A leading research and teaching school with expertise in biotechnology, molecular biology, genetics, environmental microbiology, medical microbiology, immunology, biochemistry, protein chemistry and other areas of biological science.
A/Professor Mike Manefield, who holds an ARC Future Fellowship, featured in an extended interview for the ABC Radio National Off Track program that went to air on Saturday 11 May 2013.
Host Joel Werner discussed Mike's team's research into activated sludge at a major Sydney Water wastewater treatment plant at St Marys in western Sydney. Also heard in the interview is Honours student...
As well as being an expert in microbial genomics, BABS DECRA Fellow Dr Federico Lauro is also a champion sailor. Combining these two talents, Dr Lauro will lead an exciting six-month expedition to investigate the Indian Ocean's microscopic marine life while sailing an 18-metre yacht from South Africa to Singapore.
...
Completing his PhD in the School of BABS under the supervision and mentorship of Emeritus Professor Ian Dawes, David co-discovered a molecular cause of aging at MIT in Boston in the mid-1990s. He is now a tenured Professor at Harvard Medical School and also a Professor at the Lowy Cancer Centre at UNSW. His research is aimed at understanding why we grow old and using this knowledge to prevent...
The paper of the month for March was announced by Deputy Head of School, A/Prof Noel Whitaker:
Funnell APW, Wilson MD, Ballester B, Mak KS, Burdach J, Magan N, Pearson RCM, Lemaigre FP, Stowell KM, Odom DT, Flicek P & Crossley M, 2013, ‘A CpG mutational hotspot in a ONECUT binding site accounts for the prevalent variant of Hemophilia B Leyden’, The American Journal of Human Genetics...
Due to the holiday season, the awards for BABS Paper of the Month for October, November and December 2012 as well as January and February 2013 were announced by Deputy Head of School Noel Whitaker at the first staff meeting for 2013, held in March.
October 2012: Emeritus Professor Ian Dawes
Dawes IW and Chiu J, 2012, 'Redox control of cell proliferation', Trends in...
Professor David Sinclair, who undertook his PhD in BABS supervised by Emeritus Professor Ian Dawes, had led landmark work to enable a whole new class of anti-ageing drugs to now be viable, which could ultimately prevent cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and type 2 diabetes. The breakthrough research was outlined in an article published in the prestigious journal Science on 8 March 2013....
A team of international researchers led by Associate Professor Kevin Morris has discovered a new mechanism that re-activates genes that have been switched off.
The team's findings from the study, which are published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Structural & Molecular...
Senior Lecturer Dr Louise Lutze-Mann has won the prestigious Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education Award for 2013. This is just one more accolade that acknowledges Louise’s well-regarded teaching expertise and dedication to Science education, of which the School is very proud.
The ASBMB Education Award rewards outstanding achievement in education...
Professor Peter White's research group discovered the new Sydney 2012 strain of norovirus in March last year, in collaboration with researchers at the Prince of Wales Hospital. The norovirus is a genotype called GII.4, and because it is a new strain, there is very little immune defence against the virus.
BABS teaching staff have received a ringing endorsement of their teaching excellence in the 2012 awards announced at the Faculty of Science end-of-year party held on 12 December.
Newly promoted Professor...
BABS School member Professor Merlin Crossley, who is Dean of the Faculty of Science, is included in this year's Science and Knowledge section of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Top 100 list of influential people.
Professor Crossley's bio note reads:
...BABS Professor Brett Neilan has been awarded a Scientia Professorship to commence in 2013. The award is for six years, and is a means of recognising his significant prominence in research.
Brett’s world-class research has identified the biochemical pathways responsible for the production of lethal toxins formed in cyanobacteria, and fundamentally improved scientists’ understanding of...
BABS Associate Professor Mike Manefield, who currently holds an ARC Future Fellowship, has had his research on naturally occurring bacteria that remediate pollutants in contaminated groundwater featured on the ABC Radio National program 'Off Track'.
...
PhD student Sonia Ho, supervised by Associate Professor John Foster, is featured in the current issue of Cosmos: http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/6032/issue-47-health-special.
Sonia’s profile provides an overview of her PhD research project, which is working to develop an ointment to assist healing of...
The paper of the month for September was announced by Deputy Head of School, A/Prof Noel Whitaker:
Barraud N, Kardak BG, Yepuri NR, Howlin RP, Webb JS, Faust SN, Kjelleberg S, Rice SA & Kelso MJ, 2012, Cephalosporin-3'-diazeniumdiolates: Targeted NO-donor prodrugs for dispersing bacterial biofilms, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 51(36): 9057-9060.
The...
A workshop entitled Investigating DNA and Forensic Science was hosted by BABS staff and postgrad students as part of the 2012 Science Experience at UNSW. Aimed at Year 9 and 10 high school students, the event was held on 24 September and included hands-on laboratory experience for the students, who were very enthusiastic and met and shared ideas with students from different schools.
...
A/Professor Mike Manefield and his team were awarded not only the UNSW Advanced Innovation (Partnership) award, but also the overall UNSW Innovation Award for 2012, which is selected from the winners of all categories.
The award was for their research in cultivating bacteria that break down industrial toxins in contaminated groundwater.
The team isolated three naturally...
Deputy Head of School A/Professor Noel Whitaker and his research colleague Emeritus Professor James Lawson have their latest research featured in the Spring 2012 issue of the UNSW publication Uniken.
The article is entitled “Sealed with a Kiss”, as their research explores the link between Epstein-Barr virus infection, dubbed the kissing disease because it spreads through saliva, and...
The paper of the month for August was announced by Deputy Head of School, A/Prof Noel Whitaker:
Murray SA, Patterson DJ & Thessen A, 2012, 'Transcriptomics and microbial eukaryotic diversity: a way forward', (Letter), Trends in Ecology and Evolution, published online 30 August.
The journal has an impact factor of 15.70, and the full article may be read...
Professor Rob Yang has been studying the biogenesis and dynamics of lipid droplets for over a decade.