for genetic research. Less than a decade old, epigenetics looks at how factors in an individual’s ‘environment’ affect the way genes are expressed. So two identical twins with the same genes may actually be differently disposed to developing disease depending upon their lives. Associate Professor Paul Hofman (University of Auckland – Liggins Institute) and collaborators looked at a group of adults who were born pre-term in the 1960s and 1970s, and also at their children, and compared them with those who reached ‘term’. “Previous studies had shown that babies born pre-term have insulin resistance as they grow out of childhood. That is, they need more insulin as they age,” says Associate Professor Hofman. “Insulin resistance is a significant risk factor for later diabetes and stroke. But no-one knew what happened once these people reached maturity and late adulthood.” “Being born prematurely is an ‘environmental insult’ – meaning it is a stress on the organism, and they must adapt to it. But we wanted to know did pre-term birth in the parents affect the health of the next generation and make them more sensitive to insulin as well?” What the group found was a first. This study was published in Diabetes – the top international diabetes journal – in October 2012. (Insulin Sensitivity and Beta Cell Function in Adults Born Preterm and Their Children). “We were the first in the world to show that the children of parents born pre-term are more at risk of metabolic problems themselves. Interestingly the effects appear to be greater in the children from fathers who were born pre-term.”

We were the first in the world to show that the children of parents born pre-term are more at risk of metabolic problems themselves. “At the public health level, then, we may need to be focused on identifying and monitoring those born pre-term. This study was a superb example of the way Gravida-funded research may be able to translate to real life health improvements.”

“The findings have significant potential implications for the way we advise people in their own healthcare, and how we treat disease,” he says. “We now know, for instance, that we may have to watch adults who were pre-term babies as they move into later life because they’re at increased risk of adult diseases. If they stay fit and healthy they’ll be better off. But if they become obese they’ll have a double whammy from having been pre-term, and therefore more likely insulin resistant, as well as from the obesity itself.” 13

World leading, ground-breaking research continued

Mother’s nutrition

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Volume 590 Number 9

nurture or nutrition? Impact of maternal n on maternal care, offspring development roductive function nnor, M. H. Vickers, J. Beltrand, M. J. Meaney M. Sloboda

Volume 590 / Number 9 / 1 May 2012

1 May 2012

of chemostimuli on [Ca2+]i responses of rat aortic pe I cells and endogenous local neurons: comparison rotid body cells Piskuric and Colin A. Nurse ion of ventral surface CO2/H+-sensitive neurons nergic signalling Wenker, Cleyton R. Sobrinho, Ana C. Takakura, S. Moreira and Daniel K. Mulkey

The Journal of Physiology

ntricular mechanics in humans with high aerobic ﬁtness: ion independent of structural remodelling, arterial dynamics and heart rate töhr, Barry McDonnell, Jane Thompson, Keeron Stone, ll, Rory Houston, John Cockcroft and Rob Shave

2061–2180

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A publication of The Physiological Society

4/22/12 9:12:39 AM

The Journal of Physiology is ranked in the top 10% of publications in its field

Principal Investigators Associate Professor Deborah Sloboda and Associate Professor Mark Vickers and a group of leading scientists took a step into new territory looking at how a mother’s nutrition influenced the way she cared for her offspring and those babies’ later development. The resulting paper (Nature, nurture or nutrition? Impact of maternal nutrition on maternal care, offspring development and reproductive function – May 2012) was published in the high impact international Journal of Physiology. “What we found was a first and shows the over-riding importance of maternal diet on offspring health and later well-being,” says Associate Professor Vickers, who is based at the University of Auckland’s Liggins Institute. “It’s long been known from animal models that poor maternal care (for example reduced licking and grooming of offspring) leads to developmental problems in offspring later in life,” he says. “We also know that maternal obesity leads to metabolic disorders in offspring later in life. However, whether maternal obesity resulted in altered maternal care was not known.”

International organisations and individuals alike can now see that the biggest health challenges are preventable, if intercepted in the earliest stages of life.

The Gravida researchers fed rat mothers a high-fat diet. It found that the offspring of these obese mothers are more likely to be fat, to enter puberty early, have prolonged oestrus and have ‘metabolic syndrome markers’ (meaning they are likely to have problems with diabetes, reproductive, cardiovascular and other issues later in life). “We also showed for the first time that obese mothers exhibited reduced maternal care of their offspring and showed less evidence of bonding,” he says. However, obesity and metabolic disorders in offspring of obese mothers “developed independently of the level of maternal care, suggesting that maternal diet itself was the dominant factor in determining the health of the offspring”. Put simply, this means that maternal obesity was the primary driver of the offspring phenotype, regardless of whether the mother showed a high or low degree of maternal care. Professor Lord Robert These data showedwith howGravida the early nutritional Winston environment canPhil influence director Baker. offspring development in a manner that alters reproductive potential and long-term health. If these findings hold true in human investigations, they may have implications not only for disease risk in adulthood, but also for the health and development of offspring in subsequent generations.

Bee good, do good Bees are giving life to humans in a way never previously thought possible. They are helping researchers discover how ‘plasticity’ works – that is, human genes’ response to their environment. Associate Professor Peter Dearden from the University of Otago is one of the world’s foremost researchers on epigenetics and plasticity. His work in bees is providing significant insights into human health and wellbeing.

Associate Professor Dearden says that there are all kinds of mechanisms at play. “There is a plasticity issue, but also a social issue. Honeybees have a complex society. And the queen can regulate and manipulate some of the activities of the bees,” he says. “We’ve also found a whole bunch of genes and pathways which can maintain that change. Now, we’re starting to look at other species to see whether the same genes and pathways are doing similar things.”

“Humans share 75% of genes with bees,” says Associate Professor Dearden. “Honeybees breed rapidly, and they display a huge amount of ‘plasticity’. For instance, ordinary worker bees create the queen by feeding an ordinary grub royal jelly. Genetically, the queen is the same as they are – but she becomes something different because of what she eats. In other words, her genetic response to her environment is different from that of other bees.

Associate Professor Peter Dearden from the University of Otago is one of the world’s foremost researchers on epigenetics and plasticity. His work in bees is providing significant insights into human health and wellbeing.

“We knew that by looking at bees we should be able to find out about genes’ responses in humans too.”

Other researchers describe these breakthroughs as ‘fantastic science’. Associate Professor Dearden sees it also as a win-win.

The researchers started by looking at which genes were turned on and off when the ovaries of a worker bee are turned on. What they found is soon to be published and is world leading. “When the queen bee is taken away, the worker bees lay eggs,” he says. “We wanted to understand what mechanisms control the activation process. We have found a number of different avenues of research. We found the genes and mechanism which control the activation, and the genes involved in maintenance once activation has occurred.”

“Not only are we supporting human breakthroughs because of Gravida’s investment, but we’ve also helped out the honeybee industry. A side benefit has been that we’ve been able to document and understand the genetics of honeybees throughout the country, and improve pollination. We’re helping out the people and equipment that support bees,” he says. The team from the University of Otago hopes to have their research published in mid 2013. 15

Resource and connection

At Gravida, New Zealand’s foremost scientists cross-fertilise ideas, debate techniques, reveal new technology and share information. Gravida cuts across disciplines to look at commonalities in biological systems. Increasingly important, it also updates research leaders on exponentially fast-developing techniques and technologies used to study those systems. A deep pool of resource for new members By bringing researchers together, whether physically or virtually, Gravida allows scientists to create efficiencies of scale and to explore and apply a combined intellectual resource. The end result? “Gravida will truly make a difference to mothers and babies,” says one outstanding principal researcher and new Gravida member. Scientists who joined in 2012 have already found Gravida hugely beneficial. Professor Vicky Cameron, of the University of Otago’s Christchurch Heart Institute, joined Gravida in 2012 and attended Gravida’s three-day annual symposium in Palmerston North. Her field of investigation is the inherited risk factors for heart disease. While her current area of study involves adult diseases, such as coronary disease and diabetes, she is keen to expand her research through new collaborations within Gravida to develop a greater understanding of how nutrition, stressors and influences in a baby’s environment in utero can influence the development of cardiac problems in later life.

What’s learned will lead to a strong economic argument for focusing government expenditure in healthcare and agriculture. It will improve New Zealanders’ quality of life. Professor Cameron says that getting together, for scientists, is always important because in the 21st century science is a globally collaborative process. “It’s as important to be able to access someone in Scandinavia and Iceland, as the lab next door,” she says. “Facilitation of knowledge and projects happens in so many ways, and Gravida’s symposium 16

was one such way. It prompted talk of collaborative projects. There were people I’d never really interacted with before. I didn’t know that a lot of things I was interested in were already underway.” “To me, Gravida is a meeting place – not necessarily physical – for people working in diverse fields but who tend to share common processes, both in the life systems they’re studying and also in the technologies they’re using. Primary industry research may be looking at increasing milk production in cows, but we share processes and techniques, and by increasing awareness and communication we both benefit. By grouping together as Gravida encourages, we can stay absolutely at the cutting edge of science even though the country is tiny. The organisation allows us to do the sort of work we want to do and that’s needed, without leaving the country.” Professor Caroline Crowther, Professor of Maternal and Perinatal Health from the Liggins Institute (University of Auckland) is another a new member of Gravida. She is a new New Zealander, and already enthusiastic about Gravida. “This Centre of Research Excellence has created a brilliant foundation. Its new ideas will take us into bigger, better and bolder collaborations that will focus on growth and development issues. It will help maintain New Zealand’s world leading position in this area,” she says. “My own focus is geared towards making sure that care for women and babies keeps them healthy. So how do we care for mums who are overweight? Diabetes is an ever growing problem. Through Gravida, I’m able to pursue my work on pregnancy in a collaborative environment. Gravida has the ability to bring together teams in multi-site collaborations.”

She emphasises that Gravida also helps by ensuring the research undertaken can be translated into “different health environments”. “Gravida’s outreach to schools is unique. Programmes such as LENScience provides everyday speak on science. It takes the message to the classroom,” she says. Professor David Cameron-Smith of the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, and Chair of Nutrition at the University, says that his decision to join Gravida in 2012 was three-fold. “Firstly, it’s an outstanding research organisation that provides leadership in development of research. Secondly, I needed to facilitate and develop

relationships with other leading academics. Gravida presents a whole new opportunity for collaborative research with New Zealand’s scientists. And finally, the way Gravida is translating its knowledge into real life, using clinical research, interests me,” he says. “There is nothing similar in Australia. The insights of the New Zealand government in funding Gravida are unique. This is money that has been directed to the training of new scientists and the funding of health and medical research for the benefit of New Zealanders - research that would otherwise not exist. Later, what’s learned will lead to a strong economic argument for focusing government expenditure in healthcare and agriculture. It will improve New Zealanders’ quality of life.”

A first for Australasia – Gravida’s International College In a step that was a first for an Australasian research centre, Gravida established an International College in 2012. The organisation invited more than 30 of the world’s top scientists in their field to join a newly formed International College. These are people of celebrated global calibre, directly relevant to Gravida’s fields of study. The response to our request was overwhelming, with all but three agreeing to join (and those that declined doing so reluctantly due to other commitments); those approached were genuinely enthusiastic about what an organisation such as Gravida would do. The first to agree as a member, and as patron, was Professor Lord Winston – the globally famous scientist, broadcaster, theatre and TV director and producer, and celebrated clinician. Amongst the extraordinary group of scientists who have joined as members of the College is Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet – one of the world’s most respected, high profile medical journals and a reference point for all serious medical study. These keen members are a ringing endorsement of the way New Zealand research is respected, and Gravida’s in particular. The International College is a novel concept in New Zealand’s Centres of Research Excellence. For Gravida, it will provide a first line of review

for project proposals. It will also set the scene for international research by providing an understanding of the big science questions in Gravida’s field.

Professor Lord Winston with Gravida Director Professor Phil Baker

Gravida’s PhD students will have the opportunity to be co-supervised by members of the International College, providing an exceptional opportunity for international experience and networking. The International College will play a role in bringing those vexing questions to a New Zealand audience, too, creating simultaneously a high profile for those issues. In 2014, Gravida will host a meeting of the International College in New Zealand around specific topics of interest to science and to our country. 17

Scientific Advisory Board

2012 saw the Scientific Advisory Board for Gravida embedded in our strategic development and strengthened through the addition of seven top international scientists under the chairmanship of Professor Euan Wallace. Together, these eminent academics will raise the bar of scientific excellence for Gravida going forward. The Scientific Advisory Board will help Gravida operate with more robust contestability and transparency. It will evaluate our research through peer review and provide strategic direction in its research programmes. Each of the Scientific Advisory Board’s members is an international leader in his or her field, and that field matches with Gravida’s areas of focus. Their role is to help the organisation decide and act on science direction. Scientific Advisory Board members also provide advice on specific projects, and help guide the science of those investigations. In many ways too, they serve as a critical gatekeepers for research. Our scientists will be able to sharpen their research in front of this international panel, before submitting it to international journals for publication. One of the Scientific Advisory Board’s eminent members, Professor Patrick Cunningham, visited New Zealand in November to speak at Gravida’s annual science symposium. Professor Cunningham is a leading world researcher on aspects of animal DNA. A recipient of Ireland’s highest scientific honour (the Boyle Medal) his five-year term as Professor Cunningham (far right) at the annual science symposium with Professor Phil Baker and the three student prize winners: Amy Paten, Tessa Sanders and Megan Leask

Chief Science Adviser to the Irish Government (2007-2012) ended on August 2012. During that time, he also led the Irish bid to host the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF) in Dublin. While in New Zealand, Professor Cunningham delivered open lectures at the University of Auckland and Massey University (Palmerston North) comparing New Zealand and European Union investment in science, and looking at the priorities for investing in national science in times of recession. He was interviewed extensively by New Zealand media.

The Board membership comprises: Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan – founding Chair of the Division of Women and Child Health Professor John Challis University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada – Emeritus Professor in Physiology, Ob-Gyn and Medicine Professor Patrick Cunningham Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland – Professor of Animal Genetics and former Chief Scientific Adviser to the Irish Government Professor Mark Hanson University of Southampton, Southampton, England – Director of the Division of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Professor Rebecca Simmons University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA – Professor of Paediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynaecology Professor Matthew Gillman Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA – Professor and Director of the Obesity Prevention Program

Vision for the health of New Zealanders Professor Euan Wallace, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, is a celebrated researcher on maternal and fetal health, based at Monash University (Australia). He describes Gravida as “unique in the research world” and “profoundly important if we are to improve population health and the health of domestic livestock.”

Professor Euan Wallace, Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board, is a celebrated researcher on maternal and fetal health, based at Monash University (Australia)

“Organisations worldwide do bits of the work that Gravida does. But Gravida is much broader in its research remit,” he says. “This is a key strength, but also a challenge. Our role in the Scientific Advisory Board is to help Gravida maintain focus and a strong, meaningful presence in diverse disciplines.” “What looks like disparate disciplines actually integrate extremely well,” says Professor Wallace, “with scientists in different disciplines firing off each other. That is surprising. I am not aware of any other world research group that has this integrated breadth. You can’t underestimate how difficult that is to do. The agricultural research can inform the human health research and vice versa. They are very complementary. Farmers typically don’t do anything unless it improves the yield. So it stands to reason that there are lessons learned in agriculture about early life events that have profound importance to human health – as long as we know about them, and can apply them.” He applauds the high quality research that is undertaken by Gravida. “For a country of New Zealand’s size with New Zealand’s research budget, the quality of work is outstanding. Gravida punches well above its weight in most of the areas it’s playing in.” Professor Wallace sees the Scientific Advisory Board’s role as providing assistance and guidance to the scientists and Executive team of Gravida. The quality of the Scientific Advisory Board’s membership is high internationally, he says, with outstanding scientists and health leaders in their own right.

Perhaps most important of all, says the Professor, is ensuring Gravida’s sights are firmly upon the horizon of better health for New Zealanders and a more focused health spend. “One of the biggest challenges for any health researcher is to be able to demonstrate that in 20 years, the dollars that are spent have made a difference to the health and wellbeing of the population. With a clinician as a Director, Gravida is well placed to do that. With a small country, too, it’s easier to get outputs.”

Gravida Members Awarded Associate Professor Mark Hampton was awarded a University of Otago Christchurch, Gold Medal for Research Excellence. Professor Christine Winterbourn was awarded Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

“Our role is to grow Gravida’s sphere of influence, too. We keep Gravida plugged into what’s important globally.” Professor Wallace says that through the Scientific Advisory Board, young scientists encouraged and trained with Gravida in their New Zealand research can keep informed about the sophisticated network of research taking place offshore. 19

Translation Science applied to life

Year by year, bit by bit, we are taking the findings of our research and connecting with people’s needs, so Gravida can contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders, and our economy. In 2012, Gravida continued to fund research that can be directly applied to farming and to human health. The concept of research that can be directly influential on government policies and national strategies long term is part of Gravida’s

single minded focus. As one member put it: “Gravida brings together disciplines and research that can have a direct sway on national thinking and planning. Once our university’s researchers understood this, research has taken off.”

Impacting health policy and practice

The long-term economics of a less than healthy start for Kiwi kids Knowing how an unhealthy start to life for a baby comes about - is one thing. Knowing how much it costs the country when that child grows – is another. Poor health in childhood can mean costly healthcare later and that has profound implications for the country’s future health system and costs. Understanding projected healthcare and other costs means the country can be prepared. In 2012, Associate Professor Susan Morton, a public health physician and epidemiologist at the University of Auckland, was funded by Gravida for the second part of a multi-faceted programme to produce an economic model from several longitudinal studies to predict cost associated with early life development. Long-term population studies have yielded valuable information on our country’s health, but no-one has brought these together and used the multiple datasets available to model the implications for the New Zealand economy. Associate Professor Morton has been able to consider different early life predictors of health across the ‘life course’. “We’re able to identify what sort of early influences affect healthy development and when they have maximum impact”. Associate Professor Morton is using this information to look at the health profile of the current population

and to predict what kind of health New Zealanders may have in later life. “From the information we have, we’re able to model how early life events are linked to later life outcomes. The question then is: how can you cost-effectively intervene early in life, so that people experience better health later?” This is ground-breaking work that is expected to have direct influence on health policy in New Zealand in the future. “Longitudinal data like this,” she says, “is rich in population information and incredibly important. It gives us insight into how New Zealand might influence health policy and strategies.” The information can be used by successive governments, the Ministries of Health, Education, Social Development, Business Innovation, Employment, Justice and more. It will influence thinking and strategies on what to fund, when and how. Insights into New Zealand’s future population health costs and needs form part of an international project known as the International Healthy Start to Life Project, partly funded by Gravida. Partners and collaborators in the project include the Universities of Leeds, Bristol, Aberdeen and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, as well as New Zealand’s Institute of Economic Research.

Clinical application of research

United Nations Development Programme

In 2012, Gravida began funding Professor Caroline Crowther (Professor of Maternal and Perinatal Health, University of Auckland) to ensure research evidence being uncovered in maternal care would be translated into clinical practice guidelines. This means that new research evidence around different topics of mothers’ and babies’ health will be written as treatment guidelines used by doctors. These guidelines will become part of doctors’ expected care and practice for those patients, consistent across both Australia and New Zealand. The implications for public health in standardising care and treatment for mothers and babies is very significant.

Professor Sir Peter Gluckman was invited by United Nations Development Programme’s Administrator, Helen Clark, to speak at the Africa Annual Cluster Meeting, Dakar, Senegal. His presentation was titled ‘Prevention and control of non-communicable disease: developmental challenges and socio-economic impacts in Africa’. Sir Peter provided a strategic outline based on the science developed through Gravida. He was also invited to join the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on non-communicable disease.

Through our partnership with Landcorp, Gravida is able to undertake on-farm research at our dedicated sheep research facility near Rotorua

Impacting agricultural productivity

Why do some lambs grow, while others donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t? Dr Sarah Pain and the Sheep Research Group from Massey University (Palmerston North) have commenced a metabolomics study in lambs in collaboration with researchers from AgResearch and Professor Phil Baker, Liggins Institute, jointly funded by Gravida, Landcorp and FarmIQ. Metabolic screening is often used as a diagnostic tool to uncover metabolic dysfunction in a person or animal. In this particular study, metabolomics (blood biochemical and hormonal profile) is being investigated as a possible tool that may be used to identify lambs with different growth performance based on their metabolic profile. To date, plasma samples have been collected from lambs at four weeks and ten weeks of age and live

weight has been monitored to 6 months of age. Information on carcass characteristics has also been collected. Analyses will now be done to determine if a relationship exists between the growth performance of each lamb and the metabolic profile it expressed early in life. If there is a relationship, Massey scientists may then be able to apply this technology to an agriculturally relevant scenario that allows early identification of lambs which will be slower growing (those that are potentially metabolically compromised) and/or faster growing based on their metabolome, thereby allowing farmers to select those lambs that will have greater growth performance.

How farmers learn Gravida research helped plug a disconnect between what researchers know (through evidence of trials) about good sheep farm management, and what sheep farmers do as a result. Dairy farmers already have a successful network of support (through Fonterraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s single desk selling system) and are highly attuned to the developments research uncovers. But sheep farmers are harder to reach, and have historically been more difficult to convince to act on scientific findings. For this research, Gravida funded a two-year extension to a farmer learning programme that was successfully piloted in 2011. In the farmer learning project, a cross-disciplinary team of scientists, education specialists and network analysts based at Massey University spent a year researching and testing the best ways to motivate sheep farmers to adopt new farm practices. Nineteen farmers, chosen because they are current or future leaders of the industry, were invited to participate in a study on how to improve their pastures. Research had already established that a better pasture mix provided better nutrition for ewes and their lambs, and improved their survival, body weight and condition. But how to convince farmers of this? A trial on the best pasture mixtures and their effects on lamb weight was initiated. This provided a model so that the participating farmers could see and

experience the results. The researchers also included four one-day workshops spanning the seasons. They were able to focus on how the farmers learned, networked and which useful information they deployed, and why. Farmers then went on to disseminate the information they learned to over 300 other farmers, and researchers were able to observe and document how and why they did so. Researchers were also able to develop an integrated learning model, and to consider how the farmers saw them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as trusted advisers, with no hidden or money motivated agenda. Taking the principles of what was learned, Massey was able to better model systems that spread the science via industry leaders to 14,000 sheep farmers around the country.

$3.6m co-funding from HRC programme A project on protein intake in extremely low birth weight babies and metabolic outcomes in childhood funded by Gravida has been expanded to include childhood outcomes following high blood glucose concentrations in extremely low birth weight babies through funding of $3.6m over three years from a Health Research Council programme grant (led by Professor Frank Bloomfield). This programme of research also expands on earlier Gravida-funded work by Dr Anne Jaquiery into the long-term effects on cardiovascular outcome following anaemia in preterm lambs.

Collaboration Outreach to industry

Gravida continued to advance in building connections with industry and major stakeholders. In 2012 we began communicating with top local and international businesses and organisations with a shared interest in healthy families and farm animals, to seek ways of working alongside them. The idea behind this initiative is to pursue practical alliances where science can be applied and communicated directly to the farm or to ordinary New Zealanders. These new connections are potentially long-term relationships that will bear fruit over the next decade. Already, we have been struck by the thirst for engagement with science from the majority of New Zealand businesses we have spoken to.

We have been struck by the thirst for engagement with science from the majority of New Zealand businesses we have spoken to. A major international industrial association was also cemented this year with Gravida, thanks to Professor Sir Peter Gluckman (Gravida’s founder, and eminent New Zealand scientist). EpiGen is an academic collaboration between three countries (New Zealand, United Kingdom and Singapore). It is an academic consortium amongst the world’s most significant epigenetic researchers that shares a common interest: the developmental origins of human disease. The consortium aims to commercialise knowledge around early life and health – the interaction between the environment, genetics and how governments can influence long-term outcomes.

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant Professor Sir Peter Gluckman was awarded funding from the Grand Challenges in Global Health initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to study Epigenetic mechanisms, stunting and poor growth; targets for interventions using epigenetic science developed through Gravida.

Gravida is funding some of the projects associated with EpiGen, and has the potential in future to be heavily involved. The academic partners of EpiGen include: the Liggins Institute (University of Auckland), the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), the National University of Singapore, the University of Southampton. Already, EpiGen is collaborating with the Nestlé Research Center in Switzerland to undertake a research programme investigating optimal nutrition for mothers during pregnancy. The EpiGen consortium helps provide Gravida with an interface with business on a global scale. The consortium fits with Gravida’s philosophy of a direct conduit to business. It is proactive, and scientific research is undertaken alongside engagement with the businesses. There is also a strong link between science and government policy development.

Gravida membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; networks extend throughout New Zealand and around the world

International collaborations

Outreach to the heartland of health

Gravida engaged proactively in the health arena in 2012, and began to increase our collaboration with those delivering healthcare direct to mothers. Cementing collaborations with major stakeholders We identified stakeholders such as the College of Midwives, charitable trust Tipu Ora and Plunket, and entered into a Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with them. The MOUs are promises to work on specific proposals for research, beneficial to both parties. The MOUs are also set up to explore shared interests. Gravida will investigate common educational agenda in future, and seek opportunities to work together.

Gravida also formed collaborations with the charities Cure Kids and the Heart Foundation. These agreements are in place to provide funding for PhD students or postdoctoral fellowships. Similar opportunities have also been established with other Centres of Research Excellence Nga- Pae o te Ma-ramatanga and the Riddet Institute.

Mothers and babies – a mutual passion When Gravida approached Plunket to work on a proposal for partnership, including the pieces of work the two organisations could do together, Plunket was receptive. “We were looking at supporting our communities around evidence-based, proactive help in changing nutrition and encouraging mums to exercise,” says Helen Connors, General Manager Service Development at Plunket. “So together with organisations such as the College of Midwives, the Heart Foundation and Tipu Ora, we’ve created a proposal that looks at infant nutrition. We’ll hear about the funding of that proposal in early 2013.” Plunket provides health services to more than 90% of families with children under five years of age. “Even if that proposal doesn’t come off, we’re up for more opportunities,” says Ms Connors. “Gravida has been an incredibly easy organisation to work

$4.2m HRC programme extension grant A Health Research Council (HRC) programme extension grant of $4.2m over 3 years was awarded to Associate Professor Mark Hampton, Professor Christine Winterbourne (both Gravida researchers) and Professor Tony Kettle to look at oxidative stress in health and disease.

with. They’re collaborative and cooperative. Our MOU with them ensures we’re working together, alongside one another. There’s lots of interaction.” New Zealand’s College of Midwives was also interested and responsive to the Gravida approach. A MOU was also signed between the parties. Lesley Dixon, Midwifery Advisor (Research Development) of the College of Midwives says that the Gravida approach came at the same time as the organisation had been increasing its focus on research and “growing our own researchers”. Midwives as health professionals are dedicated to supporting the health of women and babies. As such they can provide insights and expertise which can help when setting research priorities and analysing results. There are an increasing number of midwives undertaking post graduate studies at masters and doctorate levels. “Increasingly, we’re doing research that provides further evidence for our practise,” she says. So the Gravida approach was timely. The College has since submitted a proposal for funding alongside Plunket and others. “It’s useful for us to be at the same table as Gravida,” says Ms Dixon. “There’s synergy between us. We are all working for better health for babies, women and their families. Integration and collaboration are worthwhile so that women can benefit.”

Collaboration with health services such as Plunket is a natural fit for Gravida

Developing capability Education, technology and talent

Gravida’s strategy is focused upon the development of improved capability in New Zealand science. This includes engaging with young people to help them understand the science of developmental origins and non-communicable diseases and to support them to make informed life-style choices; support of emerging talent through PhD scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships; and investing in technology and equipment which will extend the potential of our researchers. In 2012, Gravida increased the number of postdoctoral fellows supported. The organisation also jointly funded an increase in doctoral and postdoctoral students as researchers. In December, Gravida called for applications for 20 non-clinical PhD scholarships, as well as four scholarships co-funded by Riddet Institute, NgaPae o te Ma-ramatanga, and Cure Kids. A clinical postdoctoral scholarship was offered by Cure Kids for three years.

The increase in scholarships helps retain New Zealand’s brightest and best scientific talent. The roots of New Zealand’s economic future lie in science and our ability to hold onto these people.

The increase in scholarships helps retain New Zealand’s brightest and best scientific talent. The roots of New Zealand’s economic future lie in science and our ability to hold onto these people. As Professor Patrick Cunningham (member of Gravida’s Scientific Advisory Board and former Chief Scientific Adviser to the Irish Government) said: “Three quarters of a country’s wealth is in its intellectual capital. It is wealth from the competence of people. The more we know, the more productive and stable our economies are.”

Marsden Grant award Associate Professor Mark Vickers was awarded a Marsden Grant, for $885,000 over 3 years, for the research project ‘Nutritionally driven reproductive development: Is the male in the driving seat?’. This research is based on previous Gravida funded research.

Educating New Zealanders Gravida’s trump card Gravida is continuing to invest in programmes which help New Zealanders make informed choices about their health at an early age. Adolescence is a critical stage for setting life-long habits. So, by intervening in those habits and changing the behaviour of young people, attitudes to diet and lifestyle can be changed. The LENScience programme and Healthy Start to Life study, led by Jacquie Bay and funded by Gravida, is a superb example of such a programme – and it is now achieving an international following. Gravida also supports LENScience’s Bio-Medical Summer School. Now in its sixth year, the summer school provides scholarships and on-going support to Year 13 students from low decile schools. Students attend the Gravida-funded programme, which inspires confidence in science subjects. These young people are significantly impacted by what they learn. Many go on to a career in science, as a result.

her research into childhood myopia (short sightedness) in 2012. The LENScience programme, supported by Gravida, allowed Hannah to work with university researchers to create and investigate her own project. Hannah discovered that optometrists seldom take peripheral vision into account when prescribing glasses; yet glasses induce peripheral blurring which may exacerbate short sightedness. These findings were of a calibre that they were presented at an international optometry meeting in Germany. Alumna of LENScience’s Students as Researchers programme, Hannah Ng, receiving the Prime Minister’s Future Scientist Prize

An alumna of LENScience’s Students as Researchers programme, Hannah Ng, won the Prime Minister’s Future Scientist Prize of $50,000 for tertiary study for 29

Working in partnership with schools and LENScience, Gravida is able to engage in communication with adolescents

Educating New Zealanders continued

Beginning in the science classroom; ending at home What happens when you take a group of young people, and really support them to understand science – and through it, personal health? “You change their lives fundamentally and forever,” says Jacquie Bay, Director, Liggins Education Network for Science – LENScience. Jacquie is a science educator. The programmes that she leads within the LENScience team (co-funded by Gravida) are having a profound effect on multiethnic at-risk communities, both in New Zealand and internationally. Ultimately, it is expected that the team’s work will have an upstream effect on New Zealand’s health environment by reducing noncommunicable diseases (NCD) such as diabetes.

of science in a research centre. It is here that many Gravida scientists meet young people face-to-face in the “Meet a Scientist” session of each class. This 30-minute interaction in small groups with scientists has been shown to significantly change views and perceptions of science and scientists for young people from age 11 to 18.

Evidence shows sustained behaviour change 12 months after they have engaged with the programmes through their schools, and that in many cases these changes have impacted at a family level.

Many believe these programmes are a world first. Working in partnership with schools and LENScience, Gravida is able to engage in communication with adolescents about the science of developmental origins and the NCD epidemic, supporting these young people to make life-style decisions based on their understanding of science. “When we see young people using science knowledge and understanding in their personal and family decision-making, we know that they are developing scientific literacy skills that will equip them throughout their lives,” says Jacquie. “The context of the NCD epidemic is very real to many young people. They see diabetes and heart disease within their families. By supporting teachers in schools with partnership resources, we can make learning relevant and personal to young people. By exploring the stories of the science of developmental origins, they can see that health and wellbeing is determined by diet and lifestyle throughout the lifecourse – not just in adulthood.” The Gravida-funded research led by Jacquie shows that the young people understand and take action. Evidence shows sustained behaviour change 12 months after they have engaged with the programmes through their schools, and that in many cases these changes have impacted at a family level. Each year up to 8000 students are also brought into the University of Auckland’s Liggins Institute classroom-laboratory to participate in the Healthy Start to Life programme – an exciting experience

In a new development in 2012, the LENScience team was asked by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to explore the potential for adaptation of the Healthy Start to Life programmes for Pacific nations. In collaboration with Tamaki College and Onehunga High school from New Zealand and the Ministries of Education and Health in the Cook Islands and Tonga, the study showed that there is strong potential for adaptation. After much exploratory work and a number of trips to visit schools in these islands, the partners are now waiting to get the final funding confirmation to enable this plan. 31

Nurturing talent

Gravida funds both PhD and Masters students, and also offers them opportunities by funding research projects under experienced principle investigators.

Participants at Gravida’s annual science symposium that was held at Massey University in Palmerston North

Gravida’s annual science symposium Gravida’s annual science symposium is a melting pot of ideas and thought leadership in science – a chance for Gravida scientists to mix and mingle, and for younger researchers to listen and learn. It also provides a catalyst for the cross fertilisation of knowledge and development of further research across disciplines.

Talent at Gravida goes a long way Gravida alumna and postdoctoral research fellow, Dr Anna Ponnampalam, became Zonta’s Woman of the Year in New Zealand in 2012. She was awarded a grant to further her research at the Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland. Not letting too much water flow under the bridge, Dr Ponnampalam will be applying to Gravida in 2013 for funding for research on the early biomarkers for pre-eclampsia, an unexplained potentially fatal disease of pregnancy.

In 2012, this four day meeting attracted more than 80 participants. They heard reports delivered by dozens of investigators from across the country, and attended a number of networking events. Symposia like this help Gravida to continue to gain much-deserved global and New Zealand recognition. Recognition, reputation and quality research will in turn help attract investment, funding and collaborative research partners and, over time, will help change outcomes for health in New Zealand. Each year at our symposium, Gravida-funded or associated PhD students are encouraged to present their research to the members. This year’s student prize winners were: The Best Student Presentation Award went to Tessa Sanders (University of Otago, Dunedin); first runner-up went to Megan Leask (University of Otago, Dunedin) and second runner-up to Amy Paten (Massey University, Palmerston North).

Savvy young scientists Dr Charlotte Oyston, an obstetric trainee attached to the Liggins Institute (the University of Auckland) is looking into the medical management for pregnancies where fetal growth is restricted. At the moment, women with babies that are severely growth restricted in the womb have no treatment options available, and many are faced with early preterm delivery. Dr Oyston will be involved in animal and human studies (funded through Gravida) on a pharmaceutical which, it is hoped, may influence the growth of the fetus. She will also start similar growth studies using sheep later in the year. This work is part of an international endeavour (led by Gravida Director Professor Phil Baker) and involving UK, Ireland, Australia, Canada and The Netherlands. Dr Oyston is both a scientist and a clinician. “I think it is important that clinicians and scientists work together,” she says. “As a doctor, the science helps me to understand and direct treatment. Meeting women in a clinical setting reinforces the importance of the research we are doing – the two things go side by side and drive each other.” “With this project, the prospect of women having an option other than early delivery is pretty revolutionary. One of the first questions you are asked as a clinician when you tell a woman that the baby’s growth is restricted is – what can we do to make the baby grow? Now I am involved in undertaking science that may be put into action to answer this question. We may break new ground with these studies, and that is incredibly exciting.” Amy Paten, based at Massey University, is being funded by Gravida through her PhD research. Due to finish in July, she has already had significant work published as part of her thesis. Her study, under the supervision of Principal Investigator Professor Paul Kenyon, looked at the lactation performance of two cohorts of ewe progeny from dams that were fed differing levels of nutrition during pregnancy. In both cohorts; ewe progeny born to maintenance fed dams produced more milk as mothers themselves in their first lactation when compared with those born to dams which were fed ad lib. Ms Paten’s research, which identified the early pregnancy period as a critical programming window for mammary

development, was published in the international, highly ranked Journal of Animal Science (in an article titled Maternal nutrition during early and mid-to-late pregnancy: Comparative effects on milk production of twin-born ewe progeny during their first lactation). “We are now using transcriptomics and gene expression to investigate the molecular mechanisms involved” she says. “We are also interested in why milk production is increased only in the first lactation and does not appear to be a lasting effect.” Ms Paten says that this research may be of benefit to farmers in regards to optimising ewe nutrition during pregnancy in order to enhance future flock productivity. This research has the potential to contribute to recommendations made to New Zealand farmers about ewe feeding strategies during pregnancy.

Meeting women in a clinical setting reinforces the importance of the research we are doing – the two things go side by side and drive each other. Hester Roberts is working alongside Gravidafunded principal investigators as part of her PhD at the Department of Pathology, University of Otago. She is looking at the epigenetics of pre-eclampsia. “What this means is that how the genes have been turned on or off in a pre-eclamptic placenta may differ from how this happens in normal pregnancies.” Pre-eclampsia – formerly known as toxaemia – has its origins at the beginning of pregnancy. However, it doesn’t manifest and is difficult to diagnose until later pregnancy. The condition is very dangerous to both the mother and the baby and occurs in 5% of pregnancies. It is one of the most common disorders in pregnancy and has to be managed very carefully – with early birth frequently resulting. By studying how genes behave in women who develop pre-eclampsia, scientists are looking for ways of diagnosing the condition much earlier and for ways of preventing it. Ms Roberts says that the opportunities provided by this Gravida funded research have been vital to her personal development. “I might have left New Zealand if I hadn’t had this research opening,” she speculates. 33

Investing in technology

Gravida is a virtual organisation, with a collaborative outlook. It encourages the sharing of technology and know how. When Gravida decided to invest over $300,000 in a meta systems VSlide Scanner, they knew that it would be used by scientists around the country. It is based in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland’s School of Medicine, and is the only one in New Zealand. The scanner is at the cutting edge of new technology. It allows the analysis of tissue sections that can be as thin as 5 microns or thicker sections, (for example 50 microns).

The VSlide Scanner has revolutionised how microscope slides are studied by Gravida scientists and the wider scientific community. These can be labelled with fluorescent markers, isolating up to four different wavelengths. Through this technique, scientists can look at different molecules expressed in the tissue and see how many there are and where they localise. With this capability, scientists like Dr Pritika Narayan have been able to

look at molecules involved in brain diseases such as Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and understand the expression of molecules which are influencing the development of these diseases. The beauty of the VSlide Scanner is that it can automate a previously arduous task, looking at millions of cells very rapidly. The scanner looks at multiple tissue slides which are scanned using a robotic arm, analysing an area of cells the size of a 20 cent piece on each one. Previously, each slide had to be analysed by hand, and grid counted. Information was fed into a computer – but the VSlide Scanner now automates that information and, because it is stored electronically, information can be re-examined with a moment’s notice. The images that the VSlide scanner acquires can then be processed to extract information about the chemicals that make up the tissue sections as well as information about the shape and size of cells in the tissue sections. The VSlide Scanner has revolutionised how microscope slides are studied by Gravida scientists and the wider scientific community. “The scanner is revolutionising how microscope slides are studied and stored and is a major boost to research into growth and development and more generally in medical science,” says Professor Mike Dragunow, Director of the University of Auckland’s Human Neurodegenerative Diseases Group, and Project Leader for Gravida

Current major projects

Our major projects emerge from our research themes. The projects are lead by a Project Leader and may involve a research team including a number of Principal Investigators, Associate Investigators, Post-doctoral Fellows, students and support staff. A major project may span a 1-3 year horizon. Healthy Start to Life Adolescent Education Project This programme uses information gained from a number of ongoing programmes, including LENScience and the International Healthy Start to Life Project, to build strategies to support long-term behaviour change with at-risk communities with a view to reducing noncommunicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Project Leader: Ms Jacquie Bay

Mechanisms and Consequences of Developmental Plasticity This project investigates two themes: the molecular mechanisms of plasticity and its triggers, focusing on understanding the fundamental biology in insect models of plasticity; and the more conceptual issues of predicted adaptive responses, providing insect models to better understand the evolutionary and mechanistic aspects of this important idea so it can be better applied in clinical or agricultural settings. Project Leader: Associate Professor Peter Dearden

Long-Term Consequences of a Stressed Uterine Environment This project further investigates the underlying mechanisms driving changes in fetal and adult phenotypes to enable their manipulation for animal health/production benefits. Project Leader: Professor Hugh Blair

A High Content Screening Platform for Cells and Tissues This project involves the building on our existing high-content analysis technology and the Discovery-1 system to provide a platform for Gravida scientists to screen cells and tissues. Project Leader: Professor Mike Dragunow

Metabolic Outcome with High Protein Intakes in Extremely Low Birth Weight Babies This project looks into the effect of different protein intakes in early life in extremely low birth weight babies on metabolic outcomes that are risk factors for developing obesity and diabetes in later life. Project Leader: Professor Frank Bloomfield

Life as a Twin begins at Conception This project aims to determine whether the differences in signals between single and multiple births in the fetal development of sheep are of fetal or maternal origin and to identify the gene expression differences that underlay this altered development. Project Leader: Professor Frank Bloomfield

Developmental and Evolutionary Medicine, Conceptual and Empirical Perspective This project has two general goals, the first to advance our conceptual understanding of evolutionary medicine and its relationship to health and disease; the second to explore the role of epigenetic mechanisms in developmental plasticity within the context of evolutionary mechanisms. Project Leader: Professor Sir Peter Gluckman

Oxidative Stress and the Regulation of Embryonic Development This project focuses on the development of sensitive biomarkers to measure disturbances in mitochondrial redox homeostasis to investigate what nutritional and environmental factors, and alterations in these pathways during development, may influence developmental plasticity and subsequent metabolic and degenerative disease.

Knowledge Transfer to Improve NZ Health Outcomes This programme is an extension of the International Healthy Start to Life Project (funded 2009-2011) which aims to enhance knowledge transfer with a view to improving the health and well-being of New Zealanders throughout their lives through the use of modelling and other tools.

Project Leader: Associate Professor Mark Hampton

Project Leader: Associate Professor Susan Morton

The Effect of Exercise on Obese Mothers and their Offspring This project investigates whether the adoption of moderate exercise in overweight and obese mothers during pregnancy can alter gene expression in their offspring, leading to a decreased risk of the child going on to become obese themselves.

Epigenetics and Developmental Plasticity This project involves the modelling of developmental phenomena that direct phenotype plasticity and to broaden the understanding of mathematical modelling approaches within the Gravida membership.

Can moderate exercise in overweight and obese mothers during pregnancy alter gene expression in their offspring?

Project Leader: Mr Tony Pleasants

Project Leader: Associate Professor Paul Hofman

Eating Patterns in Ma-ori Preschool Children This is a collaborative project with Nga- Pae o te Ma-ramatanga (another NZ government-funded Centre of Research Excellence) to develop tools to assess eating pattern variability in young Ma-ori children and the factors influencing household eating patterns with a view to being able to develop public health advice and interventions to improve long-term health. Project Leader: Dr Anne Jaquiery

Placental and Developmental Epigenetics Placental methylation appears to be critical for the normal function of the placenta, thus it is highly plausible that the maternal environment can influence pregnancy outcomes. Here they use candidate genes and a genome-wide approach to document epigenetic differences between placenta and somatic tissues, and between normal and dysfunctional placentas. They are looking for epigenetic markers that can be used as indicators of placental dysfunction that can be translated into useful tools in the clinical environment. Project Leader: Professor Ian Morison

Nutritional Ecology of Obesity in New Zealand This project uses techniques from nutritional ecology to investigate human dietary protein consumption and its association with obesity and other metabolic syndromes in later life. Project Leader: Professor David Raubenheimer

Evolutionary Theory of Developmental Plasticity The aim of this project is to develop mathematical models of population epigenetics and predictive adaptive response, and to further investigate the ideas behind the evolutionary concepts of developmental plasticity and epigenetics. Project Leader: Professor Hamish Spencer

Interventions in Developmental Programming This project investigates maternal undernutrition and developmental plasticity with a view to establishing whether there are multiple avenues, or a final common pathway, to maternal programming of offspring obesity â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and to thus identify ways in which we can manipulate the pathways to disease and provide avenues for prevention, rather than treatment, of such diseases. Project Leader: Associate Professor Mark Vickers

Outputs Measuring our scientific impact

The quantity and quality of our published papers

140

In 2012 Gravida members published over 320 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and other significant publication outputs. Of those, 124 were directly or indirectly supported by Gravida and published in peer-reviewed journals.

120 100 80 60 40 20 0

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The number of actual articles published continues to increase year on year. The quality of journals in which the papers are published also continues to increase. Using the Australian Research Council journal rating tier system as a benchmark, in 2009 45 Gravida-supported papers were published in A* and A rated journals and in 2012 that number had increased to 82. Gravida continues to focus significant effort on the development of early-career scientists. The excellent calibre of Gravida-funded or -associated Masters and PhD students is reflected in the numbers of publications co-authored by these future scientists – in 2012 these are almost a quarter of all papers.

Tier A* (top 5% of journals) Tier A (next 15% of journals) Tier B (next 28% of journals) Tier C (remaining 52% of journals) Not ranked

Proportion of published papers in high quality journals A 54%

The quality of published papers continues to increase, with over 70% of papers appearing in journals ranked in the top 20% of academic journals: A* journals ranked as “best in field” (top 5% of journals) and A “of very high quality” (next top 15% of journals) as determined by the Australian Research Council journal rating.

B 16% A* 17%

C 13%

Co-authored papers with international collaborators

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2003 38

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2012

The quality and impact of Gravida research is based in no small part on the extent and quality of the Centre’s national and international collaborative networks. The number of papers published in conjunction with international collaborators continues to grow – in 2012, 54 papers were published with international co-authors, with more than 40% of the Gravida-supported papers published in peer-reviewed journals. This number is expected to grow further with the creation of the Gravida International College and the collaborative opportunities that will bring.

Books and book chapters Bay J, Sloboda D, Vickers M, Mora H. Multidimensional connections: the Liggins Education Network for Science. Developing partnerships to enhance science education. In: France B, Compton V, editors. Bringing communities together: connecting learners with scientists or technologists. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2012. Dragunow M. Chapter 586. Cell and tissue culture. Encyclopedia of Neurological Sciences: 2E. London: Elsevier, 2012. Gluckman P, Hanson M. Fat, fate, and disease: why exercise and diet are not enough. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Low F, Tng E, Gluckman P. Epigenetic mechanisms. In: Buonocore G, Bracci R, Weindling M, editors. Neonatology: a practical approach to neonatal disease. Milan: Springer-Verlag Italia, 2012: 26-30. Sloboda D, Bernal A, Howie G, Hampton M, Vickers M. Feast or famine: in the fast lane to puberty. In: Plagemann, A, editor. Perinatal Programming: the state of the art. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co., 2012: 59-68. Papers in academic journals Alsweiler JM, Harding JE, Bloomfield FH. Neonatal hyperglycaemia increases mortality and morbidity in preterm lambs. Neonatology. 2012; 103(2): 83-90. Alsweiler JM, Harding JE, Bloomfield FH. Tight glycemic control with insulin in hyperglycemic preterm babies: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics. 2012; 129(4): 639-47. Babu K, Zhang J, Moloney S, Pleasants T, McLean CA, Phua SH, et al. Epigenetic regulation of ABCG2 gene is associated with susceptibility to xenobiotic exposure. Journal of Proteomics. 2012; 75(12): 3410-8. Bach KP, Kuschel CA, Hooper SB, Bertram J, McKnight S, Peachey SE, et al. High bias gas flows increase lung injury in the ventilated preterm lamb. PLoS One. 2012; 7(10): e47044. Epub 2012 Oct 8. Bai S, Briggs D, Vickers M. Increased systolic blood pressure in rat offspring following a maternal low protein diet is normalized by maternal dietary choline supplementation. Journal of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. 2012 Oct; 3(5): 342-9. Epub 2012 Apr 25.

Barouki R, Gluckman PD, Grandjean P, Hanson M, Heindel JJ. Developmental origins of noncommunicable disease: implications for research and public health. Environmental Health. 2012; 11: 42. Bateson P, Gluckman P. Plasticity and robustness in development and evolution. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2012; 41: 219-23. Bateson P, Gluckman P. Something old, something new, something false but much thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s true [letter]. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2012; 41(1): 247-9. Bay JL, Mora HA, Sloboda DM, Morton SM, Vickers MH, Gluckman PD. Adolescent understanding of DOHaD concepts: a school-based intervention to support knowledge translation and behaviour change. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. 2012 Dec; 3(6): 469-82. Epub 2012 Jul 24. Begum G, Stevens A, Bolton Smith E, Connor K, Challis J, Bloomfield F, et al. Epigenetic changes in fetal hypothalamic energy regulating pathways are associated with maternal undernutrition and twinning. FASEB Journal 2012 Apr; 26(4): 1694-703. Epub 2012 Jan 5. Beltrand J, Derraik JGB, Hofman P, Cutfield WS, Soboleva TK, Shorten PR, et al. Post-term birth is associated with greater risk of obesity in adolescent males. Journal of Pediatrics. 2012; 160(5): 769-73. Beltrand J, Sloboda D, Connor K, Truong M, Vickers M. The effect of neonatal leptin antagonism in male rat offspring is dependent upon prior maternal nutritional status and post-weaning diet. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2012: 296935. Bloomfield FH, Harding JE, Hancock SN, Begum G, White A, Challis JRG, et al. Periconceptional origins of adult obesity. Obesity Research and Clinical Practice. 2012; 6(1): 5-6. Blumfield M, MacDonald-Wicks L, Collins C, Smith R, Hure A, Simpson S, et al. The association between the macronutrient content of maternal diet and the adequacy of micronutrients during pregnancy in the women and their childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health (WATCH) study. Nutrients. 2012; 4(12): 1958-76. Blumfield ML, Hure AJ, MacDonald-Wicks LK, Smith R, Simpson SJ, Giles WB, et al. Dietary balance during pregnancy is associated with fetal adiposity and fat distribution. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Epub 2012 Oct 3. 39

Outputs continued

Burke LM, Winter JA, Cameron-Smith D, Enslen M, Farnfield M, Decombaz J. Effect of intake of different dietary protein sources on plasma amino acid profiles at rest and after exercise. International Journal of Sport Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism. 2012; 22(6): 452-62.

de Bock M, Derraik JG, Brennan CM, Biggs JB, Smith GC, Cameron-Smith D, et al. Psyllium supplementation in adolescents improves fat distribution and lipid profile: a randomized, participant-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. PLoS ONE. 2012; 7(7): e41735.

Cave LM, Kenyon PR, Morris ST. Effect of timing of exposure to vasectomised rams and ewe lamb body condition score on the breeding performance of ewe lambs. Animal Production Science 2012; 52(7): 471-7 Epub 2012 April 10.

de Bock M, Derraik JGB, Cutfield WS. Polyphenols and glucose homeostasis in humans. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 2012; 112(6): 808-15.

Chatterjee A. Conference Scene. Epigenetic regulation: from mechanism to intervention. Epigenomics. 2012 Oct; 4(5): 487-90. Chatterjee A, Rodger E, Stockwell P, Weeks R, Morison I. Technical considerations for reduced representation bisulfite sequencing with multiplexed libraries. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. 2012; 741542 (8 pages). Chatterjee A, Stockwell PA, Rodger EJ, Morison IM. Comparison of alignment software for genome-wide bisulphite sequence data. Nucleic Acid Research. 2012 May 1; 40(10): e79. Epub 2012 Feb 16. Chen L, Liu K, Zhao Z, Blair H, Zhang P, Li D, et al. Identification of sheep ovary genes potentially associated with off-season reproduction. Journal of Genetics and Genomics [Yi Chuan Xue Bao]. 2012 Apr 20; 39(4): 181-90. Epub 2012 Mar 28. Chua JPS, Wallace EJS, Yardley JA, Summerfield TC, Duncan EJ, Dearden PK. Gene expression indicates a zone of heterocyst differentiation within the thallus of the cyanolichen Pseudocyphellaria crocata. New Phytologist. 2012; 196(3): 862-72. Connor K, Vickers M, Beltrand J, Meaney M, Sloboda D. Nature, nurture or nutrition? Impact of maternal nutrition on maternal care, offspring development and reproductive function. Journal of Physiology. 2012 May 1; 590(Pt 9): 2167-80. Epub 2012 Mar 12. De Barbieri I, Montossi F, Viñoles C, Kenyon PR. Impact of wool stubble depth after mid pregnancy shearing on Corriedale ewe and lamb performance. Small Ruminant Research. 2012 Oct; 107(2-3): 111-6.

de Bock M, Gunn A, Holt J-A, Derraik J, Reed P, Cutfield W, et al. Impact of insulin pumps on glycaemic control in a pump-naïve paediatric regional population. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. 2012; 48(3): 247-52. de Rooij SR, Veenendaal MVE, Roseboom TJ, Costello PM, Lillycrop KA, Gluckman PD, et al. Associations between DNA methylation of a glucocorticoid receptor promoter and acute stress responses in a large healthy adult population are largely explained by lifestyle and educational differences. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2012; 37(6): 782-8. Derraik J, Reed P, Jefferies C, Cutfield S, Hofman P, Cutfield W. Increasing incidence and age at diagnosis among children with type 1 diabetes mellitus over a 20-year period in Auckland (New Zealand). PLoS One. 2012; 7(2): e32640. Dilworth MR, Kusinski LC, Baker BC, Renshall L, Baker P, Greenwood S, et al. Crossing mice deficient in eNOS with placental-specific Igf2 knockout mice: a new model of fetal growth restriction. Placenta. 2012 Dec; 33(12): 1052-4. Dingemanse NJ, Dochtermann NA, Nakagawa S. Defining behavioural syndromes and the role of ‘syndrome deviation’ in understanding their evolution. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 2012; 66(11): 1543-8. Forrester TE, Badaloo AV, Boyne MS, Osmond C, Thompson D, Green C, et al. Prenatal factors contribute to the emergence of kwashiorkor or marasmus in severe undernutrition: evidence for the predictive adaptation model. PLoS ONE. 2012; 7(4): e35907. Epub 2012 Apr 30.

Gehlen LR, Gruenert G, Jones MB, Rodley CD, Langowski J, Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan JM. Chromosome positioning and the clustering of functionally related loci in yeast is driven by chromosomal interactions. Nucleus. 2012; 3(4): 370-83. Geoghegan J, Spencer HG. Population-epigenetic models of selection. Theoretical Population Biology. 2012; 80: 232-42. Gluckman P. Epigenetics and metabolism in 2011: epigenetics, the life-course and metabolic disease. Nature Reviews Endocrinology. 2012; 8(2): 74-6. Gluckman PD, Beedle AS. Match fitness: development, evolution, and behavior: comment on Frankenhuis and Del Giudice. Developmental Psychology. 2012; 48: 643-6. Guillet R, Edwards AD, Thoresen M, Ferriero DM, Gluckman PD, Whitelaw A, et al. Seven- to eightyear follow-up of the CoolCap trial of head cooling for neonatal encephalopathy. Pedriatic Research. 2012; 71(2): 205-9. Gusso S, Pinto TE, Baldi JC, Robinson E, Cutfield WS, Hofman PL. Diastolic function is reduced in adolescents with Type 1 diabetes in response to exercise. Diabetes Care. 2012 Oct;35(10):2089-94. Epub 2012 Jul 6. Hampton MB, Carr AC. Research on shaky ground. Redox Report. 2012; 17(6): 233. Hancock SN, Oliver MH, McLean C, Jaquiery AL, Bloomfield FH. Size at birth and adult fat mass in twin sheep are determined in early gestation. Journal of Physiology. 2012 Feb; 590(5): 1273-85. Epub 2011 Dec 19. Hanson MA, Gluckman PD, Ma RCW, Matzen P, Biesma RG. Early life opportunities for prevention of diabetes in low and middle income countries. BMC Public Health. 2012; 12: 1025. Epub 2012 Nov 23. Harvey N, Lillycrop K, Garratt E, Sheppard A, McLean C, Burdge G, et al. Evaluation of methylation status of the eNOS promoter at birth in relation to childhood bone mineral content. Calcified Tissue International. 2012; 90: 120-7.

Hector KL, Nakagawa S. Quantitative analysis of compensatory and catch-up growth in diverse taxa. Journal of Animal Ecology. 2012 May; 81(3): 583-93. Epub 2012 Jan 23. Hickson RE, Kenyon PR, Blair HT, Harding JE, Oliver MH, Jaquiery AL, et al. The effect of liveweight and liveweight gain of ewes immediately post-weaning on the liveweight and survival of subsequent lambs. Animal Production Science 2012; 52(7): 491-6 Epub 2012 Apr 10. Hickson RE, Laven RL, Lopez-Villalobos N, Kenyon PR, Morris ST. Postpartum anoestrous interval in first-lactation beef and dairy-beef crossbred cows. Animal Production Science 2012; 52(7): 478-82. Epub 2012 April 24. Howie GJ, Sloboda DM, Vickers MH. Maternal undernutrition during critical windows of development results in differential and sex-specific effects on postnatal adiposity and related metabolic profiles in adult rat offspring. British Journal of Nutrition. 2012 Jul; 108(2): 298-307. Epub 2011 Oct 11. Huang X, Hancock DP, Gosby AK, McMahon AC, Solon S, Le Couteur D, et al. Effects of dietary protein to carbohydrate balance on energy intake, fat storage and heat production in mice. Obesity. Epub 2012 Aug 7. Jafariahangari Y, Smith S, Sharma RK, Zerehdaran S, Blair H. The effect of pre-natal maternal environment on live weight, reproductive and semen characteristics in ram lambs. Small Ruminant Research. 2012; 103: 200-4. Jaquiery AL, Oliver MH, Honeyfield-Ross M, Harding JE, Bloomfield F. Periconceptional undernutrition in sheep affects adult phenotype only in males. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2012; Article ID 123610 (7 pages). Epub 2012 Oct 2. Jefferies C, Carter P, Reed PW, Cutfield W, Mouat F, Hofman PL, et al. The incidence, clinical features, and treatment of type 2 diabetes in children <15 yr in a population-based cohort from Auckland, New Zealand, 1995â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2007. Pediatric Diabetes. 2012; 13(4): 294-300.

Hector KL, Lagisz M, Nakagawa S. The effect of resveratrol on longevity across species: a meta-analysis. Biology Letters. 2012 Oct 23; 8(5): 790-3. Epub 2012 Jun 20.

Outputs continued

Jenkinson CMC, Earl AK, Kenyon PR, Blair HT. Effects of maternal nutrition during pregnancy on fetal growth and maternal constraint in sheep. Animal Production Science 2012; 52(7): 524-32. Epub 2012 Apr 10. Kearney MR, Simpson SJ, Raubenheimer D, Kooijman SALM. Balancing heat, water and nutrients under environmental change: a thermodynamic niche framework. Functional Ecology. Epub 2012 Nov 30. Keenan J, Salm N, Wallace A, Hampton M. Using food to reduce H. pylori-associated Inflammation. Phytotherapy Research. 2012 Nov; 26(11): 1620-5. Kelso GF, Maroz A, Cocheme HM, Logan A, Prime TA, Peskin AV, et al. A mitochondria-targeted macrocyclic Mn(II) superoxide dismutase mimetic. Chemistry & Biology. 2012 Oct 26; 19(10): 1237-46. Kenyon PR, Hickson RE, Hutton PG, Morris ST, Stafford KJ, West DM. Effect of twin-bearing ewe body condition score and late pregnancy nutrition on lamb performance. Animal Production Science 2012; 52(7): 483-90. Epub 2012 May 8. Köhler A, Raubenheimer D, Nicolson SW. Regulation of nutrient intake in nectar-feeding birds: insights from the geometric framework. Journal of Comparative Physiology. 2012 Jul; 182(5): 603-11. Epub 2012 Jan 6. Kusinski L, Stanley J, Ilworth M, Hirt C, Andersson I, Renshall L, et al. eNOS knockout mouse as a model of fetal growth restriction with an impaired uterine artery function and placental transport phenotype. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2012 Jul; 303(1): R86-R93. Langley-Evans SC, Alexander B, McArdle HJ, Sloboda DM. Developmental origins of health and disease [editoral]. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism. 2012: 838640 [2 pages]. Laskar A, Chatterjee A, Chatterjee S, Rodger EJ. Three-dimensional molecular modeling of a diverse range of SC clan serine proteases. Molecular Biology International. 2012; Article ID 580965 (9 pages). Laskar A, Rodger EJ, Chatterjee A, Mandal C. Modelling and structural analysis of PA clan serine proteases. BMC Research Notes. 2012 May 24; 5(1): 256.

Li G, Jiao S, Gao J, Liu K, Liu H, Zhang P, et al. A physical map of a BAC clone contig covering the entire autosome insertion between ovine MHC Class IIa and IIb. BMC Genomics. 2012; 13(1): 398. Logan PC, Steiner M, Ponnampalam AP, Mitchell MD. Cell cycle regulation of human endometrial stromal cells during decidualization. Reproductive Sciences. 2012; 19(8): 883-94. Loureiro MFP, Pain SJ, Kenyon PR, Peterson SW, Blair HT. Single female offspring born to primiparous ewe-lambs are lighter than those born to adult multiparous ewes but their reproduction and milk production are unaffected. Animal Production Science. 2012; 52(7): 552-6. Epub 2012 April 10. Low F, Beedle A, Buklijas T, Gluckman PD. Brain evolution and neurocognitive disease – linked by genomic instability? Evolution & Medicine Review. Epub 2012 Jun 12. Low F, Gluckman P, Hanson M. Developmental plasticity, epigenetics and human health. Evolutionary Biology. 2012 Dec; 39 (4): 650-65. Epub 2012 Jan 10. Low VF, Fiorini Z, Fisher L, Jasoni CL. Netrin-1 stimulates developing GnRH neurons to extend neurites to the median eminence in a calciumdependent manner. PLoS ONE. 2012; 7(10). Martín NP, Kenyon PR, Morel PCH, Pain SJ, Jenkinson CMC, Hutton PG, et al. Ewe nutrition in early and mid- to late pregnancy has few effects on fetal development. Animal Production Science. 2012; 52: 533-9. Epub 2012 April 24. Martinez-Cordero C, Kuzawa CW, Sloboda DM, Stewart J, Simpson SJ, Raubenheimer D. Testing the Protein Leverage Hypothesis in a free-living human population. Appetite. 2012 Oct; 59: 312-5. Epub 2012 May 23. Mathai S, Cutfield WS, Derraik JGB, Dalziel SR, Harding JE, Robinson E, et al. Insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function in adults born preterm and their children. Diabetes. 2012 Oct; 61(10): 2479-83. Epub 2012 May 17. Mathers JL, Farnfield MM, Garnham AP, Caldow MK, Cameron-Smith D, Peake JM. Early inflammatory and myogenic responses to resistance exercise in the elderly. Muscle & Nerve. 2012; 46(3): 407-12.

McKenna MJ, Perry BD, Serpiello FR, Caldow MK, Levinger P, Cameron-Smith D, et al. Unchanged [3H]ouabain binding site content but reduced Na+-K+ pump a2-protein abundance in skeletal muscle in older adults. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2012; 113(10): 1505-11.

Nguyen PTT, Lee R, Conley A, Sneyd J, Soboleva TK. Variation in 3Î˛-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity and in pregnenolone supply rate can paradoxically alter androstenedione synthesis. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 2012 Jan; 128(1-2): 12-20. Epub 2011 Oct 15.

McLean C, Gluckman P, Sheppard A. Phenotypic diversity and epigenomic variation: the utility of mass spectrometric analysis of DNA methylation. Journal of Proteomics. 2012; 75(12): 3400-9.

Oliver MH, Bloomfield FH, Jaquiery AL, Todd SE, Thorstensen EB, Harding JE. Periconceptional undernutrition supresses cortisol response to arginine vasopressin and corticotropin-releasing hormone challenge in adult sheep offpring. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. 2012; 3(1): 52-8.

Mitchell MD, Henare K, Balakrishnan B, Lowe E, Fong BY, McJarrow P. Transfer of gangliosides across the human placenta. Placenta. 2012; 33(4): 312-6. Mitchell MD, Rice GE, Ponnampalam AP. Epigenetic regulation of cytokine production in human amnion and villous placenta. Mediators of Inflammation. 2012; Article ID 159709 (5 pages). Mortimer RH, Landers KA, Li H, Patel J, Richard K, Mitchell MD, et al. Secretion and transfer of the thyroid hormone binding protein transthyretin by human placenta. Placenta. 2012; 33(4): 252-6. Morton SM, Atatoa Carr PE, Grant CC, Robinson EM, Bandara DK, Bird A, et al. Cohort profile: Growing Up in New Zealand. International Journal of Epidemiology. Epub 2012 Jan 13. Nagy P, Lechte TP, Das AB, Winterbourn CC. Conjugation of glutathione to oxidized tyrosine residues in peptides and proteins. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2012 Jul 27; 287(31): 2606876. Epub 2012 May 30. Nakagawa S, Lagisz M, Hector KL, Spencer HG. Comparative and meta-analytic insights into lifeextension via dietary restriction. Aging Cell. 2012; 11: 401-9. Epub 2012 Jan 23. Nakagawa S, Poulin R. Meta-analytic insights into evolutionary ecology: an introduction and synthesis. Evolutionary Ecology. 2012; 26(5): 1085-99. Nakagawa S, Schielzeth H. The mean strikes back: mean-variance relationships and heteroscedasticity. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 2012; 27(9): 474-5. Nguyen PTT, Conley AJ, Soboleva TK, Lee RSF. Multilevel regulation of steroid synthesis and metabolism in the bovine placenta. Molecular Reproduction and Development. 2012; 79(4): 239-54.

Oliver VF, Miles HL, Cutfield WS, Hofman PL, Ludgate JL, Morison IM. Defects in imprinting and genome-wide DNA methylation are not common in the in vitro fertilization population. Fertility and Sterility. 2012 Jan 97(1): 147-53.e7. Epub 2011 Nov 23. Pain SJ, van der Linden DS, Kenyon PR, Blair HT. Does dam pre-breeding nutrition and/or birth rank affect the glucose and fat metabolism of 18-monthold female offspring? Animal Production Science. 2012; 52(7): 546-51. Epub 2012 May 29. Parker H, Albrett A, Kettle A, Winterbourn C. Myeloperoxidase associated with neutrophil extracellular traps is active and mediates bacterial killing in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2012 Mar; 91(3): 369-76. Epub 2011 Nov 30. Parker H, Dragunow M, Hampton M, Kettle A, Winterbourn C. Requirements for NADPH oxidase and myeloperoxidase in neutrophil extracellular trap formation differ depending on stimulus. Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2012 Oct; 92(4): 841-9. Parker H, Winterbourn C. Reactive oxidants and myeloperoxidase and their involvement in neutrophil extracellular traps. Frontiers in Immunology. 2012; 3: 424. Paten AM, Kenyon PR, Lopez-Villalobos N, Peterson SW, Jenkinson CM, Pain SJ, et al. Maternal nutrition during early and mid-to-late pregnancy: comparative effects on milk production of twinborn ewe progeny during their first lactation. Journal of Animal Science. Epub 2012 Dec 10.

Outputs continued

Ponton F, Simpson SJ, Holmes AJ, Wilson K, Cotter SC, Raubenheimer D. Integrating nutrition and immunology: a new frontier. Journal of Insect Physiology. Epub 2012 Nov 15. Ranasinghe HS, Scheepens A, Sirimanne E, Mitchell MD, Williams CE, Fraser M. Inhibition of MMP-9 Activity following hypoxic Ischemia in the developing brain using a highly specific inhibitor. Developmental Neuroscience. Epub 2012 Nov 20. Raubenheimer D, Simpson SJ, Tailt A. Match and mismatch: conservation physiology, nutritional ecology and the timescales of biological adaptation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 2012; 367(1596): 1628-46. Robson A, Harris LK, Innes BA, Lash GE, Aljunaidy MM, Aplin JD, et al. Uterine natural killer cells initiate spiral artery remodeling in human pregnancy. FASEB Journal. 2012 Dec; 26(12): 4876-85. Rodley CD, Grand RS, Gehlen LR, Greyling G, Jones MB, Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Sullivan JM. Mitochondrial-nuclear DNA interactions contribute to the regulation of nuclear transcript levels as part of the interorganelle communication system. PLoS ONE. 2012; 7(1): e30943. Rosa BV, Blair HT, Vickers MH, Morel PC, Cockrem JF, Firth EC. Voluntary exercise in pregnant rats improves post-lactation maternal bone parameters but does not affect offspring outcomes in early life. Journal of Musculoskeletal and Neuronal Interactions. 2012 Dec; 12(4): 199-208.

Schroeder J, Burke T, Mannarelli ME, Dawson DA, Nakagawa S. Maternal effects and heritability of annual productivity. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 2012; 25(1): 149-56. Serpiello FR, McKenna MJ, Bishop DJ, Aughey RJ, Caldow MK, Cameron-Smith D, et al. Repeated sprints alter signalling related to mitochondrial biogenesis in humans. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2012; 44(5): 827-34. Sharma RK, Blair HT, Jenkinson CMC, Kenyon PR, Cockrem JF, Parkinson TJ. Uterine environment as a regulator of birth weight and body dimensions of newborn lambs. Journal of Animal Science. 2012 Apr; 90(4): 1338-48. Simpson SJ, Raubenheimer D. The nature of nutrition: a unifying framework. Australian Journal of Zoology. 2011; 59: 350-68. Epub 2012 May 9. Stacey M, Vissers M, Winterbourn C. Oxidation of 2-cys peroxiredoxins in human endothelial cells by hydrogen peroxide, hypochlorous acid, and chloramines. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling. 2012 Aug 1; 17(3): 411-21. Epub 2012 Mar 2.

Santos ES, Nakagawa S. The costs of parental care: a meta-analysis of the trade-off between parental effort and survival in birds. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 2012; 25(9): 1911-7.

Stacey MM, Cuddihy SL, Hampton MB, Winterbourn CC. Protein thiol oxidation and formation of S-glutathionylated cyclophilin A in cells exposed to chloramines and hypochlorous acid. Archives of Biochemistry & Biophysics. 2012 Nov 1; 527(1): 45-54.

Santure AW, Spencer HG. Genomic imprinting leads to less selectively maintained polymorphism on X chromosomes. Genetics. 2012 Dec 1; 192(4): 1455-64. Epub 2012 Sep 28.

Thompson DS, Tennant IA, Barnett AT, Kips J, Boyne MS, Chung EE, et al. Vascular and cardiac structure and function in adult survivors of severe acute malnutrition. Artery Research. 2012 Dec; 6(4): 144.

Savage T, Peek JC, Robinson EM, Green MP, Miles HL, Mouat F, et al. Ovarian stimulation leads to shorter stature in childhood. Human Reproduction. 2012 Oct; 27(10): 3092-9. Epub 2012 Jul 9.

Thorstensen EB, Derraik JG, Oliver MH, Jaquiery AL, Bloomfield FH, Harding JE. Effects of periconceptional undernutrition on maternal taurine concentrations in sheep. British Journal of Nutrition. 2012; 107(4): 466-72.

Schielzeth H, Nakagawa S. Nested by design: model fitting and interpretation in a mixed model era. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. Epub 2012 Oct 15.

Schreurs NM, Kenyon PR, Morel PCH, Morris ST. Meta-analysis to establish the response of having heavier mature ewes during gestation on the birthweight of the lamb and the weaning weight of the ewe and lamb. Animal Production Science. 2012; 52(7): 540-5. Epub 2012 April 24.

Verbeek E, Waas JR, McLeay LM, Matthews LR, Oliver MH, Blache D. Reduced cortisol and metabolic responses of thin ewes to an acute cold challenge in mid-pregnancy: implications for animal physiology and welfare. PLoS One. 2012; 7(5): e37315. Verbeek E, Waas JR, Oliver MH, McLeay LM, Ferguson DM, Matthews LR. Motivation to obtain a food reward of pregnant ewes in negative energy balance: behavioural, metabolic and endocrine considerations. Hormones and Behavior. 2012; 62(2): 162-72. Vickers MH, Sloboda DM. Strategies for reversing the effects of metabolic disorders induced as a consequence of developmental programming. Frontiers in Physiology. 2012; 3: 242. Epub 2012 Jul 2. Vickers MH, Sloboda DM. Leptin as a mediator of the effects of developmental programming. Best Practice and Research Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2012 Oct; 26(5): 677-87. Wali JA, de Boo HA, Derraik JG, Phua HH, Oliver MH, Bloomfield FH, et al. Weekly intra-amniotic IGF-1 treatment increases growth of growth-restricted ovine fetuses and up-regulates placental amino acid transporters. PLoS ONE. 2012; 7(5): e37899. Walker CG, Littlejohn MD, Mitchell MD, Roche JR, Meier S. Endometrial gene expression during early pregnancy differs between fertile and subfertile dairy cow strains. Physiological Genomics. 2012; 44(1): 47-58. Wilson MJ, Dearden PK. Pair-rule gene orthologues have unexpected maternal roles in the honeybee (Apis mellifera). PLoS ONE. 2012 Sep 28; 7(9): e46490. Zondag L, Dearden P, Wilson M. Deep sequencing and expression of microRNAs from early honeybee (Apis mellifera) embryos reveals a role in regulating early embryonic patterning. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 2012 Nov 2; 12: 211. Epub 2012 Nov 2. Papers in academic journals available ahead of print in 2012 Bonham MP, Nguo K, Linderborg KM, Luotonen MK, Kallio HPT, Dordevic A, et al. Lipidomic profiling of chylomicron triacylglycerols in response to high fat meals. Lipids. 2013; 48(1): 39-50. Epub 2012 Nov 3.

Caldow MK, Cameron-Smith D, Levinger P, McKenna MJ, Levinger I. Inflammatory markers in skeletal muscle of older adults. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2013; 113(2): 509-17. Epub 2012 Jul 18. De Wit CC, Cutfield WS, Sas TCJ, Wit JM. Patterns of catch-up growth. Journal of Pediatrics. 2013 Feb;162(2):415-20. Epub 2012 Nov 13. Geoghegan JL, Spencer HG. Exploring epiallele stability in a population-epigenetic model. Theoretical Population Biology. 2013; 83: 136-44. Epub 2012 Oct 5. Katayama K, Sato T, Arai T, Tazaki H, Amao H, Ohta Y, et al. Non-targeted analyses of animal plasma: betaine and choline represent the nutritional and metabolic status. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition. 2013; 97(1): 119-25. Epub 2011 Nov 5. Markworth JF, Cameron-Smith D. Arachidonic acid supplementation enhances in vitro skeletal muscle cell growth via a COX-2-dependent pathway. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2013; 304(1): C56-C67. Epub 2012 Oct 17. Mathai S, Booth LC, Davidson JO, Drury PP, Fraser M, Jensen EC, et al. Acute on chronic exposure to endotoxin in preterm fetal sheep. Integrative and Translational Physiology: Inflammation and Immunity in Organ System Physiology. 2013 Feb; 304(3): R189-97. Epub 2012 Dec 12. Nakagawa S, Schielzeth H. A general and simple method for obtaining R2 from generalized linear mixed-effects models. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 2013 Feb; 4(2): 133-142. Epub 2012 Dec 3. Pacheco GA, Hedges MR, Schilling C, Morton S. Pre- and post-natal drivers of childhood intelligence: evidence from Singapore. Journal of Biosocial Science. 2013 Jan; 45(1): 41-56. Epub 2012 Apr 19. Raubenheimer D, Rothman JM. The nutritional ecology of entomophagy in humans and other primates. Annual Review of Entomology. 2013 Jan 7; 58: 141-60. Epub 2012 Oct 1. Schug TT, Barouki R, Gluckman PD, Grandjean P, Hanson M, Heindel JJ. PPTOX III: environmental stressors in the developmental origins of disease: evidence and mechanisms. Toxicological Sciences. 2013 Feb; 131(2): 343-50. Epub 2012 Sep 5.

Financial statements

Income statement for the year ended 31 December 2012 Operating Income Notes Tertiary Education Commission grant 3a, 3b Decrease in unallocated funds at end of year 1b, 3c

2012 $ 6,342,408 507,270

2011 $ 6,894,769 13,165

Total Operating Income (Total grant income applied during year)

6,849,678

6,907,934

Research Projects 1d, 8 Salary and salary related costs Overheads 1d, 8 Consumables 1d, 8 Postgraduate Scholarships (stipends and fees) Equipment hire Short Term projects (Pilot projects) Other / Science Advisory Board

1,704,238 1,793,586 1,214,341 275,272 485,384 286,604 0

1,358,495 1,426,516 932,000 544,396 444,990 218,472 19,722

Total Research Projects

5,759,425

4,944,591

0 0 58,315

450,742 57,540 45,188

70,000 0

70,000 185,369

Total Capability and Translation

128,315

808,839

Other Expenditure 1d, 8 Ma-ori initiatives Directorate and administration 4 Community liaison / profile development 1d, 8 International relationship development Centre development Travel

0 746,779 0 32,504 104,421 78,235

43,358 802,226 102,551 23,517 104,663 78,190

Total Other Expenditure

961,938

1,154,505

Total Operating Expenditure

6,849,678

6,907,934

Total Operating Income less Expenditure

Expenditure

Capability and Translation LENScience 1d, 8 Capability and Translation fund 1d, 8 Training and Development (Emerging scientists development) fund Ngapouri research farm Epigenetics technology platform 1d, 8

Balance sheet at 31 December 2012 Assets Notes Current Assets Current account balances with NZ Universities 5 Accounts receivable and accruals

2012 $

2011 $

1,845,765 0

3,177,162 0

Total Current Assets

1,845,765

3,177,162

Total Assets

1,845,765

3,177,162

Current Liabilities Accounts payable and accruals 3c Research funds unallocated at end of year Capital fund 6

92,838 1,445,607 307,320

24,676 1,952,877 1,199,609

Total Current Liabilities

1,845,765

3,177,162

Total Equity and Liabilities

1,845,765

3,177,162

Equity and Liabilities

Equity

The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements. Signed on behalf of the Board

Alison Paterson Chair, Board of Governance

Philip Baker Director

Financial statements continued

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2012 1 Statement of Accounting Policies a. Basis of Preparation These financial statements are Special Purpose Financial Statements comprising: an income statement, a balance sheet and notes to the financial statements. The financial statements are presented in New Zealand currency, rounded to the nearest dollar, and they have been prepared on a historical cost basis. The following accounting policies have been applied in preparing these financial statements: b. R evenue Research contract revenue by way of grant from the Tertiary Education Commission is reduced by funds received but not allocated to research at balance date and increased by allocations of funds received in prior periods that were unallocated at the previous balance date (see note 3c). axation c. T Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development income is exempt from income tax. All amounts are shown exclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST). The University of Auckland as host institution accounts for GST outside Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development financial statements. d. Changes in Accounting Policy Uniform accounting policies have been applied on a basis consistent with those of the previous year, except that some categories of Expenditure have been regrouped and reported under different line descriptions than in previous years (see note 8). 2 Audit These unaudited financial statements have been extracted from Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development transactions incorporated in the audited financial statements of The University of Auckland. 3 Tertiary Education Commission Operational Grants a. Funding Levels Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development is primarily funded by the Tertiary Education Commission. Operational grant funding has been approved to 30 June 2014. b. Current Year Grant Grant for year

2012 $ 6,342,408

2011 $ 6,894,769

c. Unallocated Funds Research funds unallocated at beginning of year 1,952,877 Increase (decrease) in unallocated research funds at end of year (507,270)

1,966,042 (13,165)

Research Funds Unallocated at End of Year

1,445,607

1,952,877

30,000

35,469

4 Operating Expenditure Remuneration paid to Directors

5 Current Account Balances Current account balances are held for Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development by:

The University of Auckland â&#x20AC;&#x201C; research funds The University of Auckland â&#x20AC;&#x201C; capital grant

1,538,445 307,320

1,977,553 1,199,609

1,845,765

3,177,162

6 Capital Fund Capital fund grants from the Tertiary Education Commission are for acquisition of capital equipment mainly for Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development work. Equipment purchased is vested in the research partners holding the equipment. Capital Fund at beginning of year Assets purchased and vested in: The University of Auckland Massey University University of Otago

2012 $ 1,199,608

2011 $ 1,892,210

(805,000) (83,789) (3,500)

(200,266) (45,571) (446,765)

Capital Fund at end of year

307,320

1,199,608

7 Equity Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development has no equity. Accordingly there were no equity movements during the year. 8 Changes in Presentation of Expenses For 2012 the Directors adopted changes in the presentation of several categories of expenditure in the financial statements to make them more consistent, understandable and relevant.Â The expenditures on LENScience, Capability and translation, and Epigenetics were previously reported as separate line items, but are now reported within Salary and related costs, Overheads and Consumables consistent with all other research projects. The expenditures reported as Ma-ori initiatives were previously limited to only those Ma-ori initiatives that were external to regular research projects, capability and translation. Under the new policy all Ma-ori initiative expenditures are reported within Salary and related costs, Overheads and Consumables consistent with all other research projects and consistent with (an estimated $543,475 of) other expenditure in 2012 on research involving Ma-ori researchers or affecting Ma-ori. Total Operating Expenditure is unaffected by the changes in presentation. Below is a comparison of affected expenditure showing the impact of the changes: 2011

2012

Reported Reported

Based on previous accounting policy

Salary and related costs Overheads Consumables LENScience Capability and Translation Epigenetics technology platform Ma-ori initiatives Community liaison / profile development

2012 $ 1,704,238 1,793,586 1,214,341 0 0 0 0 0

$ 1,358,495 1,426,516 932,000 450,742 57,540 185,369 43,358 102,551

$ 1,460,669 1,534,482 1,099,823 445,974 59,465 210,198 42,683 32,171

Members and associates

Board The role of the Gravida Board is to ensure the direction and performance of Gravida in the context of the Centre’s Annual Plans, which are developed in consultation with the Tertiary Education Commission.

Mrs Alison Paterson

Distinguished Professor Jane Harding

CNZM QSO Chair of the Board Independent Director and also a director of BPAC NZ Ltd, FarmIQ Systems Ltd and Stevenson Agriculture Limited

ONZM Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), The University of Auckland, Auckland

Dr Dwayne Crombie

Mr Jim Peters

MBChB, DComH, MBA, FNZAFPHM Independent Director and also the Chief Executive Officer, Bupa Care Services, Auckland

MNZM Pro Vice-Chancellor (Ma-ori), The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Wayne Cutfield

Dr Tom Richardson

BHB, MB ChB, DCH, MD, FRACP Director, Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Chief Executive, AgResearch Ltd, New Zealand

Dr Peter Fennessy

Ms Trudie McNaughton

Independent Director and also the Managing Director, AbacusBio Ltd, Dunedin

QSM Pro Vice-Chancellor (Equity), The University of Auckland, Auckland

Scientific Advisory Board The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) is constituted by the Board to provide independent advice on the relevance and impact of the Centre’s research. The SAB works closely with Gravida’s Board and Executive Team to ensure that the research activities of the Centre remain focused on its core scientific objectives.

Professor Euan Wallace

Professor Matthew Gillman

Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. Professor Wallace is an obstetrician and Director of the Ritchie Centre, Monash University, Australia.

Director of the Obesity Prevention Program in the Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, USA.

Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta

Professor Mark Hanson

Chair of Woman and Child Health at the Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, and works closely with the World Health Organization and United National Secretariat.

Director of the Institute of Developmental Sciences at the University of Southampton, UK and current President of the International Society for the Developmental Origins of Health.

Professor John Challis

Professor Rebecca Simmons

Professor John Challis is a Professor of Physiology and was Vice President of Research at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania, USA.

Professor Patrick Cunningham Professor of Animal Genetics at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, has worked for the World Bank and United Nations, and was until recently Chief Scientific Advisor to the Irish Government.

Executive team Professor Phil Baker

Associate Professor Peter Dearden

Director â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gravida Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

University of Otago, Dunedin

Professor Hugh Blair

Dr Judith Hammond

Massey University, Palmerston North

Strategic Operating Officer, Auckland

Professor Frank Bloomfield

Professor Warren McNabb (ex officio)

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Research Director, AgResearch Ltd, Palmerston North

The Executive Team manages the operational and strategic aspects of Gravida, encompassing science leadership and administrative functions. The Executive Team is comprised of several of the key senior investigators within Gravida, a representative from AgResearch, and the Centreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Strategic Operating Officer.

Professor Caroline Crowther Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Staff Dr Judith Hammond

Trisha Hiestand

Strategic Operating Officer

Financial Administrator

Jane Duffy

Dina Sharp

Communications and Research Co-ordinator

PA to the Director, and Executive Administrator

Members Principal investigators Professor Phil Baker

Professor David Cameron-Smith

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Ms Jacquie Bay

Associate Professor Larry Chamley

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

School of Medicine, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Hugh Blair

Professor Caroline Crowther

IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Frank Bloomfield

Professor Wayne Cutfield

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Bernhard Breier

Associate Professor Peter Dearden

Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health, Massey University, Albany, Auckland

Laboratory for Evolution and Development, University of Otago, Dunedin

Professor Vicky Cameron

Professor Mike Dragunow

Christchurch Heart Institute, University of Otago, Christchurch

Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Members and associates continued

Professor Elwyn Firth Faculty of Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Neil Gemmell Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin

Distinguished Professor Sir Peter Gluckman

Dr Jane Alsweiler Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Dr Greg Anderson

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Otago Centre for Neuroendocrinology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Professor Dave Grattan

Dr Polly Atatoa-Carr

Otago Centre for Neuroendocrinology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Professor Alistair Gunn Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland

School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Dr Matt Barnett Food Nutrition & Health Team, AgResearch, Auckland

Dr Caroline Beck

Associate Professor Mark Hampton

Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Centre for Free Radical Research, University of Otago, Christchurch

Dr Alys Clark

Professor Allan Herbison

Auckland Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Centre for Neuroendocrinology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Associate Professor Paul Hofman Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Paul Kenyon

Dr Stefan Clerens Proteins & Biomaterials Team, AgResearch, Lincoln, Christchurch

Dr Chirstine Couldrey

IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

AgResearch, Hamilton

Professor Lesley McCowan

Dr Elizabeth Duncan

Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin

Dr Chris McMahon

Dr Mhoyra Fraser

Growth and Lactation Team, Agresearch Ltd, Hamilton

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Ian Morison

Associate Professor Cameron Grant

Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin

School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Associate Professor Susan Morton

Dr Katie Groom

School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland

The University of Auckland, Auckland

Mr Tony Pleasants

Dr Jian Guan

Ruakura Research Centre, AgResearch, Hamilton

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor David Raubenheimer

Professor Harlene Hayne

Institute of Natural Sciences, Massey University, Albany, Auckland

Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin

Dr Nicole Roy

Dr Mary Hedges

Grasslands Research Centre, AgResearch, Palmerston North

School of Population Health, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Elaine Rush

Dr Annette Henderson

Auckland University of Technology, Auckland

School of Psychology, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Ian Shaw

Dr Julia Horsfield

Department of Chemistry, University of Canterbury, Christchurch

Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin

Professor Hamish Spencer

Dr Anne Jaquiery

Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Peter Stone

Dr Christine Jasoni

Faculty of Medical and Health Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Dept of Anatomy and Structural Biology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Associate Professor Mark Vickers

Dr David Long

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Graeme Wake

Associate investigators

Auckland Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Centre for Mathematics in Industry, Massey University, Albany, Auckland

Dr Erin Macaulay

Professor Christine Winterbourn

Dr Mark McCann

Centre for Free Radical Research, University of Otago, Christchurch

Grasslands Research Centre, AgResearch Ltd, Palmerston North

Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Dr Sue McCoard Grasslands Research Centre, AgResearch Ltd, Palmerston North

Professor Steve Morris IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Dr Shinichi Nakagawa Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Dr Justin O’Sullivan

Postdoctoral fellows Dr Elise Donovan Liggins Institute, the University of Auckland, Auckland

Dr Clint Gray Liggins Institute, the University of Auckland, Auckland

Dr Pritika Narayan

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Faculty of Medical and Health Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Dr Mark Oliver

Dr Karina O’Connor

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Centre for Free Radical Research, University of Otago, Christchurch

Dr Don Otter

Dr Amy Osbourne

Ruakura Research Centre, AgResearch, Hamilton

Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin

Dr Sarah Pain IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Professor Tim Parkinson IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Dr Sam Peterson IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Dr Anna Ponnampalan Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Associate Professor Julia Rucklidge Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch

Dr Allan Sheppard

Dr Clare Reynolds Liggins Institute, the University of Auckland, Auckland

Dr Jaimee Stuart Faculty of Medical and Health Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland, Auckland

PhD students (funded or associated) Dr Ahila Ayyavoo Liggins Institute, the University of Auckland, Auckland

Amita Bansal Liggins Institute, the University of Auckland, Auckland

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Simone Bayer

Dr Paul Shorten

Centre for Free Radical Research, University of Otago, Christchurch

Ruakura Research Centre, AgResearch, Hamilton

Aniruddha Chatterjee

Dr Kuljeet Singh

Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Ruakura Research Centre, AgResearch, Hamilton

Natasha Coppitiers ‘t Wallant

Dr Tania Slatter Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin

Faculty of Medical and Health Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Kevin Stafford

Jemma Geoghegan

IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Associate Professor Merryn Tawhai Auckland Bioengineering Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Professor Barry Taylor Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, University of Otago, Dunedin

Dr Danni van der Linden Grasslands Research Centre, AgResearch, Palmerston North

Dr Silas Villas-Boas School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Associate Professor Karen Waldie

Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Asmad Kari IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Megan Leask Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin

Minglan Li Liggins Institute, the University of Auckland, Auckland

Maria Loureiro IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Deidre MacVeigh Faculty of Medical and Health Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland

School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Dr Helena Helena Magrath-Cohen (nee Koltai)

Dr Trecia Wouldes

Claudia Martinez-Cordero

Faculty of Medical and Health Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Rosannah McCartney

Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin Liggins Institute, the University of Auckland, Auckland Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin 53

Members and associates continued

Caroline Moore

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Sarah Morgan

Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin

Sheryl Munro

Masters students Emma Buckel Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Mike Hitchcock Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Meaghan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neill

Ajay Nair

Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin

Phuong Nguyen

Leiyan Wang Massey University, Albany, Auckland

Ruakura Research Centre, AgResearch, Hamilton

Dr Charlotte Oyston

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Amy Paten

IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Rebecca Poynton

Coila Bevan Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Faculty of Medical and Health Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Barbara Cormack

Hester Roberts

Dr Otto Hyink

Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Abigail Romeril

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin

Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin

Dr Losia Lagisz

Brielle Rosa

Professor Winsome Parnell

IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Francisco Sales

Grasslands Research Centre, AgResearch, Palmerston North

Tessa Sanders

Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Dr Tim Savage

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Quentin Sciascia

Grasslands Research Centre, AgResearch, Palmerston North

Dr Sumudu Seneviratne Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Amy Smith

Faculty of Medical and Health Science, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Ana-Mishel Spiroski

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Chew-Ling Tan

Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin

Dr Anna Tottman

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

ZoĂŤ Vincent

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Dr Alex Wallace

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Aida Zarfeshani

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Jinbi Zhang

Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Aligned researchers, technicians and affiliated staff

Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin University of Otago, Dunedin

Rachna Patel Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Kalyani Perera IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North

Sujata Prakash LENScience, Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Mikhal Stone Faculty of Education, The University of Auckland and Liggins Institute, Auckland

Christine Tait LENScience, Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Auckland

Dr Te Kani Kingi Massey University, Wellington

Contact details Postal address c/- The University of Auckland Private Bag 92019 Auckland 1142 New Zealand Physical address The University of Auckland 85 Park Road Grafton Auckland 1023 New Zealand T: +64 9 923 1625 F: +64 9 373 7039 info@gravida.org.nz www.gravida.org.nz 55

Our partners

A Centre of Research Excellence hosted by The University of Auckland 56

ISSN: 1179-6359 (print) ISSN: 1179-6367 (online)