3. 2 WELCOME by Professor James McCluskey,
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research
FeatureD Projects
4 Stem cells: the science and the imagination
7 Creating musical futures
8 Insight into HIV immunity may lead to vaccine
10 Developing online stories from
our ‘Museums of Madness’
12 Making sure it’s fair
14 Changing life trajectories: The Early
Years Education Research Project
17 Healthy animals and healthy people
18 Assessing the impact of early
childhood care and education
20 Fast-tracking prosthetic feet
23 The energy-saving benefits of urban trees
25 Character, conflict and quiet avenues
26 RESEARCH NEWS
32 At a GLANCE: Research at the
University of Melbourne
CONTENTS
1
4. Transforming Lives: how research works for you…
Researchers from the University
of Melbourne and its partners are
engaged in finding solutions to some
of the world’s great challenges while
simultaneously enlarging our knowledge
of a more fundamental nature. We are
not only making previously unrecognised
connections across different disciplines,
but we are also deepening our
understanding of all corners of human
curiosity. This diversity of activity,
characteristic of a comprehensive
University, creates a perennial challenge
in presenting what we stand for and
what we want to communicate in our
annual Research Review. We are acutely
aware that our researchers in the arts,
humanities, and sciences make a
substantial contribution to the changing
landscape of our society. Each of them
could justify a whole tome of their own.
But our aim is to give a flavour of the
University’s endeavours, reflecting our
purpose and mission. So this edition of
Research Review, building on our past
reports, provides a selective snapshot of
research across a range of disciplines.
The aim is to illustrate how we seek to be
relevant to individuals and to society. We
have tried to depict our efforts towards a
deeper understanding of the challenges
we face, big and small, fundamental
and pragmatic at the same time as
highlighting some of the creativity,
innovation and professional excellence
that the University offers. In compiling
this snapshot we recognise the huge
importance of our graduate researchers,
embarked on PhD and Masters studies,
devoting their most precious years to
fuel the creation of new knowledge
and discovery.
Some highlights of this review include:
++ Stem cell research: Though it’s still
early days, research into stem cell
biology has captured the imagination
of the public like few sciences before it.
Recognising the University’s leadership,
the Australian Research Council (ARC)
has awarded Melbourne and its partners
$21M to establish Stem Cells Australia.
++ HIV: There are more than 33 million
people worldwide living with HIV. The
latest research investigating immunity
to HIV could develop a vaccine to better
target human antibodies against the
disease.
++ Musical futures: A challenge in musical
education is how to encourage more
music learning in schools. Research
from the Faculty of VCA and Music
may hold the answer, which could lie in
understanding students’ belief in their
own abilities.
++ Making sure it’s fair: The wellbeing
of more than eight million Australian
employees is underpinned by statutory
workplace entitlements. Melbourne
law researchers are working with the
Fair Work Ombudsman to improve
the effectiveness of the Australian
Government’s employment standards.
In addition to these articles, there are
vignettes intended to highlight research
across a broad spectrum of disciplines
including education; humanities; the arts
(including performing arts); music; land
and environment; architecture, building
and planning; veterinary science;
engineering; business and economics;
law; and medicine, dentistry and health
sciences.
The stories mostly address some newer
research areas that are works in progress.
They ultimately illustrate our vision of
being a globally engaged, comprehensive
research-intensive university uniquely
positioned to respond to major social,
economic and environmental challenges.
To understand the University’s
performance we have included
some statistics on the University’s
research activity that are drawn from
nationally collected data as well as
international rankings.
The review alludes to the achievements
of some of our affiliated partners and
we could write a book on these if space
permitted. Suffice to say, the University
is privileged to anchor a much wider
academic community than that within
its own boundaries, embracing medical
research institutes, hospitals, industry
partnerships, CRCs, public institutions
and many specialist research centres. We
are deeply indebted to these partnerships
for their contribution to the achievements
and international reputation of
the University.
This modest cross-section of our
research is intended to be stimulating
and illuminating.
I hope you will find some inspiration
in this Research Review as it celebrates
the breadth and commitment of
our researchers.
Professor James McCluskey
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research
Welcome to the 2011 edition
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
2
6. Stem cells: the science
and the imagination
By Dr Doug Anderson
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
4
7. Though still in its infancy, research into stem cell
biology has captured the hearts and minds of the public like few
sciences before it.
Human embryonic stem cells were first isolated and grown in
culture in 1998. Since then, stem cells have transformed our
understanding of human development and disease, replaced
animal testing in pre-clinical trials and sparked extraordinary
anticipation for the treatment and cure of a wide range of
debilitating illnesses. The emerging field of regenerative
medicine, in which living cells are used to replenish diseased
organs, is based on stem cells.
In such heady times, imagination soars with hope, while
clinical practice is grounded by the requirement for safety
and efficacy.
Stem cells have the unique dual-capacity of renewal and
differentiation. They proliferate indefinitely in controlled
conditions, yet they are able to change form and function in
response to environmental stimuli. How these changes are
regulated is not fully understood.
Embryonic stem cells have the capacity to develop into 200+
types of adult human cells – a condition called totipotency.
Populations of stem cells are found in adults, too, but with
a reduced capacity to differentiate – a condition called
pluripotency. Recently, it has become possible to induce
pluripotency in many different types of adult cells.
In recognition of its excellence in the field, the University of
Melbourne and its partners have been awarded $21 million
by the Australian Research Council to establish Stem Cells
Australia (SCA). SCA is an interdisciplinary collaboration,
consisting of a global network of scientific expertise without
parallel in cell biology and bioengineering. The aim is to
develop cell populations of prescribed function and shape,
with a clinical focus on cardiac and neurological diseases.
Four professors from the University of Melbourne are lead
figures in SCA: Martin Pera, Trevor Kilpatrick, Doug Hilton
(WEHI Director) and David Gardner. Professor Pera, an expert
in pluripotency, returns to Melbourne from the USA to direct
the organisation.
Professor Gardner, a reproductive biologist and head of the
Department of Zoology in the Faculty of Science, played a
pivotal role in the development of culture conditions for stem
cells in the original 1998 study. The SCA initiative enables
his team to refine stem cell culture techniques, so that high-
quality populations of cells can be generated. Pure stem cell
populations are notoriously difficult to establish and maintain,
which has led to some rather hit-and-miss results in the past.
One successful hit has been Mesoblast, a Melbourne-based
regenerative medicine company. Mesoblast is a world leader
in bringing stem cell technology to the clinic. Professor Silviu
Itescu, the founder and CEO of Mesoblast, has been named
BioSpectrum Asia’s ‘Man of the Year’ for 2011. His individual
honour coincides with Mesoblast being listed in the S&P/ASX
200 Index. Mesoblast is valued at over $2 billion – a value that
equates with the entire annual expenditure on R&D by the
Australian Government. This is a remarkable achievement
for such a young and developmental enterprise. Imagination,
it seems, does not soar alone. And medical practice is
being transformed.
See: The University of Melbourne Stem Cell Interest Group
(UMSCIG) at: www.zoology.unimelb.edu.au/umscig
“Recognising excellence, the
ARC awarded Melbourne and
its partners $21 million to
establish Stem Cells Australia.”
Photo: Stem cells migrating in the blood stream.
Image courtesy of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute.
5
8. “Some of the greatest
mysteries in music education
concern students’ beliefs
in their own abilities.”
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
6
9. “Without music life would be a mistake.”
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche.
Music is such a pervasive and
widespread feature of our cultural life
it ought to play a significant role in
schools and communities – or at least
given as much attention as sport in the
education curriculum.
In schools, however, numbers
studying and participating in music,
especially in the upper years of high
school, are extremely low, according to
internationally renowned music educator,
Professor Gary McPherson.
“Are the challenges of learning music
too tough?”
“Or are approaches to learning music in
schools inconsistent with young people’s
expectations and needs,” he asks.
Professor McPherson is the Ormond
Chair of Music and Director of the
Melbourne Conservatorium of Music
within the Faculty of the VCA and Music.
His research output is prolific and he has
published extensively in areas relating to
music education, music psychology and
performance science.
One of Professor McPherson’s current
research projects is entitled ‘Creating
musical futures in Australian schools
and communities: refining theory and
planning for practice through empirical
innovation’, a four-year $385,000 ARC
Discovery project.
The research will look at what can be
done to raise the status of music in
schools and improve the equity of access,
participation and engagement in school
music for all Australian students, in
line with a key concern raised in the
Commonwealth Government’s 2005
National Review of Music Education
(NRME). The NRME established an
immediate priority for improving and
sustaining the quality and status of
music education, based on stark evidence
about the shortcomings and “inequalities
in school music”.
“Addressing this crisis, our research
project aims to produce new knowledge
concerning music education in
Australian schools and communities,”
Professor McPherson said.
“Some of the greatest mysteries in music
education concern how students’ beliefs
in their own abilities are shaped and
change over time, and why so few are able
to move from the initial sampling stage
of experiencing music for fun, through
to greater technical and expressive
competence,” he said
“While thousands of studies have been
conducted on compulsory academic
areas of learning, the literature in
elective subjects such as music is
embarrassingly scant.
“Our proposed studies will impact
significantly on conceptions of teaching
and learning across all areas of education,
and thereby augment educational debates.”
Dr McPherson’s research involves a series
of interconnecting studies, which adopt
multidisciplinary methods and include:
++ Comparing young people’s personal
beliefs and everyday life experiences
with music and their motivational
profiles toward learning music, with
other non-musical life experiences and
aspects of their learning.
++ Investigating the developmental assets,
both personal and social, that are
acquired from learning music and that
have positive consequences for music
learners’ emotional wellbeing and
social development.
++ Examining the family, peer group,
teacher/tutor and other personal and
social dynamics in order to understand
more precisely the factors that facilitate
or hinder music learning.
++ Profiling schools and other educational
contexts (both formal and informal) in
order to establish the main enabling
conditions and factors that are
sufficient for personal commitment to,
engagement with, and flourishing in,
music-related learning opportunities.
See: www.findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/
researcher/person25385.html
Creating musical futures
By Silvia Dropulich
7
10. Latest research investigating
immunity to HIV could help develop
a vaccine to build human antibodies
against the disease, a University of
Melbourne study has found.
By investigating the action of the human
antibodies called ADCC in people with
HIV, researchers were able to identify
that the virus evolves to evade or ‘escape’
the antibodies.
Professor Stephen Kent of the
University of Melbourne and one of
the senior authors on the paper said
ADCC antibodies have been strongly
implicated in protection from HIV in
several vaccine trials but their action was
poorly understood.
“These results show what a slippery
customer the HIV virus is, but also shows
that these ADCC antibodies are really
forcing the virus into changing, in ways
that cause it to be weaker,” he said.
“It also implies that if good ADCC
antibodies were available prior to infection,
via a vaccine, we might be able to stop the
virus taking hold. This is the holy grail.”
The group at the University of
Melbourne’s Department of Microbiology
and Immunology analysed blood samples
of people with HIV and found their
virus had evolved to evade or ‘escape’
the ADCC antibodies their bodies are
making to try to control their virus.
The team led by Dr Ivan Stratov and
Professor Kent employed a novel
technology developed in their laboratory
to find where ADCC antibodies were
attacking the virus. They then looked
at how the sequence of the virus
had mutated over time to avoid the
immune response.
“There is an urgent need to identify
effective immunity to HIV and our
studies suggest ADCC responses apply
significant immune pressure on the
virus,” Dr Ivan Stratov, a clinician and
researcher said.
There are more than 33 million people
living with HIV worldwide, with nearly
30,000 in Australia. In 2009, around
370,000 children globally were born
with HIV, bringing the total number
of children under 15 living with HIV to
2.5 million.
HIV damages the immune system,
with the body becoming vulnerable to
‘opportunistic infections’ (originally
known as Acquired Immunodeficiency
Syndrome, or AIDS). These infections
are called ‘opportunistic’ because the
weakened immune system gives them
the ‘opportunity’ to take hold. The
infections can cause death.
AIDS was first diagnosed in 1981. Since
then HIV and AIDS have spread rapidly
and cases have been reported in more
than 150 countries.
“Creating an effective vaccine to HIV is
critical for improving global health and
reducing the further spread of the AIDS
virus. We are excited to have come this
far, with more advances expected in the
next few years,” Dr Stratov said.
The group is now working on designing
HIV vaccines to induce ADCC antibodies
that are more difficult for the virus
to escape.
Levinia Crooks, Chief Executive Officer
of the Australasian Society for HIV
Medicine, said the research discovery
was promising. “It offers hope that one
day there may be a vaccine against this
terrible disease and reduce the number
of people suffering as a consequence of
being afflicted with HIV.”
Dr Stratov said blood samples kindly
donated from people with HIV were
instrumental in enabling their research.
“We are very grateful to them for
providing these samples to us, to enable
us to try and make a real difference in
both treating and preventing HIV.”
The work was published in the
prestigious international journal PNAS.
See: www.microbiol.unimelb.edu.au/
people/kent/allprojects.html#adcc
Insight into HIV
immunity may lead
to vaccine
By Rebecca Scott
Photo: From left to right: Dr Ivan Stratov,
Professor Stephen Kent, and PhD student
Gamze Isitman.
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
8
11. “We are excited to have come
this far with more advances
expected in the next few years.”
9
13. Photo: China bowl from Kew Lunatic Asylum,
circa 1910. Image courtesy of Museum Victoria.
A collaboration between the
University of Melbourne and Museum
Victoria will shed new light on the lives
of the thousands of people who lived and
worked in state psychiatric institutions
between 1870 and 1980.
Material objects can provide a wealth of
information. A group of mismatching
forks, a simply-hewn broom, a radio
from which the volume knob has been
removed, a collection of nightdresses,
a 78 rpm record – such seemingly
mundane items can open up important
lines of historic enquiry, and ultimately
enable real-life stories to be told.
The interdisciplinary collaboration of
historians Professor Elizabeth Malcolm
and Dr Dolly MacKinnon and curator Dr
Nurin Veis and has resulted in a three-
year $149,000 Australian Research
Council (ARC) Linkage Grant. The
grant, which is funding the employment
of expert research assistants Dr Anne
Westmore and Dr Lee-Ann Monk, will
put Museum Victoria’s Psychiatric
Services Collection of over 1600 objects
online for the first time. These objects
have been sourced from Victoria’s
now-closed mental hospitals, which,
at their height in the early to mid 20th
century, housed large self-contained and
self-sustaining communities.
“We believe the Museum Victoria
collection is one of the largest of its
kind in the world,” Dr Veis said. “But
unfortunately we only have sketchy
information about many of the objects
and the stories that surround them.
Working with historical researchers, who
have specialist knowledge of Australian
psychiatry, will bring a human element
otherwise largely missing”.
Dr Veis, a senior curator of human biology
and medicine at Museum Victoria,
believes that funding of this kind is
essential to build on work already started.
“Only about 20 per cent of the Museum’s
psychiatric collection is currently available
online,” she said. “With this financial
support, we’ll not only be able to put the
whole collection online, but enhance it
considerably by researching the objects
thoroughly and telling the stories of the
people who used them.”
Professor Malcolm, from the University
of Melbourne’s School of Historical
and Philosophical Studies, is an expert
on the history of migration and mental
health. She believes the importance of
this project can’t be underestimated. “Not
only will it throw light on the daily lives
of patients and staff and the care offered
in institutions now largely vanished,
it will help promote a better informed
public debate about this vital and
contentious area of mental health policy,”
she said.
Dr MacKinnon, a leading authority
on the history of Australian
psychiatric institutions, believes that
the interdisciplinary approach and
professional exchange involved are
essential to the project’s success. “Our
partnership with Nurin Veis enables us to
build on solid individual work and to go
further collectively,” she said.
According to the researchers, former
patients have come forward to speak
about their memories of everyday
hospital life. “Intriguing and sometimes
puzzling objects from the Museum’s
collection, like record players and sports
equipment, provided ready prompts for
the recovery of stories not usually told,”
Dr MacKinnon said.
Putting such an internationally
significant collection online will not
only make a valuable research resource
available to the widest possible audience,
it will also contribute to ongoing public
debate. Offering new insights into
past psychiatric care, research of this
kind provides an important context
for current discussion about the
relative merits of institutional versus
community-based care.
See: www.museumvictoria.com.au/
collections/themes/1587/psychiatric-
services-collection
“Intriguing and sometimes puzzling
objects from the Museum’s collection
provided ready prompts for the
recovery of stories not usually told.”
11
15. “The results of the study will provide the
Australian Government with advice and
feedback on the Ombudsman’s approach
to enforcement and the impact of the
new standards on employer compliance.”
Melbourne Law School researchers Associate Professors
John Howe and Sean Cooney are working with the Fair Work
Ombudsman to improve the effectiveness of the Australian
Government’s employment standards.
Their research project, entitled ‘New Initiatives in Enforcing
Employment Standards: Assessing the Effectiveness of Federal
Government Compliance Strategies’, will provide the first
comprehensive scholarly empirical evaluation of the Fair
Work Ombudsman.
“The wellbeing of more than eight million Australian
employees is underpinned by statutory workplace entitlements,”
said Associate Professor John Howe, a leading contributor
of theoretical and empirical labour law research in Australia
and the Director of the Centre for Employment and Labour
Relations at the University of Melbourne.
“For the large majority of those employees, these are set by
federal legislation.
“The statutory entitlements are meaningful only in so far as
they are complied with, and improving the effectiveness of the
federal enforcement agency, the Fair Work Ombudsman, is
therefore of crucial public importance.”
Statutory entitlements for most Australian workers arise
under the Fair Work Act 2009, which was assented to in April
2009. It was passed in parliament only after much debate and
amendment in the Senate. The Fair Work Ombudsman is a
statutory office created by the Fair Work Act, and the jurisdiction
and powers of the Fair Work Ombudsman are set out in the
Act. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s chief responsibility is to
monitor and, if necessary, enforce compliance with minimum
employment standards set under the Act. The position operates
independently of Government; the Ombudsman makes his or
her own decisions about all investigations.
With the Fair Work Act only coming into full effect at the
beginning of 2010, the $180,000 ARC linkage project study
is timely. The Act has made significant changes to minimum
employment standards, with over 4000 industry level awards
replaced by 130 modern awards.
Associate Professor Sean Cooney, whose research work focuses
on the enforcement of labour law, said there was now a lot of
confusion out there.
“Lack of awareness or difficulty with the standard is now going
to be a major factor in compliance, and we will be looking at that
closely,” he said.
Associate Professor Howe said it was hoped that the research
findings would identify multiple ways in which enforcement
practices could be improved, not only for the Fair Work
Ombudsman, but also for comparable compliance agencies
domestically and overseas.
“We’re examining how the Ombudsman investigates
noncompliance, and how it then uses its various enforcement
tools, including litigation,” Associate Professor Howe said.
The results of the study will provide the Australian Government
with advice and feedback on the Ombudsman’s approach
to enforcement and the impact of the new standards on
employer compliance.
See: www.celrl.law.unimelb.edu.au
Photo: Associate Professor Sean Cooney (left)
and Associate Professor John Howe (right).
13
16. Changing life trajectories:
The Early Years Education
Research Project
By Rees Quilford
“Infancy and childhood are
the most critical periods
of life for cognitive and
social development.”
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
14
17. The effectiveness of an innovative specialist
early intervention care and education program for
children who are at risk of developmental delays
because of abuse and neglect is being examined
by academics from the Faculties of Business
and Economics, and Medicine, Dentistry and
Health Sciences.
It is now well known that infancy and early childhood
are the most critical period of life for the development
of cognitive and social skills. Abuse and neglect
impairs all aspects of this development, and young
children who are victims of abuse and neglect are
therefore less likely to achieve their full potential.
Over their lifetimes they are more likely to drop
out of school; become teenage parents; engage in
substance abuse; experience poor physical and mental
health; become homeless; be unemployed; and
become incarcerated.
The Early Years Education Program (EYEP) is a new
three-year program being offered in Victoria by the
Children’s Protection Society (CPS) that is designed
to meet the needs of these vulnerable children. The
program combines best practices in attachment-based
care, infant mental health, parental engagement,
and the application of the Australian national early
learning frameworks. Children who participate will
receive five days per week of high-quality education
and care totalling at least 25 hours. EYEP targets
children aged 0–3 (at the time of entry into the
program), providing the intervention for three years or
until the child is of school age. The program for each
child is designed to address their individual needs,
and there is a focus on building alliances with parents
to sustain their participation.
The CPS estimates that there are more than 30,000
children aged under five years in Australia whose
development is compromised by abuse and neglect.
According to Dr Alice Hill of the CPS Board of
Management, “Children in child protection and
family support are the children who have most to gain
from high-quality early childhood care and education,
yet funding and regulatory barriers prevent them
from participating.
“We hope to measure how early investment in these
children improves their life chances and choices while
reducing governments’ expenditures on services like
remedial education, mental health and incarceration,”
she said.
To accomplish the task of evaluating the effects
of the EYEP the Children’s Protection Society has
assembled a diverse group of researchers. Included
in the team are Professor Jeff Borland of the
Department of Economics and Dr Yi-Ping Tseng
of the Melbourne Institute of Social and Economic
Research, and Associate Professor Brigid Jordan from
the Department of Paediatrics, Murdoch Children’s
Research Institute and the Royal Children’s Hospital.
The team also includes Dr Anne Kennedy, an adjunct
Professor at Charles Sturt University and co-author
of the first national early childhood curriculum
framework, as well as researchers from the Children’s
Protection Society.
According to Professor Borland the project is an
example of academic expertise being utilised to
benefit the broader community. “It is a great example
of the University of Melbourne helping to develop
evidence-based policy,” Professor Borland said.
“By knowing how EYEP improves outcomes for
children, and how the benefits it provides for society
compare to its costs, we will be in a much better
position to make policies for early childhood in
Australia,” he said.
Professor Borland, Dr Tseng and Associate Professor
Jordan have been involved throughout the planning
and initial stages of implementation of the project.
Their roles have included setting up the evaluation
of EYEP as a randomised trial, designing the data
collection that will take place throughout the project,
and documenting the details of EYEP. Professor
Borland and Dr Tseng will be undertaking the
statistical analysis of the data set and will also
complete a cost-benefit analysis.
See: www.eyerp.org
15
18. “Avian flu has been around
for a long time and has
been difficult to eradicate.”
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
16
19. Sparked by his passion for veterinary public
health, Professor Wilks has been working with the
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in
recent years, travelling the world as a zoonotic disease
specialist. Zoonotic diseases are animal diseases that
can affect humans.
“Zoonotic diseases are a huge global health problem
– it is estimated that around 75 per cent of diseases
– including AIDS and SARS which have emerged
to infect humans in recent decades, have come from
animals,” said Professor Wilks.
“Anyone in close contact with animals – such as
farmers and veterinarians, is at a higher risk of
contracting such diseases, but some diseases can also
spread very easily through indirect human contact with
infected animal products like unpasteurised milk.”
When there is a potential outbreak or problem
detected, Professor Wilks heads straight to the area
and works with the local citizens and government
to develop global programs to enhance veterinary
services and management techniques.
“The focus is to raise the level of understanding in the
local community on how best to prevent and manage
outbreaks – and this largely involves screening the
animals for diseases,” Professor Wilks says.
“We help the community to develop preparedness
plans so they are ready to fight any outbreaks.”
Most of his work for the UN has focused on the
control of avian influenza, or bird flu, which has been
recognised as a highly lethal viral disease of birds
since the mid 1900s.
Avian flu has been around for a long time and has
proved difficult to eradicate, according to Professor
Wilks. “One particular strain of avian influenza
virus has acquired the ability to spread directly from
poultry to humans, killing about 50 per cent of those it
infects,” he said.
“We are therefore working to better understand
the disease process in birds because protecting the
animals from the disease is step one in controlling
infection in people.”
Prior to his work with the UN, Professor Wilks was
involved in some of Australia’s most significant
eradications of diseases through his work with the
Department of Agriculture in Victoria.
Professor Wilks played an instrumental role in
a coordinated national program to eradicate the
dangerous zoonotic diseases brucellosis and
tuberculosis from all cattle in Australia.
“During the 1930s about 25 per cent of tuberculosis in
children was caused by the cattle organism,” Professor
Wilks said.
“After decades of hard work, brucellosis was
confirmed eradicated in 1989 and bovine tuberculosis
was declared eradicated in November 2006 in
Australia.”
Professor Wilks was trained as a veterinarian at the
University of Melbourne and returned to teach in
1999 to develop a new Global Program for Veterinary
Public Health at the Faculty of Veterinary Science.
“The program is designed to highlight the
significance of animal health globally and the
connection between animal and human health,”
Professor Wilks said.
“I am hoping that over my years of teaching I have
instilled some interest in veterinary public health so
Australia’s future vets will think ‘big picture’.”
See: www.findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/researcher/
person3413.html
Healthy animals
and healthy people
By Sally Sherwen
17
20. Australian children enter school
with widely different preparation for
learning and social participation. In
Australia, 61.5 per cent of children aged
3–4 attend Early Childhood Education
and Care Programs.
High-quality programs have been shown
to increase children’s life chances – yet
understanding of what constitutes
‘quality’ provision in Australia and the
value obtained from the $4.7 billion
invested annually in early childhood,
education and care programs by
Australian governments is limited.
The five-year $2.2 million E4Kids
(Effective Early Educational Experiences)
study is an Australian Research Council
Linkage project which will provide
evidence about ways to improve early
learning and social experiences and
establish positive life trajectories for
Australian children.
More than 2800 three- and four-year-olds
attending from over 800 services (long
day care, limited hours care, family day
care kindergarten and, in 2011, prep) in
Victoria and Queensland are now part
of the E4Kids study, one of Australia’s
largest-ever education studies.
The children and families who are
participating represent a broad cross-
section of Australian society, attending
a representative range of early childhood
settings. More than 50 researchers
started working with them in 2010.
E4Kids is now in its second year, having
generated baseline data in 2010. It
will continue to follow these children
until they sit their first NAPLAN tests
at the age of eight. The project’s chief
investigator is Professor Collette Tayler,
who holds the Chair of Early Childhood
Education and Care at the University of
Melbourne Graduate School of Education.
“There is evidence from studies around
the world that the early years are a critical
influence on an individual’s educational
and life outcomes,” Professor Tayler said.
“What happens in the early years has
an enduring impact on adult social
participation and productivity.
“There is strong evidence that high-
quality early childhood education
and care programs can increase
children’s lifelong learning and social
participation.”
The first year of E4Kids has already
generated findings about the pedagogical
practices of teachers and carers in the
field. According to Professor Tayler,
early analyses indicate that, in 2010,
early childhood settings were generally
doing well at providing emotional
support in the areas of the positive
climate, sensitivity and having regard
for children’s perspectives. However,
ratings were low in the area of learning
support for children (known as
‘instructional support’), which includes
the development of concepts, provision of
feedback and the modelling of language
and literacy.
“These findings are similar to evidence
from studies in the US,” Professor
Tayler said. “Instructional support is not
didactic teaching, but rather the presence
of reciprocal conversations, expanded
vocabulary and modelled language, and
the exploration of concepts linked to early
understandings about the world and
children’s everyday lives.”
E4Kids’ final results will be announced
in 2015. The results are expected to
support ongoing reform effort to improve
the quality of early childhood experience
in Australia.
E4Kids is a project of the Melbourne
Graduate School of Education at the
University of Melbourne and is conducted
in partnership with Queensland
University of Technology. The project
is funded by the Australian Research
Council Linkage Projects Scheme, the
Victorian Government Department
of Education and Early Childhood
Development, and the Queensland
Government Department of Education
and Training. E4Kids is conducted
with academic collaboration with the
University of Toronto at Scarborough;
the Institute of Education, the University
of London; and the Royal Children’s
Hospital, Melbourne.
See: www.e4kids.org.au
Assessing the impact
of early childhood
care and education
By Silvia Dropulich and Catriona May
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
18
21. “There is strong evidence that high-
quality early childhood education and
care programs can increase children’s
lifelong learning and social participation.”
19
23. “I don’t think any of us
really appreciated the
magnitude of the problem.”
The presence of land mines in developing
nations recovering from war has resulted in an ever-
increasing demand for low-cost artificial limbs. And
in recent years, this already high demand has been
exacerbated by industrial or environmental accidents,
terrorist attacks and the poor quality of public health
– to the point where demand far exceeds the number
that can be produced or distributed.
In Cambodia alone there are an estimated 30,000 to
50,000 amputees.
In an attempt to make some positive difference to
this disturbing worldwide problem, teams of final-
year students supervised by Associate Professor
Peter Lee Vee Sin from the University of Melbourne’s
Department of Mechanical Engineering have been
conducting research on various kinds of low-cost
artificial limbs. Supported by Dreamlarge Student
Engagement Grants in both 2009 and 2010, the
students’ year-long research projects have culminated
in field trips to Cambodia to visit rehabilitation clinics
as well as prosthetics and orthotics centres to gain
insight on manufacture, usage and design problems.
“Going to Cambodia was incredibly instructive
on a number of levels,” says Oliver Hare, one of a
group of four students with an abiding interest in
biomedical engineering who travelled there for 10
days last September.
“I don’t think any of us really appreciated the
magnitude of the problem or understood the burden
amputees face when trying to cope with hopelessly
inadequate prostheses. It seems that everywhere we
looked we saw people struggling with well-worn,
damaged artificial limbs that, at best, only last for a
couple of months anyway.”
A key aspect of Associate Professor Lee’s work is
its organic nature. Each year, the research of the
graduating team informs the research of the following
year’s group.
“For example,” says Associate Professor Lee, “the
2009 team designed a prototype prosthetic knee joint
for testing by the International Committee for the Red
Cross (ICRC), and an apparatus to mechanically test
the knee for structural integrity and functionality.”
This in turn led the team to design a successful low-
cost prosthetic knee that overcame some of the more
significant problems associated with the prevailing
design at that time. But on return they also presented
a much larger and more immediate problem – the
structural shortcomings of the existing prosthetic
foot design.
“What we discovered is that the locally-made foot is
structurally very strong,” says Mr Hare, “and that the
main setbacks with its design and production actually
relate to the weight and the ability of the polypropylene
keel to adhere to the surrounding rubber.”
The Department of Mechanical Engineering is also
conducting a patient trial in Hanoi, in collaboration
with the Vietnamese Training Centre for Orthopaedic
Technologies (VIETCOT), to produce good-fitting
artificial limbs that are relatively inexpensive and
require minimal skill to manufacture. This project
is funded by the Melbourne-based CASS Foundation
and the Rotary Club Richmond.
“Using objective parameters such as stump anatomy,
body weight and an evenly distributed pressure
over an amputee’s stump, we have shown that an
acceptable prosthetic fit can be produced using a
pressure-casting technique we have developed,” says
Associate Professor Lee. “Due to the lack of skilled
practitioners in developing countries, this method will
have an immediate impact in addressing a prevailing
worldwide problem.”
See: www.mech.unimelb.edu.au/people/staff/peter_
lee.html
21
25. In an Australia first, Melbourne
University researchers have built a facility
to measure the energy saved by trees, in
an effort to quantify in dollar terms the
benefits of better integrating them within
the built environment.
The research facility at Burnley campus
continuously measures the energy-saving
benefits of native evergreen eucalypts and
European deciduous trees. In summer,
the sun’s energy passing into the building
is directly measured using heat flux
sensors on the walls, ceiling and floor,
measuring heat coming in during the
day and heat lost overnight and during
winter. Through direct measurements
this research is able to quantify the
combined cooling from canopy shade on
the walls and the affects of transpiration.
The facility was built and instrumented
by an interdisciplinary team from
the Melbourne School of Land and
Environment, Engineering and
Architecture, and funded by the Nursery
and Garden Industry Australia.
Dr Stephen Livesley from the School of
Land and Environment said most people
know the cooling benefits of tree shade.
“What is interesting is that most of the
cooling is coming from transpiration,
where trees release moisture to cool
themselves and the air around them,”
he said.
“These energy-saving benefits are
another reason to value trees and they
should be seen as an asset, adding value
to houses and communities. Trees are
often an afterthought in the planning
process, but if you can quantify in dollar
terms the benefits they provide, you can
communicate the long-term advantages.
But to do that you need to have clear,
scientifically backed data.”
To this end, the facility will measure
the energy entering into and out of a
single-dwelling building over a 12-month
period. This will enable a fair comparison
between evergreen trees and deciduous
trees by accounting for the various factors
involved in year-round energy savings.
“The shade from the evergreen trees
cools the building in summer, which is
good, but it can also make it colder in
winter; while the deciduous trees allow
the sun through during winter and
often develop a dense canopy in summer
which provides excellent shade,” Dr
Livesley said. This study is also able to
quantify the amount of water that these
trees use in providing their shade and
transpiration benefits.
The City of Melbourne’s Urban Forest
Manager, Ian Shears, said trees are
increasingly being viewed by local and
state governments and the community
from an environmental services
perspective, rather than traditional
amenity or heritage values.
“Research that quantifies the benefits
of trees in energy conservation greatly
enables mechanisms and strategies to be
put in place to influence positive urban
forest outcomes on both private and
public land,” Mr Shears said.
“This form of research enables trees to
be viewed as a benefit rather than a cost
in budgetary and works considerations,
planning controls and development
planning.”
Similar studies in the US have estimated
that the shade of large trees can save an
average household between $100 and
$250 per year, depending on the climate
of the area.
The results of the research are intended
to give ‘proof-of-concept’ and to provide
direct measurement data that can be used
to validate models used by engineers and
architects to predict the energy balance of
a building or a community.
See: www.landfood.unimelb.edu.au/
green
The energy-saving
benefits of urban trees
By Charlotte Crawford
23
27. Think of Melbourne’s suburban city-scape as a
classroom full of different personalities: loud and brash kids,
understated and shy kids, rich kids, poor kids, bumpkins and
budding socialites. Like any cross-section of human life, the
same diversity of characters can be found within Melbourne’s
metropolitan splay of suburbs.
A University of Melbourne study, ‘The Character of Urban
Intensification’, examined a variety of Melbourne suburbs,
from Camberwell to Caroline Springs. Professor Kim Dovey
and Research Fellow Ian Woodcock from the Faculty of
Architecture, Building and Planning are looking at how
residents perceive the character of their neighbourhood.
“Neighbourhood character is created by both the social and
community elements of a neighbourhood, and also the physical
traits of an area,” Professor Dovey said.
Mr Woodcock adds: “The character of a suburb is a feeling that
is associated with a neighbourhood. It is captured through
words like the ‘atmosphere’ or ‘look and feel’ of a place.”
In some suburbs, such as Fitzroy, residents define a suburb’s
character in terms of diversity: “It has that ‘edge’ – that people
are interesting, that it has a good atmosphere. It has a sort of a
seedy side, a sort of an underbelly that is in a way a little bit scary,
but the suburb also has a community, it has character and it has
depth,” Mr Woodcock said.
Professor Dovey suggests that, because character is inherently
social as well as spatial, objections to the ‘wrong kind of
buildings’ can be used as a cover to exclude the ‘wrong kind of
people’.
The use of the word ‘character’ as a legal criterion in planning
legislation is problematic. “When we reduce character
to particular characteristics we can turn ‘character’ into
‘caricature’,” Professor Dovey said.
Residents often point to low-density housing and the feeling
of space and privacy that comes from large blocks and quiet
avenues as positive characteristics of a suburb. Yet street after
street of generous-sized blocks have a significant environmental
downside: a heavily car-dependent population removed from
public transport infrastructure or walkable facilities.
Professor Dovey and Mr Woodcock found that resident activists
are generally willing to accept change and higher-density
developments if proposals do not exceed five storeys and are
part of a predictable planning process.
The University of Melbourne study suggests that the Victorian
planning system needs to be reviewed if urban intensification
strategies are to be implemented with community support. “The
current system tends to produce both an escalation of conflict
and land speculation,” Mr Woodcock said.
See: www.abp.unimelb.edu.au/research/funded/intensifying-
places.html
Character, conflict
and quiet avenues
By Laura Soderlind
25
28. RESEARCH NEWS
Scientists crack
the spider’s
web code
Melbourne University
cancer researcher wins
Premier’s Award for Health
and Medical Research 2011
Groundbreaking research
into how breast and ovarian cancers
spread has won Melbourne University
researcher Dr Wen Qiu the prestigious
2011 Premier's Award for Health and
Medical Research for her work with
Associate Professor Ian Campbell at the
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
Premier of Victoria Ted Baillieu
presented Dr Qiu with the $16,000
prize in recognition of her work, saying
she was an up-and-coming world
expert in her field of cancer research
and had won the award from a field
of highly talented young health and
medical researchers.
“As part of her PhD, Dr Qiu took an
innovative approach and concentrated on
the tissues surrounding the cancer cells
and the role of chemical additions to the
DNA chain. She made the important
discovery that the tissue surrounding
the cancer cells contributed greatly to
cancer formation,” Mr Baillieu said.
Decorative white silk crosses are an
ingenious tactic used by orb-weaving spiders to
protect their webs from damage, a new study
from the University of Melbourne has revealed.
The team, led by Dr Andre Walter and Professor
Mark Elgar from the University of Melbourne’s
Department of Zoology, found that orb-weaving
spiders respond to severe damage to their webs
by building bigger silk crosses, but if the damage
is mild they don’t bother adding extra decoration.
Professor Mark Elgar said web damage is costly
for spiders as a lot of nutritional resources are
required to rebuild a web. “So they evolved this
ingenious way to minimise unwanted damage,”
he said.
“It’s much like how we mark glass windows with
tape to prevent people walking into them.”
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
26
29. Carbon cycling
researchers prepare the
track for sustainability
By Nerissa Hannink
While details of the federal government’s carbon tax
are still being discussed, most have welcomed the
proposed investment in alternative energy production
and bio-sequestration through carbon farming.
Working with industry partners, national and
international collaborators, the University of
Melbourne is at the forefront of the quest for
renewable energy sources and has an impressive
research capability in carbon capture and energy
efficiency. Projects range from revolutionary solar cell
development and geothermal energy generation to the
production of alternative fuel engines. Research into
cleaner energy from existing sources is also a focus
with the development of carbon dioxide capture and
storage techniques from fossil fuel combustion.
Carbon released into the atmosphere from energy
generation or transport adds of course to carbon
released through natural carbon cycles. To try and
understand these complex cycles, and how they
interact with human-induced climate change, a long-
term ecosystem research site has been established by
the Melbourne School of Land and Environment.
The study site in the Wombat State Forest is the first
of its kind in Australia, located between Ballarat
and Daylesford in Central Victoria. Researchers
from the Department of Forest and Ecosystem
Science, Melbourne School of Land and Environment
aim to unravel the role of forests in Australia’s
National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, in partnership
with Monash University and the Department of
Sustainability and Environment of Victoria.
Covering around 19% of Australia’s land mass, forests
are an enormous store of carbon where it is taken up
via photosynthesis and stored in the biomass of trees
and plants as well as in the surrounding soil. But
forests are also a source of carbon when it is released
during the tree’s normal respiration process and as a
result of disturbance events such as bushfires.
This balance is not very well understood in most
Australian forest systems but will ultimately
determine how much carbon forests can take up and
store over longer periods of time.
The Wombat State Forest study uses some unique
instrumentation including a main flux tower site
and three satellite sites allowing the measurement of
carbon, water and energy fluxes of the entire forest
system whilst a mobile gas analyser automatically
measures the soil–based fluxes of carbon dioxide,
methane and nitrous oxide. On three satellite sites a
rainfall reduction treatment has been established to
study the effect of rainfall reduction and drought on
the carbon and greenhouse gas cycles.
Together the different experimental approaches will
allow a better understanding of the processes that
control the carbon and greenhouse gas balances in
forest systems in Australia, allowing a thorough
assessment of how changes in our climate will
influence the carbon exchange processes in forests,
and if and why forests may be vulnerable with regard
to their carbon balance.
In the long run the study will also enable
understanding of the impact of forest disturbances
such as bushfires on the carbon and greenhouse gas
balance. It will also be possible, for the first time,
to study the short–term and long–term impacts of
prescribed burning on carbon and greenhouse gas
balance of a forest.
See: www.forestscience.unimelb.edu.au/wombatflux
27
30. Pets with mental illness
New IBM Global R&D Lab In Australia
The new IBM Global R&D Lab will be
IBM’s first lab that combines research
and development in a single organisation
focussed on accelerating progress towards
a smarter planet.
The new global research and development
lab will be located at the University
of Melbourne, a world-class research
university, and will begin operations
during the first quarter of 2011. IBM
expects to employ about 150 people there
within five years.
“At IBM, R&D investment plays a
critical role in the company's strategy
for growth,” said Dr. John E. Kelly III,
IBM senior vice president and director of
IBM Research. “By combining research
and development into one lab to focus
on creating smarter planet solutions,
IBM is creating a new kind of innovation
centre in Australia – unlike anything the
company has done before.
The new lab will work closely with
leading Australian scientists and
engineers from academia, government
and commercial entities to extend IBM's
global R&D footprint and further the
impact of its smarter planet strategy.”
Source: www-03.ibm.com/press/au/en/
pressrelease/32726.wss
Mental illness is not only a problem
many humans battle; animals too can
suffer from anxiety, mental distress
and phobias.
Dr Gabrielle Carter from the University
of Melbourne’s Faculty of Veterinary
Science specialises in animal behaviour
and is working to increase awareness of
mental illness in pets.
Many animals share similar biological
systems; for example, the nervous system
and brains of different mammals are very
similar, Dr Carter explains.
“So, if humans are recognised as having
mental illness based in altered brain
function, then it is reasonable to expect
other animals would too,” she says.
“And we do see these problems in a range
of species including cats, dogs, horses,
birds and many more.”
Dr Carter explains that mental illness
can manifest in different forms in
animals. Some common conditions
include: separation anxiety, noise phobias
and aggression in dogs; urine spraying
and compulsive over-grooming in cats;
and feather picking and over-bonding
in birds.
It is important for the welfare of our
animals that we recognise and treat these
problems, Dr Carter explains.
“One of the guiding principles of the
Animal Welfare Act of Australia is that
animals should be free from pain and
distress,’ she says.
“As such, it is essential we keep our
animals mentally, as well as physically,
well.”
Above: Vice-Chancellor Professor Glyn
Davis, Dr Glenn Wightwick (IBM),
Senator the Hon. Kim Carr, Prime
Minister Julia Gillard, Premier John
Brumby, Mr Glen Boreham, (IBM),
Dr Robert Morris (IBM).
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
28
31. Leading Neurologist
appointed new Chair of
Medicine at St Vincent’s
Exploring life
under the sea
Leading neurologist Professor Mark Cook
has been appointed the new Chair of Medicine at
St Vincent’s Hospital. Professor Cook specialises
in the treatment of epilepsy and his previous role
was also at St Vincent’s as Professor and Director
of Neurology. He is recognised internationally for
his expertise in epilepsy management, particularly
imaging and surgical planning.
Understanding the complex networks of
marine life in Port Phillip Bay is the focus of
two new research projects at the University of
Melbourne, funded by the Victorian Government’s
Department of Sustainability and Environment.
Marine biologists from the University’s
Department of Zoology welcomed $2.2 million in
funding for the research projects.
The aim of both projects is to learn more
about the marine systems in Port Phillip
Bay, to allow key habitats to be identified and
protected. One team, led by Professor Mick
Keough, will focus on sea grass habitats, and
the other team, led by Associate Professor Steve
Swearer, will focus on rocky reef habitats.
29
32. ARC Centre for
Excellence
in History of
Emotions
The University of Melbourne is proud
to be part of the Centre of Excellence for History
of Emotions (CHE), funded by the ARC for
$24.25 million over seven years.
The Centre will focus its research on the
medieval–early modern period 1100–1800
under the themes of ‘Meanings’, ‘Change’,
‘Performance,’ and ‘Shaping the Modern’. The
CHE will explore the ways emotions have shaped
mental, physical and social wellbeing over time;
provide an understanding of how emotional
health can be improved in the modern Australian
context; and invigorate our culture through
performances in drama, opera and art.
The University of Melbourne is a major partner
in the CHE, which will be housed at the
University of Western Australia. The University
of Melbourne will contribute approximately $1.7
million to the Centre. Professor Stephanie Trigg
from the School of Culture and Communications
and Professor Charles Zika from the School of
Historical Studies are chief investigators, with
Professor Trigg assuming leadership of the
Shaping the Modern program.
University signs
Memorandum of
Understanding with
Zoos Victoria
Vice-Chancellor Professor
Glyn Davis has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding
with Zoos Victoria to officially
acknowledge a new partnership.
The partnership will deliver
significant benefits in biodiversity
conservation, sustainability
and veterinary science on
matters of global, national and
state importance.
It builds on a longstanding
relationship which has seen
substantial exchange of research,
teaching and learning as well as
wider engagement.
The partnership will give staff
more opportunities to share and
develop new expertise in the
fields of biodiversity conservation,
environmental sustainability,
veterinary sciences, animal
wellbeing and animal–human
interface research.
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
30
33. Groundbreaking research
has shown a quantum atom has been
tracked inside a living human cell and
may lead to improvements in the testing
and development of new drugs.
Professor Lloyd Hollenberg from the
University of Melbourne’s School of
Physics, who led the research, said it is
the first time a single atom encased in
nanodiamond has been used as a sensor
to explore the nanoscale environment
inside a living human cell.
“It is exciting to see how the atom
experiences the biological environment
at the nanoscale,” he said.
“This research paves the way towards a
new class of quantum sensors used for
biological research into the development
of new drugs and nanomedicine.”
The sensor is capable of detecting
biological processes at a molecular level,
such as the regulation of chemicals in
and out of the cell, which is critical in
understanding how drugs work.
The paper has been published in the
journal Nature Nanotechnology.
Professor Ashley Bush
from the University of Melbourne
and the Mental Health Research
Institute has been awarded one
of six Australia Fellowships
recognising research excellence of
global significance.
The winners of the National Health
and Medical Research Australia
Fellowships were announced by
the Hon. Mark Butler, Federal
Minster for Mental Health and
Ageing, at a dinner in Canberra
earlier this year.
Professor Bush’s research into
developing new treatments for
Alzheimer’s disease has won
him the $4 million fellowship,
which will provide funding for his
research for the next five years.
In particular, it will enable him
to continue the clinical testing of
a new type of drug designed to
treat Alzheimer’s and potentially
prevent the progression of age-
related cognitive decline.
He also aims to develop a
comprehensive set of diagnostic
markers in blood (such as levels of
proteins, enzymes, metals) that can
be used to objectively monitor the
progression of the disease.
Quantum sensor tracked in human
cells could aid drug discovery
World-leading University
researcher wins NHMRC
Australia Fellowship
31
35. VISION
To be a globally engaged,
comprehensive research-intensive
university uniquely positioned to
respond to major social, economic
and environmental challenges.
HISTORY
The University of Melbourne has
been a centre of learning since
1855. The main Parkville campus
on the edge of the Melbourne CBD
is a focus of the city’s ‘Knowledge
Precinct’ and the prestigious
medical research ‘Parkville
Precinct’.
Melbourne is a leading research
university, widely renowned
for its teaching, research
achievements and social and
economic contributions. National
and international performance
confirms the University as a leader
across a broad range of fields.
Excellence in Research
Excellence in Research for
Australia (ERA) results confirmed
the University’s position as the
nation’s leading comprehensive
research-intensive university.
ERA found over 99 per cent of the
University’s research to be at or
above world standard and that the
University accounts for 18 per cent
of all Australian research output
classified at or above world
standard. ERA quality assessments
were based on researchers, research
outputs, research income, applied
measures and esteem measures for
the period 2003–2008.
The University of Melbourne
submission to the inaugural ERA
assessment included data on more
than 2900 full-time equivalent
researchers and over 30,000
research outputs for the scheme’s
eight broad disciplinary areas.
Of just over 100 research areas
assessed by the ARC over a six-year
period, 42 at Melbourne had the
highest rating, well-above world
ranking. Another 40 were rated
above world standard and 20 at
world standard.
Areas achieving the maximum
world rating included:
Mathematical, Physical, Earth and
Biological Sciences; Engineering
and Technology; Medical and
Health Sciences; Economics and
Commerce; Law; Language; and
History and Archaeology.
See: www.arc.gov.au/era
RESEARCH AT
THE UNIVERSITY
OF MELBOURNE
33
36. RANKINGS
Academic Ranking
of World Universities
(ARWU)
The University of Melbourne has
claimed the top spot in Australia
and has been ranked 60th
worldwide in the 2011 Academic
Ranking of World Universities
announced in August. Melbourne
climbed two places internationally
in the most highly regarded
academic rankings of the world’s
top universities, collated by the
Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
The University has also jumped
32 places since the rankings began
in 2003.
The ARWU compares 1000 higher
education institutions worldwide
on a range of criteria including
staff and alumni winning Nobel
Prizes and Fields Medals, highly
cited researchers and articles
published in Science and Nature
and science citation indices, as
well as academic performance in
relation to the universities’ size.
Times Higher Education
World University
Rankings 2010-2011
See: www.timeshighereducation.
co.uk/world-university-
rankings/2010-2011/oceania.html
World rank 36
Region rank 1
Overall score 71
Teaching 58.7
International mix 88
Industry income 47.7
Research 69.2
Citations 83.3
2011 QS World University
Rankings by Subject
For the complete top 200 QS World
University Rankings by Subject.
See: www.topuniversities.
com/#slide-one
Arts & Humanities
++ 1st in Australia and 14th in the world in English Language & Literature
++ 2nd in Australia and equal 11th with University of Toronto in Linguistics
++ 2nd in Australia and 15th in the world in Philosophy
++ 3rd in Australia and 16th in the world in Modern Languages
++ 3rd in Australia and 14th in the world in History
++ 3rd in Australia and 22nd in the world in Geography & Area Studies
Engineering & Technology
++ 1st in Australia and 19th in the world in Computer Science & Information Systems
++ 1st in Australia and 11th in the world in Civil & Structural Engineering
++ 1st in Australia and 12th in the world in Chemical Engineering
++ 1st in Australia and 15th in the world in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical
++ 1st in Australia and 17th in the world in Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering
Life Sciences
++ 1st in Australia and 15th in the world in Medicine
++ 1st in Australia and equal 25th in Biological Sciences
++ 1st in Australia and 8th in the world in Psychology
Natural Sciences
++ 1st in Australia and 23rd in the world in Chemistry
++ 1st in Australia and 14th in the world in Physics & Astronomy
++ 2nd in Australia and 26th in the world in Mathematics
++ 2nd in Australia and 16th in the world in Environmental Sciences
++ 3rd in Australia and 30th in the world in Earth & Marine Sciences
Social Sciences
++ 1st Australia and 14th in the world in Accounting & Finance
++ 1st in Australia and equal 16th in the world in Economics and Econometrics
++ 1st in Australia and 16th in the world in Statistics and Operational Research
++ 1st in Australia and 9th in the world in Law
++ 2nd in Australia (ANU 10) and 12th in the world in Politics and International Studies
++ 2nd in Australia (ANU 13) and 20th in the world in Sociology
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
34
37. LOCATIONS
Main campus: Parkville. Other
campuses: Austin and Northern
Hospital, Western Hospital and
the Eastern Hill precinct including
St Vincent’s campus and The
Royal Eye and Ear Hospital. VCA
and Music campus at Southbank,
Hawthorn, Burnley, Dookie,
Werribee, Creswick, Shepparton.
AFFILIATIONS
Austin Health; Australia and New
Zealand School of Government;
Australian Antarctic Division;
Australian Centre for Post
Traumatic Mental Health;
Australian Institute of Family
Studies; Bionics Institute;
Bureau of Meteorology; Burnet
Institute; Cancer Council Victoria;
CSIRO; Epworth Health Care;
Florey Neuroscience Institutes;
Goulburn Valley Health; Grattan
Institute; Institute of Postcolonial
Studies; Leo Cussen Institute
for Continuing Legal Education;
Ludwig Institute for Cancer
Research; Marine and Freshwater
Resources Institute; Melbourne
Business School; Melbourne
College of Divinity; Melbourne
Health; Mental Health Research
Institute; Murdoch Children’s
Research Institute; Museum
Victoria; National Ageing Research
Institute; Northern Health; Peter
MacCallum Cancer Institute; Royal
Botanic Gardens; Royal Children’s
Hospital; Royal Victorian Eye and
Ear Hospital; Skin and Cancer
Foundation; St Vincent’s Health;
St Vincent’s Institute; Tasman
Institute, Tasman Asia Pacific;
the Women’s Hospital; Victorian
College of Optometry; Victorian
Institute of Forensic Medicine;
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of
Medical Research; Zoological Parks
and Gardens Board of Victoria.
0
198
264
330
396
462
528
594
660
726
792
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 (est.)
Research Expenditure
($million)
Note: As formal analysis is undertaken biennially
for the Australian Bureau of Statistics data
collection, results for odd years are estimates.
35
38. RESEARCH CENTRES
The University of Melbourne has 11
discipline-specific faculties, and is
affiliated with many independent medical
research institutes, teaching hospitals
and other institutions like the Melbourne
Business School. The University is also a
leader in cultural, environmental, legal and
social research. Among the many specialist
centres are:
Cooperative Research Centres (CRC)
The Australian Government’s CRC
program delivers social, economic
and environmental benefits by
encouraging collaboration between
research institutions and industry, with
a strong commercialisation focus, e.g.
the Cooperative Research Centre for
Greenhouse Gas Technologies.
Australian Research Council (ARC)
Centres of Excellence
The ARC’s Centres of Excellence
program maintains and develops
Australia’s international standing in the
Commonwealth Government’s designated
Priority Areas of Research:
++ Nano-Materials and Bio-Materials (NBM)
++ Genome/Phenome Research (GPR)
++ Complex/Intelligent Systems (CSI)
++ Photon Science and Technology (PST).
The University of Melbourne is the lead
participant in four of these Centres: the
ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle
Physics at the Tera-Scale; the ARC Centre
of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry
and Biotechnology, the ARC Centre of
Excellence in Coherent X-ray Science,
and the ARC Centre of Excellence for
Mathematics and Statistics of Complex
Systems. Melbourne is also a key
collaborator and partner in a further 12
centres: ARC Centre of Excellence in
Design in Light Metals; ARC Centre of
Excellence in Ore Deposits; ARC Centre of
Excellence for Integrative Legume Research
(University of Queensland); ARC Centre
of Excellence for Quantum Computer
Technology (UNSW); ARC Centre of
Excellence for Kangaroo Genomics
(Australian National University); the ARC
Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and
Development (University of Newcastle);
ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell
Wall Biology (University of Adelaide);
ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum
Computation and Communication
Technology (University of New South
Wales); ARC Centre of Excellence for
Climate System Science (University of New
South Wales); ARC Centre of Excellence
for All-sky Astrophysics (University of
Sydney); ARC Centre of Excellence for
Environmental Decisions (University
of Queensland); and the ARC Centre of
Excellence for the History of Emotions
(University of Western Australia).
National Health and Medical
Research Council Centres and
Programs
The National Health and Medical Research
Council (NHMRC) is Australia’s peak
body for supporting health and medical
research. Program Grants provide security
of funding to teams of researchers over a
five-year period. The University currently
holds seven of these prestigious grants
focusing on influenza, stroke, immunity,
youth mental disorders, epilepsy, and
neurodegeneration of ageing. A new Centre
of Research Excellence will accelerate
discoveries in neuroscience into new
health outcomes.
Melbourne Research Institutes
These are University constituted
institutes that draw together the breadth
of our research activity across faculty and
discipline boundaries to tackle complex
global issues and respond to major social,
economic and environmental challenges.
Our current institutes are:
++ Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society
++ Melbourne Energy Institute
++ Melbourne Materials Research Institute
++ Melbourne Neuroscience Institute
++ Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute
See: www.ri.unimelb.edu.au
RESEARCH REVIEW 2011
36
39. GRADUATE RESEARCH TRAINING
As members of one of Australia’s largest research
institutions, graduate research candidates at the
University of Melbourne work on projects spanning
emerging fields as well as the full range of traditional
academic disciplines. The researchers who supervise
and mentor our graduate research candidates are
among the world’s finest and work at the forefront of
international scholarship.
Facts and Figures
Category 2009 2010
Median Student ENTER 94.1 93.9
Student Enrolments (EFTSL)
Total Load (EFTSL) 35,927 36,626
Research Higher Degree 3,186 3,222
Postgraduate Coursework 7,404 8,289
% Female Enrolment 54.3% 55.2%
International Load (EFTSL) 10,133 10,144
% International 28.2% 27.7%
Award Completions
Research Higher Degree (excl. Higher Doct.) 775 715
Postgraduate Coursework 4,993 4,421
Total 13,499 13,353
Staff (FTE) (March, including casuals excluding TAFE)
Academic (all) 3,547 3,595
Professionals (all) 3,821 3,721
Total 7,368 7,316
Student:Staff Ratio (August)
TR Faculty Staff 17.8 18.3
All Academic Faculty Staff 10.9 10.9
Research Expenditure ($ million) 738.0 (est.) 767.5 (est.)
Research Performance Indicators
Research Income ($ million) 337.0 (1) 355.8 (est.)
Research Publications 4,456 (1) 4,200 (est.)
Research Load (EFTSL) 3,172 (2) 3,222
Research Completions (eligible)* 775 (1) 715
Numbers in brackets are Melbourne’s National Rank, based on the
proportion of the national total for each category.
* Eligible completions means those included in RTS Formula; excludes Higher Doctorates by Publication.
Melbourne’s Performance against Key National Research Indicators
RESEARCH INCOME RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS
RESEARCH COMPLETIONS
(ELIGIBLE)*
$000 National Rank % of Total
DEST
Weighted
Score
National Rank % of Total Number National Rank
2006 279.7 2 12.7% 3,809 2 8.2% 736 1
2007 309.0 2 12.4% 3,909 2 8.2% 732 1
2008 382.5 1 13.6% 4,317 1 8.6% 720 1
2009 337.0 1 12.1% 4,456 1 8.5% 775 1
2010 355.8** (est.) n/a n/a 4,200 (est.) n/a n/a 715 (est.) n/a
* Eligible completions means those included in RTS Formula; excludes Higher Doctorates by Publication.
** Includes all income deemed eligible under the 2010 Higher Education Research Data Collection regulations.
37
40. CRICOS:00116K
http://futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/info/research
Graduate Research Training.
Join Australia’s Best Minds
The University of Melbourne is seeking high calibre PhD students to contribute to projects
at the forefront of international research.
At the University of Melbourne, one of Australia’s leading research universities, you will
become part of a dynamic research community, working alongside the best and brightest
researchers in the country.
Our generous scholarship programs provide students with financial support and
opportunities for international fieldwork and travel.
To find out more about undertaking a graduate research degree at Melbourne,
visit http://futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/info/research
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