Sydney Medical
School
Discipline of Pathology
Brain Matters
ISSUE 27 Using our Brains Donor Program
december 2013
From the Director
2013 has been another successful year for the Tissue
Resource Centre (TRC) and associated Using our Brains
donor program. Most notably we were awarded a further
five years of funding from the USA’s National Institute of
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) which is part of the
National institutes of Health. This grant covers the salaries of
TRC staff and running costs and is essential for the ongoing
operation of the brain bank and donor program.
We also continue to successfully facilitate research both
nationally and internationally. In the past year we have
provided research samples for 27 research projects and
this has resulted in 45 publications in scientific journals. The
scope of research also continues to expand. In the past
year we have facilitated projects on addiction, dementia,
schizophrenia, and movement disorders, as well as more
basic research aimed at understanding how the healthy brain
works.
An exciting initiative this year has been the development
of the Sydney Neuroscience Network (SNN; http://sydney.
edu.au/neuroscience-network/). The SNN was established
by researchers from The University of Sydney’s Medical
School and the Faculties Science, Nursing and Midwifery,
Engineering and IT, and Health Sciences The aim of the
network is to develop a rich research culture in the areas of
neuroscience and mental health both at the University and
throughout NSW. Staff and students from the TRC attended
the SNN scientific meeting in September and were treated to
presentations by key national and international researchers.
As the year ends I look forward to a busy and prosperous
2014 and I wish you and your families all the very best for
the festive season. I hope you have a happy and safe holiday.
Professor Jillian Kril
ISBER 2013 Meeting
The International Society for Biological and Environmental
Repositories meeting was held in May at the Darling Harbour
Convention Centre. The meeting had a diverse program
with discussions relating to governance of biobanks, global
harmonisation of processes and protocols, pharmaceutical
company involvement in biobanking, challenges facing
banks required to store large amounts of material and data,
data analysis and future directions of human, animal, and
plant/seed biobanking.
Managers and staff from other Australian and international
brain banks attended this meeting allowing us a rare
opportunity to get together and share our experiences.
visitors to the trc
The TRC hosted a number of international visitors during
the year.
Dr David Lovinger of the National Institute of Health
(NIAAA), Bethesda USA visited while in Sydney as a keynote
speaker for the newly formed Sydney Neuroscience
Network. He presented his research on the effects of
alcohol on the corticostriatal control network. He also met
with staff and students of the neuropathology laboratory.
Professor Suzanne De La Monte of Rhode Island Hospital
and Brown University, USA, visited briefly but it was a very
fruitful visit. Professor de la Monte and Professor Kril will
co-author a review article on alcohol-related brain damage.
Dr Sutherland and Professor de la Monte are looking at
opportunities for collaboration on the role of the liver in
alcoholic brain disease.
In addition, we were visited by Dr Maree Webster of The
Stanley Medical Research Institute in Maryland, USA. The
Instutite is an internationally reknown brain bank which
focuses on schizophrenia and related disorders.
uob donor program
A special thank you to all those donors who have
returned their new consent kits.
If you are having trouble completing your new
consent kit, please phone our office and we would
be more than happy to assist you in completing your
responses via telephone interview. Please call our
office during business hours – (02) 9351 2410.
move to the charles
perkins centre
The Neuropathology group has been invited to move to
the new Charles Perkins Centre. While located not far
away from our present location, the logistics of moving
are challenging.
The centre’s mission is to generate collaborative
interdisciplinary research and education that translates
research findings to ease the societal burden of obesity,
diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We envisage there
will be future opportunities for involvement in research
for our donors once we have settled into the new
building. The website is http://sydney.edu.au/perkins/
In memoriam
The UoB donor program would like to extend its
sympathy and gratitude to the families of donors who
have died this year.
Funny Christmas Quotes
Teasers ~ questions to keep the grey matter
sharp
Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten
and his present remembered. ~ Phyllis Diller
1. Johnny’s mother had three children. The first child was
named April. The second child was named May. What
was the third child’s name?
You know you’re getting old, when Santa starts looking
younger. ~ Robert Paul
2. Before Mt Everest was discovered, what was the
highest mountain in the world?
I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother
took me to see him in a department store and he asked for
my autograph. ~ Shirley Temple
3. If you were running a race, and you passed the
person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?
See answers below.
Answers
1. Johnny, of course. 2. Mt Everest 3. You would be in 2nd (you passed the person in 2nd place, not the person in 1st place).
Editor: Dr Cheryl Cordery | Sydney Medical School | Pathology | The University of Sydney
T + 61 2 9351 2410 | F + 61 2 9351 3429 | E [email protected] | sydney.edu.au/medicine/pathology/trc
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