MBS Bulletin

Nicholas J. Buchkovich, Tobi G. Maguire, Adrienne W. Paton, James C. Paton, and James C. Alwine (2009). The Endoplasmic Reticulum Chaperone BiP/GRP78 Is Important in the Structure and Function of the Human Cytomegalovirus Assembly Compartment. J.Virol. 83: 11421-11428.

Hu, C.A., Dougan, S.K., Winter, S.V., Paton, A.W., Paton, J.C., and Ploegh, H.L. (2009). Subtilase cytotoxin cleaves newly synthesised BiP and blocks antibody secretion in B lymphocytes. J. Exp. Med. 206: 2429-2440.

Buchkovich, N.J., Maguire, T.G., Paton, A.W., Paton, J.C., and Alwine, J.C. (2009). The endoplasmic reticulum chaperone BiP/GRP78 is important in the structure and function of the HCMV assembly compartment. J. Virol. 83:11421-11428.

Dear Students,

Banks and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are warning university students about money mule scams when seeking holiday employment.

The Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) and the AFP have prepared a fact sheet, ‘Warning to students - don’t get caught by mule scams’. It warns students of the scams which trap them into laundering money for criminals by becoming a money mule.

The fact sheet contains some useful tips on how to avoid these scams including being cautious about accepting job opportunities that offer you the chance of making money simply by moving money in and out of any bank account, never providing confidential banking details to anyone and taking steps to verify the background of any company or person that make you a job offer.

More tips can be read in the fact sheet at these websites:

Australian Bankers’ Association: www.bankers.asn.au/studentmule

Australian Federal Police: www.afp.gov.au
DAVE LAMB
Acting General Manager, Student Services

A position is available in the Molecular Regulation Laboratory, Centre for Cancer Biology in Adelaide.  It is suitable fora highly motivated individual with a Honours or recent PhD and proven record of achievements in biochemistry, cell or molecular biology research.  The project is focused on transcriptional control of cell death and proliferation by Histone Demethylases and involves approaches using biochemistry, cell biology and in vivo Drosophila models.  See attached flyer.  CCB

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF OUR NHMRC WINNERS!

Congratulations for successful project grant funding for 2010 go to Dan Peet, Anne Chapman-Smith, Murray Whitelaw, Keith Shearwin, Ian Dodd, James Paton, David Ogunniyi, Rob Richards, Louise O’Keefe, Briony Forbes, Peter Hoffmann, John Wallace, Mike Nordstrom, John Semmler, and to our affiliates Yeesim Khew-Goodall, Stuart Pitson, Ashley Blackshaw, and Stuart Brierley.

In addition, a Senior Research Fellowship has been awarded to Michael Beard, and a Career Development Award to a Microbiology & Immunology affiliate, Michele Grimbaldeston.

Congratulations to all the awardees.

John Carver

Dear Colleagues,The University of Adelaide closes for Christmas and New Year from 25 December 2009 to 4 January 2010.

To facilitate the processing of deliveries and invoices before the shut down period, the Procurement Team must complete all purchase orders in early December 2009.

Please note that the last day for purchase requisitions to be entered onto Access Adelaide will be Friday 4th December 2009.

If you have any queries please contact Jan Soltys on 8313 5363.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation,

Janis Soltys
Procurement Team Leader
Faculty of Sciences

NCCARF - Terrestrial Biodiversity Network
PhD collaborative travel grants: Applications due COB 20th Nov 2009
NCCARF is an initiative of the Federal Government, based at Griffith University’s Gold Coast Campus. The key roles of NCCARF include establishing and maintaining adaptation research networks to assist in information transfer to end users and linking together researchers across Australia who have interests in climate change adaptation research. The student funding described here are available from the NCCARF - Terrestrial Biodiversity Network (hosted at James Cook University) and are to encourage research that will facilitate adaptation to a changing climate that will help protect Australia’s terrestrial biodiversity.
The primary goal of the Terrestrial Biodiversity network is to develop explicit and practical strategies that increase the resilience of terrestrial ecosystems and maximise their adaptive potential under climate change. The research priorities of this network are to collate knowledge, co-ordinate expertise and synthesise these inputs into recommendations and frameworks that will guide the way forward for Australia to adapt to global climate change. Applicants should make sure that the proposed research explicitly addresses adaptation and not be purely impacts research.To find out more information about the network or to subscribe please visit http://www.nccarf.edu.au/terrestrialbiodiversity/

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Please join us for the third and final HDA Career Development Event for the year on the fast paced and changing world of science communication. Our expert speakers will showcase the categories of traditional media, virtual media, communications hubs, and engagement with communities.This is a FREE event, which should prove useful for postgraduate students and early career researchers. All welcome.

What: Broaden your Communication Horizons
When: Tuesday 17 November, 9.45am - 1.00pm
Where: Union House, Level 4 Eclipse Room, University of Adelaide

For further information on event and speakers please find flyer attached. Feel free to send this event flyer to anyone you think may benefit from this event. RSVPs due by Thursday 12 November (email preferable).  flyer

Anne Jurisevic  (anne.jurisevic@adelaide.edu.au)
Network & Communications Officer
HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT ADELAIDE (HDA)

Esteemed protein scientist Prof Marc Wilkins will give a presentation titled:”Understanding the Dynamics of the Interactome.”
This will be followed by a mixer - with drinks and nibbles provided.
WHEN: Tuesday December 1st, 4-6pm
WHERE: Merlot Seminar Room, The Australian Wine Research Institute, Waite Campus (map on flyer found at http://www.adelaide.edu.au/mbs/proteomics/chris/apg_home.html)

REGISTER NOW AT APG.ASBMB@gmail.com and send us your details (name, institution)

See also attached flyer.  APGflyer

Registrations close Friday 27th November so hurry!

CONGRATULATIONS to the following who have been awarded ARC Discovery Project grants for three years for funding to commence in 2010:

Professor Richard Ivell - project:  “Non-classical steroid signalling through SF-1 responsive genes:  a key mechanism in environmental endocrine disruption, cancer, and aging”

Professor Shaun McColl - project:  “Structural and functional characterisation of PI3Kgamma, uniquely activated by p101″

A/Prof. Murray Whitelaw & Dr. Dan Peet - project:  “Single minded 1 in neuron development and satiety signalling”

In addition, Dr. Adrienne Paton was a CI on a successful application from Monash University - project:  “Evolution of AB5 toxins”

John Carver

Dear Colleagues,

Today’s financial climate means we are all exposed to additional pressures that make conducting research, teaching and administrative duties even more difficult. This environment results in some staff feeling anxious about their work and all too often they feel they don’t have enough time to get the job done.

Email is the most commonly used software application in the world, and arguably the work based activity that consumes the most time. Many staff feel anxious about the size of their Inbox and that email is controlling them and their time.

The Take Control of Your Email course has been delivered to 300 staff from all corners of the University (Academic and Professional) and has achieved outstanding results. The average attendee (Academic or Professional) surveyed 5 weeks after attending the course, is saving over 40 minutes per day by applying the behaviours and skills taught in the course. Staff suffering extreme email anxiety has dropped 50% and staff are feeling less anxious about their daily tasks.

The University recommends all staff attend this course, new staff, staff who are time poor, staff who feel anxious about email or staff who would just like to spend less time using email and more time doing something else.

As managers why not give your staff the gift of additional time by sending them on the course before Christmas? The best results have been achieved by teams of staff attending the course together as they can determine agreed group behaviours that minimise email traffic.

Book now as places are limited - https://apps.adelaide.edu.au/training/

John Carver
Acting Head

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), in association with the Australia-India Council, has launched a new programme to optimise the skills of Australian and Indian leading early career researchers through the Australia India Science and Technology Research Award. The ‘Australia India Science & Technology Research Award’ will facilitate a two-way exchange between Australian and Indian young scientists (under 40 years of age) and will fund one Australian to visit India and one Indian to travel to Australia to enable both to complete a three-month research placement during the first half of 2010.

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CONGRATULATIONS to the following who have been awarded grants by the Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation of SA Inc. in the 2010 grant round:

Prof. Andrea Yool, Head of the Discipline of Physiology, who has been awarded $64,000 for her project, “The role of the brain water channel Aquaporin-4 in development and epilepsy”.

Dr. Chris McDevitt, Paton Lab, Microbiology & Immunology, who has been awarded $45,000 for his project, “The role of manganese in the virulence of pathogenicity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa”.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

CONGRATULATIONS also to the following PhD students who have been awarded Postgraduate Travelling Fellowships from the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Committee:

Kristen Georgiou, Physiology, Cory Xian’s lab, Sansom Institute

Scott Copley, Physiology, David Wilson’s lab

Thomas Wycherley, Physiology, Brinkworth/Clifton Group, CSIRO

The awards assist students to present at an international conference and visit research laboratories overseas.

John Carver, Acting Head

Could I draw to your attention the following web-site http://www.royalcommission1851.org.uk/ which outlines the awards offered for 2010. The “Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851″ offers a number of fellowships across the areas of scientific and engineering research, industrial design and the built environment. Outstanding PhD students who are citizens of the UK, Commonwealth, Republic of Ireland or Pakistan and are looking for a post-doctoral experience should consult this web-site.The closing date for the three-year research fellowship is 25 February 2010.

Congratulations to Mengqi Chen, Genetics, who qualified, academically, for the award of the degree of Master of Science for her thesis entitled, “ldentification and Analysis of the Two Tau Paralogues in Zebrafish” on 15 October 2009.

John Carver, Acting Head

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE), in association with the Australia-India Council, has launched a new program to optimise the skills of Australian and Indian leading early-career researchers through the Australia-India Science and Technology Research Award.
The focus topic of the 2010 award is ‘Energy generation in a low carbon future’. Proposals for research collaborations in this field are encouraged.
For further information go to www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=1344