Bio21 Institute appoints Deputy Director and Associate Directors
28 May 10
The Bio21 Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of three new members to the Senior Executive group.
In line with the Bio21 Institute's business and research strategy, three new members of the Bio21 Institute's research group leaders have been appointed to key roles.
Congratulations to Professor Malcolm McConville, a current member of the Institute's Management Advisory Committee and research group leader with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, for his appointment to the role of Deputy Director. Effective immediately, Professor McConville will work closely with Institute Director, Professor Tony Bacic and members of the Institute's Management team to help deliver on strategic and operational plans.
In line with the Bio21 Institute's strategy to adopt three key research themes to help focus our basic and strategic research efforts - Structural Biology, Chemical Biology and Nanobiotechnology - three Associate Directors have been appointed to help steer these themes.
Congratulations to Professor Malcolm McConville for his appointment as Associate Director Structural Biology Research Theme, Dr Spencer Williams for his appointment as Associate Director Chemical Biology Research Theme and Professor Paul Mulvaney for his appointment as Associate Director Nanobiotechnology Research Theme.
The Bio21 Institute's Director, Professor Tony Bacic extended warm congratulations on behalf of the Bio21 Institute and highlighted the significance of these key strategic management roles. "With the commitment and leadership of these new appointments, the Bio21 Institute is now well positioned to focus on building the synergies and programs that align our basic and strategic research strengths across medicine, science and engineering and with our key platform technologies."
Following consultation with Institute-based senior research group leaders, Deans of the relevant Faculties and the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) Professor Peter Rathjen, the Bio21 Institute adopted three research themes to focus the Institute's basic and strategic research that underpins our vision to improve human health and the environment through innovation in life sciences. Within these themes, research directions and outcomes will reflect the University, National and State research priorities as well as those of the biotechnology industry sector.
About our new Deputy Director and Associate Directors
Professor Malcolm McConville
Professor Malcolm McConville has had a long-standing interest in the metabolism of microbial pathogens with the view of identifying new drug targets. He received his PhD from the University of Melbourne and held post-doctoral fellowships at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the University of Dundee, Scotland. He moved his research group to the Department of Biochemistry in 1994 and since then has received substantial funding from the NHMRC, the Wellcome Trust, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is currently a Principal Research Fellow with the NHMRC and is involved in the establishment of the Metabolomics Australia hub in the Bio21 Institute.
Professor McConville's research interests aim to understand how microbial pathogens survive in humans and other animal hosts, with the aim of developing new anti-microbial agents and vaccines.
Professor Paul Mulvaney
Professor Paul Mulvaney is an ARC Federation Fellow in the School of Chemistry and Bio21 Institute at the University of Melbourne, and a co-director of the University of Melbourne's Centre for Nanoscience and Technology (CNST), established in 2003. He has served on the CSIRO Division of Molecular and Health Technology's Science Council, and as an executive member of the ARC Particulate Fluids Processing Centre. His group has been awarded two patents on biosensing. He currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of Genera Biosystems and Chairs the RACI Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry.
Professor Mulvaney received his PhD degree at the University of Melbourne in 1989, working on surface electron transfer reactions with Professor Franz Grieser. He is the recipient of the David Syme and Grimwade Prizes, and was twice an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of the journals Langmuir, Small, NanoToday, Advanced Functional Materials and the Royal Society Journal of Materials Chemistry and PCCP. In 2009 he was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science.
Professor Mulvaney's research interests focus on the unusual optical properties of nanoscale materials. His group is developing methods for conjugating nanocrystals to biological systems such as proteins and DNA with the Williams group, and characterizing these through ultracentrifugation with the Perugini and Howlett research groups.
Dr Spencer Williams
Dr Spencer Williams has a longstanding interest in the chemical synthesis of biologically active compounds, and their use to facilitate a molecular-level understanding of biological problems. He obtained his BSc and PhD at the University of Western Australia and held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and the University of California at Berkeley. Since 2002 he has been a member of faculty in the School of Chemistry. He is the recipient of the 2008 RACI Rennie Memorial Medal and the 2007 Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne Dean's Research Award.
Dr Spencer Williams' research interests include the development of new chemical methodology, and in particular carbohydrate chemistry, and its application in biologically-focused chemical synthesis, and in solving complex biological problems. Additionally, he has medicinal chemistry programs in the areas of new therapeutic agents for treatment of cardiovascular disease and fibrosis.
About the Bio21 Institute's Three Research Themes:
Structural Biology
The study of biological macromolecules (proteins, complex carbohydrates and nucleic acids) and metabolites in vitro and in vivo. These areas are directed at understanding the organisation of complex biological systems and molecular processes that underpin normal cellular development and disease employing advanced analytical platforms, bioinformatics and computational modeling.
Chemical Biology
The study of small molecules (natural and synthetic) in the context of living systems. Chemical biology is directed at understanding the chemical and physical processes that occur within biological systems and environmental ecosystems. It also covers the synthesis and study of small molecules used to probe biological systems and the discovery and development of novel human therapeutics and agrochemicals.
Nanobiotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of science at the atomic, nano and sub-nano molecular scale to produce functional materials and devices. Biotechnology is the application of biological techniques to produce research and development for applications that benefit society. These areas bring together physical and life sciences, biomedical research and engineering with broad applications in health, agricultural and environmental research.
Further information on this article please contact:
Helen Varnavas
Communications and Public Relations Manager
Bio21 Institute
University of Melbourne
T: 8344 2225
