News & Events
Academic Promotions for 2011
Genetics Otago warmly congratulates Professor Vicky Cameron and Associate Professor Tony Merriman on their recent academic promotions.
Further information can be found at http://www.otago.ac.nz/news/news/otago029551.html
PhD position available
Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution
University of Otago
New Zealand.
An audit of prehistoric New Zealand
We seek an enthusiastic and dynamic young researcher to undertake ancient-DNA studies of New Zealand’s prehistoric coastal animals. The project will develop skills in ancient-DNA techniques, next-generation sequencing, archaeology and phylogeography. New Zealand has an exceptionally well-preserved archaeological record, and the University of Otago has outstanding facilities for ancient-DNA work. Background experience in molecular techniques is highly desirable, and interest in biogeography and/or archaeology would be beneficial.
This PhD position is funded by the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution: http://www.allanwilsoncentre.ac.nz. The student will be part of a team investigating anthropogenic extinction and recolonisation processes in coastal New Zealand (Marsden funding). The scholarship provides NZ $25,000 per annum (2012- 2015) and also covers tuition fees and thesis costs.
For more information, please contact:
Professor Jonathan Waters
Department of Zoology
University of Otago.
+64 3 4795847
jon.waters@otago.ac.nz
http://www.otago.ac.nz/Zoology/staff/otago008938.html
Genetics Otago prestigious Summer Scholarship Winner Announced
Congratulations to Anandi Reitmann, recipient of this year’s Genetics Otago prestigious Summer Scholarship. Selected from a group of numerous and outstanding applications, Anandi hails from Gauteng, South Africa where she attends the University of Pretoria.
After completing her BSc Honours in Genetics, Anandi is currently studying for her Master’s degree at the Forestry and Agriculture Biotechnology Institute. Anandi hopes that working with the broad discipline of researchers from Genetics Otago will enable her to “master new techniques and gain knowledge and experience within a Genetics discipline outside the focus of my normal learning environment.”
Anandi is, “especially curious to see how the science community functions and interacts in New Zealand, as well as the public’s perception in comparison to South Africa. This is an opportunity to meet leading scientist within their research fields, open the possibility of future collaboration and create awareness of more options for further studies.”
We would like to wish Anandi all the very best for her tenure here at Otago.
Genetics Otago Members' Marsden Success in 2011
Genetics Otago warmly congratulates the following members for their recent, and much-deserved success in the Marsden Fund annual round announced today.
Dr Elizabeth Duncan
Plastic genomes: does genome structure facilitate phenotypic plasticity?
$345,000 over three years (Fast-Start grant)
Dr Ann Horsburgh
Inventing Cattle: A genetic study of cattle domestication through next generation sequencing
$345,000 over three years (Fast-Start grant)
Dr Julia Horsfield
Linking cell division with differentiation: is stem cell fate sealed by cohesin?
$990,000 over three years
Professor Martin Kennedy
Methylation-stabilised G-quadruplex structures as a novel mammalian gene regulation mechanism
$815,000 over three years
Professor Jon Waters
The biogeographic importance of historical contingency: extinction and recolonisation in coastal New Zealand
$878,000 over three years
Dr Sheri Johnson (Department of Anatomy)
Are old males still good males and can females tell the difference?
$345,000 (Fast-Start grant)
Dr Stephanie Hughes, AI on Professor Cliff Abraham’s project: Young versus mature neurons: competition for the representation of memory
$985,000 over three years
Professor Stephen Robertson and Dr Christine Jasoni who were AI’s in Associate Liz Franz’s project: The Genetic Basis of Independent Movements of the Left and Right Hands
$924,500 over three years
Congratulations to the winning entry of the Genetics Programme Info Day Pop Quiz.
Bonnie Humphrey won an iPod Shuffle. If you are thinking about a degree in Genetics and were unable to attend the info day please visit the Genetics foyer, 6th floor Microbiology to find out career and paper information.
Director of the Genetics Teaching Programme, Professor Iain Lamont congratulates Bonnie Humphrey on winning the iPod shuffle.
Success stories at the GO and OSMS Poster Evening
The second annual GO/OSMS Mid-Winter Poster Evening kicked off at the newly completed Forsyth Barr Stadium with guests both excited and curious to be in the corporate box at the new stadium. With sweeping views over the field, over 60 posters on display and guest speaker Prof Jim Sikela from the University of Colorado to seal the deal, the evening was an enormous success.
Following Prof Sikela's tales about his quest to determine the Human Element, judges undertook the difficult task of assessing what was an outstanding group of posters with a wide array of topics and many beautiful designs. It is always apparent at this event just how much each student is involved, inspired by and committed to their work.
The evening concluded with a prize presentation session, with Biochemistry's Rob Day taking out the Thermo Fisher Ultimate Postdoctoral prize. In the student categories, two Biochemistry students, Rowan Herridge and Rhesa Budhidarmo respectively won the Genetics Otago and NZSBMB prizes. The Virology award went to Estelle Baker from Microbiology, the Webster Center prize was awarded to Babasaheb Yadav from Pharmacology, and the Center for Reproduction and Genomics sponsored award went to Malinda Tantirigama from Physiology. Angela Clark from Anatomy was awarded the OSMS prize and Mike Fleete, also from Anatomy, took out the Brain Health & Repair award.
We would like to especially thank Prof Sikela who was a thoroughly engaging speaker, illustrating his work with a beautiful correlation between array data and phylogeny. Focusing on DUF 1220, he spoke about his group's experience with the "DUF 1220 wheel of fortune and misfortune".
Prof Sikela also made an interesting remark was made as to the Neanderthal - no longer can we consider the species a brute, when it appears he was a much smarter species than ever before thought (you will have to come up with a new nickname for your brother).
There were no tears from those unlucky enough to have missed out impressing the judges enough, and everyone departed in as high spirits as when they arrived. On the day, science was the winner.
Inaugural Future of Fairness Symposium
Genetics Otago and partner organisation the New Zealand Law Foundation Centre for Law and Policy in Emerging Technologies recently hosted an immensely successful two day symposium: The Future of Fairness.
Both Centres contributed towards hosting internationally renowned researchers Prof Andy Miah, Chair of Ethics and Emerging Technologies and Director of the Creative Futures Research Centre at the University of the West of Scotland and Prof Ronald Green, The Eunice and Julian Cohen Professor for the Study of Ethics and Human Values, Dartmouth College.
Featuring a large number of GO members and visiting academics from around New Zealand, the overall intention of this event was to bring together a multi-disciplinary group of researchers with conflicting, and at times, controversial opinions so as to spark debate regarding ‟how far is too far‟ when considering the complex and intriguing relationship between technological advances and idea of fairness. This was largely successful, particularly after the public lecture, where there was much and often heated discussion around PGD, gene doping in athletes and future technologies.
It is hoped that this will be the first of many events in which GO can contribute towards the New Zealand Law Foundation Centre for Law and Policy in Emerging Technologies Future of Fairness series.
ODT article: http://www.odt.co.nz/campus/university-otago/152418/opposition-gene-doping-challenged
Outstanding achievements for Genetics Otago members at Royal Society of New Zealand’s annual awards
New Zealand’s highest scientific honour, the 2010 Rutherford Medal has been awarded to internationally renowned Genetics Otago member Professor Warren Tate, a molecular biologist in the Department of Biochemistry.
Awarded for his "outstanding achievements in molecular biology and molecular neuroscience", this award has been gained by only one other Otago University researcher, Professor Tate's PhD supervisor and fellow Genetics Otago member, Professor George Petersen, a pioneering figure in DNA research.
Other Genetics Otago members who featured in the annual research honours ceremony in Christchurch are: Professor Richie Poulton, Director of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, who was one of two winners of the Dame Joan Metge Award for Social Sciences; Professor Stephen Robertson, who was awarded the Liley Medal, Health Research Council, for "an outstanding contribution" to health and medical sciences; and Dr John Reynolds, of Anatomy and Structural Biology who gained a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship to support research, providing up to $200,000 a year for five years.
Genetics Teaching Programme Information Day
Congratulations to the winning entry of the Genetics Programme Info Day Pop Quiz. Laura Wilson won a $200 UBS gift voucher and a Genetics T shirt. If you are thinking about a degree in Genetics and were unable to attend the info day please visit the Genetics foyer, 6th floor Microbiology to find out career and paper information.
Genetics Otago researchers help map aphid genome
Honorary Genetics Otago (arts) Member!
A warm welcome and congratulations to Julia Johnstone, an ultra-talented young photographer from The School of Art who gained top marks in her final year examination exhibition which included an interpretation of a genetics laboratory.
Julia has a specific interest in the sciences and will be continuing her work in this field, including a commission with Genetics Otago early next year.
Below are examples of Julia’s work or you can view more of her work on http://indecentxposure.wordpress.com
Julia can be contacted on 027 728 9829 or johjulia@gmail.com
Genetics Otago Members Academic Promotions 2010
Genetics Otago warmly congratulates Professor Graham Wallis, Professor Iain Lamont, Professor Martin Kennedy and Associate Professor Peter Dearden on their recent academic promotions.
Professor Graham Wallis
Graham Wallis started his education at the University of Wales, Swansea. He spent nearly seven years as a postdoctoral fellow at Yale, Leicester and Perth before making Dunedin his home in 1988. The focus of his research at Otago has been probing how New Zealand animals evolve through the application of molecular genetic techniques. Using protein markers and DNA sequences, Professor Wallis's group has revealed previously-unrecognised fish and insect diversity in the South Island. Data suggest that the dynamic geology of the South Island caused speciation of these new forms through mountain-building and changes to river flows. The Department of Conservation uses this information to help protect the nation's biodiversity.
For more information about Professor Graham Wallis.
Professor Martin Kennedy
Martin Kennedy is a molecular geneticist whose career focus has been the exploration of genes, their role in disease, and their impact on treatment. He has published widely on the genetics and pharmacogenomics of disease, particularly the mental disorders, since he joined the University of Otago in 1991. As director of the Carney Centre for Pharmacogenomics, at the Christchurch campus, Professor Kennedy has helped drive research which examines the impact of genetic variation on responses to drug treatments in several diseases. His laboratory is also applying genomic methods to understand how psychiatric drugs influence gene expression, and how this can inform about mood disorders and their treatment.
For more information about Professor Martin Kennedy.
Professor Iain Lamont
Iain Lamont's research centres on understanding how a common bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, causes infections in patients with cystic fibrosis or other conditions. He has a particular interest in how the bacteria obtain iron, which they need to be able to grow. Starving the bacteria of iron may prevent them from causing infection. His research team has made fundamental advances in this field by studying bacteria in the laboratory and more recently has developed methods to investigate the bacteria in patients. Professor Lamont has been President of the New Zealand Microbiological Society, is chair of the University's biological safety committee, and has played a leading role in the establishment and ongoing development of the University's successful inter-departmental teaching programme in genetics.
For more information about Professor Iain Lamont.
Associate Professor Peter Dearden
Peter was trained at Victoria University, PhD at Imperial College, University of London. Peter then worked in the Wellcome (now Gurdon) institute and the Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge; the Zoology department, University of Western Ontario; and returned to New Zealand and the University of Otago in 2002. Peter is a researcher in the Laboratory for Evolution and Development, Otago site leader for the National Research Centre for Growth and Development, and Scientific Director of Genetics Otago. Peter's research is centered in Evolution and Development, Epigenetics and Developmental plasticity.
Further informaiton about Associate Professor Peter Dearden.
Genetics Otago researchers elected as Royal Society Fellows
Congratulations to Professor Hamish Spencer and Professor Andrew Mercer who were recently elected as Fellows of the Royal Society.
Royal Society Fellows are involved in providing expert advice, promoting scientific best practice and disseminating scientific information.
Biolab Presents Translating Biomarker Research to Human Health
Presented by Darryl Irwin, Ph.D. Manager – Applications and Technology, Sequenom, Asia Pacific.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM (morning tea to follow)
Biochemistry, Room 228
Novel biomarkers are being discovered using a variety of tools and technologies, and the literature is filled with preliminary findings associating these biomarkers with clinical outcomes. Unfortunately, most of these findings have not led to validated, clinically‐applicable tools to bring personalized medicine to fruition. Sequenom provides specific tools to enable clinical researchers to validate their biomarkers across relevant samples at a low cost per sample, with the highest quality data. Examples drawn from current studies and internal research will be presented, demonstrating the validation of a variety of biomarker types (genotypes, mutation profiles, gene expression profiles, and epigenetic markers) using a high‐throughput flexible format.
Download the Translating Biomarker Research to Human Health flyer (in PDF format)
Genetics Otago Announces Summer Scholarship Recipients
Genetics Otago is delighted to announce that the following students have been successful in their applications for the generous Summer Studentships.
Genetics Otago Summer Scholarship recipients and their supervisors (from left to right): Tessa Sanders; Nathan Kenney; Assoc Prof Graham Wallis; Dr Christine Jasoni; Tanya Flynn; Kimberley Hughes; Justine Anderson and Assoc Prof Peter Dearden. Absent is Assoc Prof Tony Merriman.
Justine Anderson
Justine is in her second year studying genetics- based degree at the University of Otago and will be spending her summer under the guidance of Assoc. Prof Graham Wallis from the department of Zoology.
Justine’s project, entitled Sex in the Sea, will further investigate the evidence found of mixed modes of reproduction in the brooding brittlestar Ophiomyxa brevirima. To study this, Justine will be using microsatellite analysis to confirm this pattern, and to assess the frequency of asexual reproduction among sampling sites in Otago Harbour. Evolutionary theory predicts that asexual reproduction should be more prevalent in more predictable habitats, e.g. sublittoral zone vs intertidal.
Justine hopes that her experience gained this summer will be of benefit in pursuing her career in medical genetics.
Tanya Flynn
Tanya is presently working towards an Honours degree in Genetics as the first step in her career objective in becoming the head of a Research Laboratory/Team. Tanya hopes to gain first class honours so as to progress straight into a PhD after her final undergraduate year at Otago.
This summer she will be working under the supervision of Assoc. Prof Tony Merriman where they will further research the recent findings of the strong association of the SLC22A11 gene with gout in Māori and Pacific Island gout cases and controls. The project will also further investigate this locus, characterising the haplotypic structure of this region in Māori and Pacific Island samples.
Tanya’s long-term goals are to work towards genetic discoveries that can be applied to the cure, treatment and/or prevention of diseases.
Kimberley Hughes
Kimberley is a 3rd year student studying for her Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science which includes additional genetics papers of interest. Kimberley’s project for the summer will be studying the Epigenetics and Development in the Honeybee in Assoc. Prof Peter Dearden’s laboratory.
This project focuses on whether DNA methylation appears to play a role in controlling queen and worker phenotypes in honeybees and aims to identify genes that are epigenetically regulated and contribute to this control.
After completing her studies, Kimberley hopes to travel and work for a couple of years before committing herself to further postgraduate studies.
Nathan Kenny
Nathan Kenny is in his final year of studying for BSc (Hons.) in Genetics, having already completed a BSc in Genetics and BA in Philosophy, along with a Dip. Lang. in German. Whilst studying, Nathan also works as a tutor for the Biochemistry Department and as a Communicator at the Otago Museum.
This summer Nathan will be working with Associate Professor Peter Dearden on a project which involves using recently developed RNAi techniques to study the expression of genes involved in neuron operation in rotifer.
Rotifer are simple animals belonging to the Lophotrochozoa, a major division of animal diversity that is largely underrepresented in the scientific literature. They have many simple features that make them excellent models for studying a variety of traits, providing a window into the body plan of the last common ancestor of all bilaterally symmetrical life forms. Neuroreceptor genes will be specifically ‘knocked down’ in the rotifer Brachionus plicatilis, allowing confirmation of the effectiveness of RNAi in this species, as well as testing the functionality of the genes studied, allowing an insight into the neural networks of a basal Lophotrochozoan organism.
Nathan is hoping to move into PhD study in the near future on some aspect of development and evolution.
Tessa Sanders
Tessa is currently in her 3rd year studying for a BSc (Hons ) in Genetics with specific interests in genetic control of development and epigenetics and neuroscience.
As a GO scholarship recipient, Tessa will spend the summer in Dr Christine Jasoni’s lab where she will be studying how epigenetic regulation might affect expression of estrogen receptors in the hypothalamus during the normal onset of puberty. In addition the project aims to develop the tools required for the analysis of epigenetic change associated with early onset of puberty in obese children.
Tessa hopes that this project will strengthen her research experience so that she might pursue her postgraduate studies with confidence.
Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study Gains $4.6m Funding
Genetics Otago members Professor Richie Poulton and Karen Hartshorn were celebrating last week after receiving news that the internationally recognised Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study has received further support from the Health Research Council to conduct a study of aging and risk for chronic disease. As one of six new long-term programmes receiving support, Professor Poulton said they were “very relieved and grateful to have received the $4.6m HRC Programme Grant”.
As leader of the study, Professor Richie Poulton proposes to test the novel hypothesis that a persistent history of psychiatric disorder might accelerate individuals’ risk of progression towards age-related cardiovascular disease.
Specifically, the hypothesis is that people who suffer (potentially preventable) chronic or recurrent psychiatric disorders during early adulthood (depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, or substance dependence) will, by their late 30’s, begin to show subtle signs of abnormal cardiovascular function, which are known to be prognostic of late-life cardiovascular disease.
Professor Ian Morison’s Epigenome of Myelodysplastic Syndrome Research Gains $1.3m in HRC Funding
Myelodysplastic syndrome is the most common blood disorder of the elderly. Yet it is a ‘hidden’ disease, seldom heard of and poorly understood.
In its early stages it can be very difficult to diagnose but since it has a downward course eventually evolving to acute leukaemia in nearly half of patients, it is an important diagnosis to establish. There are no widely used effective treatments, but curiously the only licensed partially effective treatment is the use of demethylating drugs such as 5-azacytidine.
Despite the assumption that gene methylation (epigenetics) is involved in the onset of myelodysplasia, very little is known about the identity of the genes involved.
Professor Ian Morison says the aim of his project is to determine the global epigenome of myelodysplastic syndrome, using massively parallel methylation sequencing.
“Using this information we will develop a better diagnostic test for the disease, and develop novel methylation-based disease stratification.
Funding for this project will allow me to translate our group's knowledge of epigenetics to a common and pressing clinical problem. We are delighted that the HRC has endorsed the use of cutting edge epigenomic technology, which relies on next generation massively-parallel sequencing. I believe this project will put Otago at the forefront of epigenetics research.”
Aussie and Kiwi Researchers Make Double Multiple Sclerosis Genetic Discovery
Researchers have accelerated research into Multiple Sclerosis by discovering two new locations of genes which will help to unravel the causes of MS and other autoimmune disease. Their findings have recently been published in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics.
Conducted by members of the ANZgene consortium, the research involved more than 40 investigators from 11 institutions in Australia and New Zealand, including Associate Professor Tony Merriman’s research team who conduct their studies from Otago’s Biochemistry Department.
The three year study utilised the MS Research Australia (MSRA) Gene Bank and involved scanning the DNA of 1,618 people with MS and 3,413 people without MS (controls). Using a genome-wide association scan (GWAS), researchers scanned the entire human genome in broad brushstrokes; looking at genetic landmarks in the genome and then progressively narrowing down their search to individual genes.
The study has revealed a vital link between genetic susceptibility to MS and other autoimmune diseases including Type 1 diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Graves' Disease and also the potential involvement of Vitamin D metabolism in the risk of developing these diseases.
Tony, who credits the success of the study to lead PI Justin Rubio, says "the results from this genome-wide scan for genes involved in MS has emphasised the importance of vitamin D deficiency in contributing to the onset of multiple sclerosis. It was great to have the opportunity to contribute to the first genome-wide association scan in any complex disease conducted Down Under.”
Online edition of the Nature Genetics article: http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ng.401.html
“It's Ok, We're Not Cousins by Blood”
Download "It's Ok, We're Not Cousins by Blood": The Cousin Marriage Controversy in Historical Perspective by Diane B. Paul and Hamish G. Spencer (468k in PDF format)
On the Cover
Jonathan Waters' publication 
Relict or colonizer? Extinction and range expansion of penguins in southern New Zealand.
Conference Poster
Download Caroline Beck's Xenopus laevis, the African Clawed Frog poster (336k in PDF format)