2020 Highlights

Page 1

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


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