Menzies Institute for Medical Research 2020 Highlights
TABLE OF CONTENTS
4
5
Grants and Fellowships
Staff and Student Prof ile
6
7
8
Financial Report
Research Themes and Impact
Multiple Sclerosis Research Flagship
9
11
Excellence Awards
Major Grants and Competitive Funding
14
15
Philanthropy
Board Members
Community Engagement Media Mentions
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Menzies exists to perform internationally significant medical research leading to healthier, longer and better lives for Tasmanians.
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GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
348
Number of Grants
Grant Value
31
$5,394,914
Major Grants - 12
Major Grants - $5,014,577
Minor Grants - 19
Minor Grants - $380,337
THE NUMBER OF PEER REVIEWED RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS A1 Refereed articles in scholarly journals from Menzies in 2020 – highest number to date.
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STAFF AND STUDENT PROFILE
82 81
59
Higher Degree Research Students Masters
PHD
Honours Students
9
Undergraduate Project Students 10
Academic Staff
6
Professional Staff
We had 30 PhD completions in 2020 which was our highest ever
Casual staff On average, each week we had casual staff working the equivalent of 7.62FTE through 2020.
Staff by gender Professional Staff – 58
Academic Staff – 82
20% 35%
Male staff Female staff
80%
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65%
FINANCIAL REPORT
1 January to 31 December 2020
2019 Actual
2020 Actual
Commonwealth Government Research Support
$4,835,322
$4,988,202
Teaching Income
$611,288
$399,204
Commonwealth Government Research Grants
$4,775,131
$9,389,538
Tasmanian Government grants
$1,537,763
$1,559,032
Other Contracts And Agreements
$4,520,703
$5,768,211
Donations
$1,862,898
$1,887,342
Bequests
$2,827,679
$2,368,491
Investment Income
$3,420,353
-$386,120
Sales
$381,597
$313,638
Other Income
$384,859
$438,002
UTAS Contributions
$160,743
$198,098
$25,318,337
$26,923,638
Salaries and On-Costs
$13,683,395
$15,009,381
Depreciation, Equipment and Infrastructure
$1,037,193
$794,833
Medical and Laboratory Materials
$2,192,799
$1,593,629
Travel and Training Related Costs
$601,890
$116,973
Scholarships
$1,221,727
$941,545
Research Sub-Contractors and Consultants
$1,024,920
$1,945,447
Other Expenses
$802,928
$872,395
$20,564,853
$21,274,203
$4,753,485
$5,649,435
Income
Expenses
Surplus/(Deficit) before University Central Overheads
As at 31 December 2020 Menzies held Trust Funds valued at $27,687,345. The capital amount of this trust was valued at $20,576,904. Investment returns provide a source of research income for Menzies. The non-capital component of these trust funds is available for use in accordance with the benefactors’ instructions. The University’s Advancement Office manages a number of trusts on behalf of Menzies. As at 31 December 2020 the value of these trusts was $994,278. Distributions are made by agreement between the University’s Advancement Office and Menzies in accordance with the benefactors’ instructions.
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RESEARCH THEMES AND IMPACT
Public Health, Primary Care and Health Services We work to improve prevention and management of important health problems that impact large sections of our population. We focus on lifestyle and environmental risk factors, obesity, multiple sclerosis and mental health. Our research found the catastrophic 2019-20 Australian bushfire season saw smoke related health costs climb to AU$1.95 billion. This cost was substantially higher than the twenty previous fire seasons.
Brain Health and Disease Brain diseases like multiple sclerosis and motor neurone disease affect many Australians and impact movement and memory. Our research focus is to discover the causes of each disease and develop effective treatments to guard the nervous system. In order to combat brain diseases such as dementia and cancer, we need to understand how genes in the brain are regulated. To this end we developed FlyORF-TaDa, a new technique that profiles the binding of regulatory proteins within brain cells, and helps identify the genes that they control.
Cardiovascular and Respiratory Health and Disease We focus on the prevention and management of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Our aim is to reduce the impact of stroke, heart and lung disease. Research found that most upper-arm and wrist cuff home blood pressure devices and all the wrist-band wearable (cuff-less) devices available for purchase online in Australia were not sufficiently validated.
Musculoskeletal Health and Disease Our research focuses on common bone and joint diseases, including osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. We work to improve pain and musculoskeletal health Extract of Curcuma longa, commonly known as turmeric, was found to be more effective than a placebo for reducing knee pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis. These findings from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial were published in the prestigious journal, Annals of Internal Medicine.
Genetics and Cancer Our priorities are to understand the genetic and molecular cause of cancer, blinding eye diseases and multiple sclerosis, and share this knowledge to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases. A paper published in the prestigious journal Science Advances shows that a dozen key Tasmanian devil immune proteins look the same as they do in the human immune system. This allows the team to build on the vast amount of knowledge in human cancer, rather than having to start from scratch for devils.
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M U LT I P L E S C L E R O S I S R E S E A R C H F L A G S H I P
The MS Research Flagship was established in 2016, bringing together our significant research capacity and leaders in the field. The aim was to increase the scope and impact of MS research. 2020 was a time of significant growth for the MS Research Flagship, we welcomed seven new staff and five new postdoctoral research fellows with around 50 staff and students now working on MS research projects. Nine new projects were funded with a total of 27 current MS projects across the theme areas. We secured an additional $13 million in funding for MS research, bringing the total portfolio of MS funded research to more than $21 million.
Understanding MS, Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) The ‘Understanding MS’ MOOC is a free online course for people all around the world to improve understanding and awareness of MS. Understanding MS MOOC completers show a significant improvement in MS-related knowledge, health literacy and improvement in quality of life. The course was developed by Menzies in partnership with MS Limited and the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre.
More than
19,000 PEOPLE
from 132 COUNTRIES
have enrolled in this course
Approximately
80%
ARE FEMALE
The Understanding MS free online course was voted in the top 10 online courses of all time in 2020. As rated by Class Central among over 15,000 online courses.
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50%
are people living with MS, or know somebody with MS
EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2020
BEST OF THE BEST
P O P U L AT I O N H E A LT H
For outstanding research achievement evidenced through publication in a scholarly journal.
Brooklyn Fraser
Nicolas Borchers-Arriagada ‘Unprecedented smoke‐related health burden associated with the 2019–20 bushfires in eastern Australia’, published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
‘The Association Between Grip Strength Measured in Childhood, Young- and Midadulthood and Prediabetes or Type 2 Diabetes in Mid-adulthood’, published in the journal Sports Medicine. Hoang Phan ‘Sex differences in quality of life after stroke were explained by patient factors, not clinical care: evidence from the Australian Stroke Clinical Registry’, published in the European Journal of Neurology. Jing Tian ‘Partnering and parenting transitions in Australian men and women: associations with changes in weight, domain-specific physical activity and sedentary behaviours’, published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.
CLINICAL RESEARCH L A B O R ATO R Y R E S E A R C H
Dean Picone
Guei-Sheung Liu & Jingying Chen
‘Nonvalidated Home Blood Pressure Devices Dominate the Online Marketplace in Australia: Major Implications for Cardiovascular Risk Management’, published in the journal Hypertension.
‘A drug-tunable Flt23k gene therapy for controlled intervention in retinal Neovascularization’, published in the journal Angiogenesis. Andrew Flies & Amanda Patchett ‘A novel system to map protein interactions reveals evolutionarily conserved immune evasion pathways on transmissible cancers’, published in the journal Science Advances. Minh Tran ‘Engineering domain-inlaid SaCas9 adenine base editors with reduced RNA off-targets and increased on-target DNA editing’, published in the journal Nature Communications.
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Zhen Zhou ‘Association of statin use with disability- free survival and cardiovascular disease among healthy older adults’, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Guoqi Cai & Dawn Aitken ‘Effect of Intravenous Zoledronic Acid on Tibiofemoral Cartilage Volume Among Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis With Bone Marrow Lesions: A Randomized Clinical Trial’, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2020
RE SE ARCH IMPAC T PRIZE To recognise research that has had demonstrable benefits to society Associate Professor Fay Johnston For research into the health impacts of bushfire smoke which was highlighted by the 2019-20 fire season.
AC A D EMI C MEN TO RIN G AWA R D Professor James Sharman For recognition of the significant and ongoing contributions made to the career and professional development of staff and students. AWA R D S A ND R ECO GNI T I O N Dr Hoang Phan Tasmanian Young STEM Researcher of the Year P R O F E S S I O N A L S TA F F AWA R D For outstanding achievement through exceptional performance and contributions to the Institute Vivienne Jones Consumer and Community Engagement Manager, MS Research Flagship.
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This is the 4th year in a row this award has been won by a Menzies researcher Dr Andrew Flies and Associate Professor Dawn Aitken 2020 Tasmanian Tall Poppies
MAJOR GRANTS AND COMPETITIVE FUNDING In 2020, we were awarded the following nationally competitive grants and fellowships.
Funding body
Award
Menzies researchers
Project title
Value $
Type
National Health & Medical Research Council
Grant-Ideas
Melton, P; Moses, EK; Blangero, J
Epigenetic Biomarker Discovery for Cardiovascular Disease Risk Stratification of Women Following Preeclampsia
1275101
Major
National Health & Medical Research Council
Grant-Partnership Project
van der Mei, IAF; Butzkueven, H; Taylor, BVM; Palmer, AJ; Blizzard, CL; Nicol, D
InforMS - an electronic patientdriven health care model with digital biomarker monitoring that improves the clinical care of people with MS
703705
Major
Medical Research Future Fund
Grant Preventative and Public Health Research
Cleland, V; Timperio, A; Jose, KA; Davern, M
Developing benchmarks and a smart online tool for assessing walkability in regional and rural communities: Supporting rural Australians to live healthy, active lives
570968
Major
Heart Foundation
Fellowship-Future Leader
Cleland, V
Improving cardiovascular health through walking and cycling for transport
561400
Major
National Health & Medical Research Council
Grant-Ideas
Dickson, TC; Musgrove, RE; Breadmore, MC
Glia and progression of Parkinson's disease: bystanders or villans?
534837
Major
Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation
Grant-Major Project
Picone, DS; Sharman, JE; Alavi, A; Schultz, MG; Black, A; Dwyer, N; RobertsThomson, P; Adams, H
Accurate blood pressure with machine learning
446000
Major
Bright Focus Foundation
Grant-Research: National Glaucoma
Burdon, KP; Gessesse, G
Genetic Studies of Exfoliation Syndrome and Glaucoma in Ethiopia
282289
Major
Heart Foundation
FellowshipPostdoctoral
Picone, DS
Accurate blood pressure with machine learning
171200
Major
Department of Health and Human Services Tasmania
Agreement
Venn, A
Public Health Nutrition Translational Research Focusing on Iodine and Health Eating in School Settings
130000
Major
Pfizer Inc
Grant Inflammation ASPIRE
Scheepers, EJ; Jones, G
Drug continuation of Janus-Kinase (JAK) inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis patients in the Australian landscape
121875
Major
Australian Coal Association Research Program
Grant
Zosky, GR
Diesel particulate matter (DPM) - expanding the scope of C29035
114402
Major
Perpetual Trustees
Grant-Trust Fund
Lucas, SE; Dickinson, JL
Genetic Research in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (GRIPF) Study: A case-control cohort enriched for genetic disease
102800
Major
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MAJOR GRANTS AND COMPETITIVE FUNDING continued
Funding body
Award
Menzies researchers
Project title
Value $
Type
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Climate Research Grants Program
Johnston, F; Palmer, AJ; Campbell, S; Campbell, JA; Remenyi, TA; Veitch, M; McKeown, S
Understanding the economic burden of climate-related extreme events: A framework to support future planning and decision making in the health care sector
49528
Minor
Maddie Riewoldt's Vision
Scholarship - Alex Gadomski PhD
Hewitt, A
Bone marrow failure syndromes
49161
Minor
Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia
Grant - Grant-inAid
van der Mei, IAF
AMSLS COVID-19 Registry
30562
Minor
Multiple Sclerosis Research Australia
Grant-Incubator
Makowiecki, K; Young, K
How does myelin loss impact dendritic spines? A possible mechanism for cognitive deficits in MS.
24999
Minor
Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation
Grant-Project
Palmer, AJ; Jose, M; de Graaff, B; Campbell, JA
Using data linkage to estimate the burden of diabetes in Tasmania
24969
Major
Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation
Grant-Project
Eathakkattu Antony, BS; Jones, Graeme; Das, S; Halliday, A; Burgess, J; Parker, S
A randomised placebocontrolled clinical trial of Colchicine for treating knee osteoarthritis
24963
Minor
Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation
Grant-Project
Zosky, GR; Harkness, N
Why are dusts from stone benchtops killing young workers in the building industry?
24700
Minor
Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation
Grant-Project
Song, Y; Zosky, GR; Dargaville, PA
Biological and pathologic effects of mechanical ventilation on the cardiovascular system
24200
Minor
Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation
Grant-Project
Dargaville, PA; De Paoli, T; Shelton, L
Two year outcome of infants in the OPTIMIST-A trial
22000
Minor
Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation
Grant-Project
Roydhouse, J; Harrup, R; Nicholson, L; Thompson, D; Campbell, JA; Jose, KA; Raj, S
Patient and carer experiences with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic syndrome
18017
Minor
Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc
Scholarship-PhD Top-Up Grant
Blizzard, C; Reale, LA
Can we stop the spread of TDP-43 pathology in ALS?
15000
Minor
Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia Inc
Scholarship-PhD Top-Up Grant
Dickson, TC; Clark, C
Inhibitory regulation of motor neurons: a new target mechanism for MND
15000
Minor
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MAJOR GRANTS AND COMPETITIVE FUNDING continued
Funding body
Award
Menzies researchers
Project title
Value $
Type
The MPST Foundation Ltd
Grant
Laslett, LL; Aitken, D; Harvie, P; Haward, CP
Mapping physical performance following hip and knee arthroplasty with accelerometry
12940
Minor
Centre for Air Quality and Health Research Evaluation
Grant-Seeding
Johnston, F
Co-driven research into the effective use of air cleaners from the Centre for Air pollution, energy and health Research
10000
Minor
Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation
Grant-Incubator
Pan, Feng; Jones, Graeme; Francis, H
The relationship of sleep and pain trajectories: a role of inflammation mechanism
9750
Major
Cancer Council of Tasmania
Grant-Small
Dickinson, JL; Fitzgerald, LM
DNA Damage Repair Gene Variants in Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer
9608
Minor
Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation
Grant-Incubator
Claflin, SB; Taylor, BVM; Graham, D; Giles, L
Improving access to healthcare for Tasmanians living with MS in remote areas
5565
Minor
Primary Care Collaborative Cancer Clinical Trials Group
Award - Training Award
de Graaff, B; Roydhouse, J
Screening for liver cancer in primary care: a systematic review of the evidence
5000
Minor
Grant-Incubator
Roydhouse, J; Tay, R; Nott, L; Black, Allison; Grundy, R; Dixon-Douglas, JR; Fitzgerald, LM
Real-world outcomes and toxicities for patients with non-small cell lung cancer receiving immunotherapy
4375
Minor
Royal Hobart Hospital Research Foundation
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PHILANTHROPY
We gratefully acknowledge all the individuals and organisations who donated to us in 2020. Due to COVID-19 it was a challenging year, and it is thanks to our philanthropic activities and meaningful community connections that we continued to conduct and share internationally significant medical research that leads to healthier, longer and better lives for Tasmanians.
29
$ 2 , 36 8 , 491
$ 4 , 262 , 257
Philanthropically funded scholarships and fellowships
Bequests
Total income
7 24
1 , 41 4
141
Donors
Individual donations
Everyday angels Our recurring donors
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
During COVID-19, in person events were restricted, but we engaged with the community using public online talks.
“Advances in Blood
“What’s making us
Pressure Research”
sneeze and wheeze”
92 people registered
78 people registered
MEDIA MENTIONS = 3,009 National and International Print, Television, Radio and Online Media Almost triple the number of media mentions in 2019
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BOARD MEMBERS Mr Bruce Neill (Chair)
Professor Moira Clay
Ms Philippa Leedham
Distinguished Professor Alison Venn (Director)
Professor Denise Fassett
Professor Stephen Tong
Professor Anthony Koutoulis
Professor Bob Williamson