Chair of WHO Global ACHR reappointed
• Director of JCSMR, Professor Judith Whitworth was reappointed Chair of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on
Health Research (ACHR).

Mathison Oration Medal
• Professor Judith Whitworth was invited to present the 23rd Mathison Oration at The University of Melbourne, in
which she outlined some of the key health research discoveries of the 20th century.

Eccles Institute established
• During the year, JCSMR scientists were closely involved with the establishment of the Eccles Institute of
Neuroscience, an ANU campus-wide virtual neuroscience consortium.

Frank Fenner retirement conference
• In November, the 12th Frank and Bobbie Fenner Conference celebrated the life, work and retirement of Emeritus
Professor Frank Fenner. Professor Fenner was appointed Professor of Microbiology at JCSMR in 1949. He was
Director of the School from 1967 to 1973, during which time he was also Chairman of the Global Commission for
the Certification of the Eradication of Smallpox. The conference was attended by many of Professor Fenner’s former
colleagues, including Nobel Laureates Professor Peter Doherty and Professor Rolf Zinkernagel.

Understanding the ageing process
• Professor Chris Goodnow and his Oxford University collaborator Professor Richard Cornall were able to demonstrate
that ageing results from progressive incorporation of DNA errors into the body’s stem cells, causing these stem cells
to gradually lose their regenerative capacity. The study emerged from the team’s discovery of a unique mouse model
for a human childhood disorder that causes stunted growth and defects in the immune and blood systems.

Neuroscience research receives a boost
• Research in the Division of Neuroscience will be significantly boosted by the purchase of a $300,000 long
wavelength ‘pulsed’ laser for a new two-photon facility for both in vitro and in vivo live cell imaging.

Investigation of genetic mechanisms regulating immunity
• JCSMR investigators Professor Chris Goodnow, Dr Carola Vinuesa, Dr Edward Bertram and Associate Professor Guna Karupiah
received major five year international grants from the Wellcome Trust and the National Institutes of Health to lead
international consortia revealing new mechanisms and genes regulating immunity to infection and autoimmunity.
They will employ strategies for genetic analysis of the immune system pioneered at JCSMR in the last 10 years.

National Centre for Biosecurity expands
• The National Centre for Biosecurity, led by JCSMR researcher Professor Ian Ramshaw, and administered in collaboration
with University of NSW, expanded to include 45 members.

Ramaciotti Major Research Award
• In November, Dr Anselm Enders and Professor Chris Goodnow won a Ramaciotti Foundation Major Research Award of $1M
to establish a new Ramaciotti Immunisation Genomics Laboratory which will research genetic issues around vaccines.

JDRF Special Program Grant
• Professor Christopher Parish and his JCSMR Colleagues Dr Charmaine Simeonovic, Dr Gerard Hoyne, Dr Craig Freeman
and Dr Sudha Rao were awarded a $3M Special Program Grant from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and
the NHMRC. This five year award enables a new line of research into the cause and possible treatment of diabetes.

Curtin Medal
• The Curtin Medal was presented to Professor Bruce Stillman. Professor Stillman, who completed his PhD studies at
JCSMR in 1979, is currently the Director and President of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, USA. His
research is focused on the mechanisms and regulation of DNA replication, which is essential in ensuring
accurate inheritance of genetic material from one cell generation to the next. The understanding of the DNA
replication process in healthy cells has been fundamental to his subsequent studies on how the process goes awry
in cancer cells.

Arthur E Mills Memorial Oration Medal
• Professor Judith Whitworth received the Arthur E Mills Memorial Oration Medal from The Royal Australasian College
of Physicians.

Finkel Prize
• The Alan and Elizabeth Finkel Prize was presented to Dr Charani Ranasinghe for her work on a mucosal HIV AIDs
vaccine. This biennial prize acknowledges research which is relevant to health in developing countries.

Professor Ada honoured
• Professor Gordon Ada’s many contributions to JCSMR were honoured through the naming of the new Gordon Ada
Videoconferencing Room in Stage I of the new building.

Rowley Medal and Burnet Oration
• Professor Chris Parish’s outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of immunology were recognised by
the award of the 2007 Rowley Medal and the 2007 Burnet Oration by the Australasian Society for Immunology.

Young Tall Poppy Award
• Dr Carola de Vinuesa received a NSW/ACT Young Tall Poppy award from the Australian Institute of Policy and Science,
and the Biogen Spain International Prize for young scientists.