Researchers from the University of Calgary’s Snyder Institute and Hotchkiss Brain Institute recently converged on Melbourne for the inaugural AUS-CAN symposium, hosted in partnership with the Doherty Institute and the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health to discuss the nexus between neuroscience and infectious diseases.
From gut-nervous system interactions and the microbiome, to microbial frontiers and novel vaccines and therapeutics, the presentations throughout the symposium highlighted the expertise available and the opportunities for research collaborations across the two biomedical precincts in Calgary and Melbourne, to tackle the challenge of infections and their long-term impact on human health.
The Symposium stems from an initial partnership between the University of Calgary (UCalgary) and The University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS). The partnership between institutions grew out of shared strength in researching infectious diseases, immunology and the microbiome, as well as a connection born from the generosity of philanthropist Geoff Cumming. Geoff made a $100-million gift to UCalgary in June 2014, establishing the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM), and, in August 2022, he made a $250-million gift to the University of Melbourne via the Doherty Institute establishing the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics.
“The relationship with Geoff Cumming has been really central to the Canadian-Melbourne partnership. He loves both places – he thinks that both have a can-do approach to life and to science more broadly, so he is thrilled that the two universities are working so closely together,” said Professor Sharon Lewin, Director of the Doherty Institute and the Cumming Global Centre.
“International partnerships, like the one with the University of Calgary, are really important to ensure we get high-quality, high-impact outcomes from our research,” said Professor Mike McGuckin, Acting Dean, MDHS, University of Melbourne.
The Symposium marked an important milestone in the partnership, which includes a research collaboration between the CSM and the Doherty Institute called the Melbourne-Calgary Collaborative Seed Funding Program.
More than $175,000 AUD in collective grant funding was awarded in 2024 across two streams. Projects focused on One Health (how human health is linked to animals and the environment), antimicrobial resistance, diagnostics and clinical trials received three Melbourne-Calgary Collaborative Seed Grants. Two additional seed grants, jointly funded by the Cumming Global Centre and the Snyder Institute, were also awarded with a focus on technologies that will ease the burden of the next pandemic. Each project has co-principal investigators based at UCalgary and the Doherty Institute.
Principal investigators Dr Laura Cook, Senior Research Officer at the Doherty Institute, and Dr Simon Hirota, Associate Dean (Research Infrastructure) at the Cumming School of Medicine, co-lead a project that aims to create global standards for organoid research. Organoids are miniature organ models grown from stem cells that can improve the efficiency of drug development to treat infectious diseases, including those of pandemic potential.
“It’s been nice to connect with a lab across the ocean and push what we’re trying to do in Canada, which is to standardise and harmonise a lot of our research approaches. When I found out what Laura’s team was doing in Melbourne, I was really excited that it’s something similar to what we’re doing, but also complementary,” said Dr Hirota.
“I reached out (to Simon) when I saw all the amazing organoid work that he’d been doing and then all of a sudden there was this opportunity to have some funding available for us to tangibly connect and start working together. It’s nice to be able to work with an existing friend,” said Dr Cook.
The Seed Grants are just the beginning of the partnership, with plans to build on the momentum sparked by the program.
“The researchers are going to do great things with these seed grants and we know it’s going to lead to even larger grants leveraging off that initial investment,” said Dr Todd Anderson, MD, Dean, CSM.
Inspired by the success of the Melbourne-Calgary Collaborative Seed Funding Program, The Florey and Hotchkiss Brain Institute are also supporting a collaborative grant program.
“Staff and students of The Florey were delighted to participate in this inaugural symposium. New collaborations were forged and long-established ties were rekindled. We look forward to using the momentum of this symposium to strengthen research exchange across geographic and disciplinary boundaries,” said Professor Peter van Wijngaarden, Executive Director & CEO, The Florey.
Learn more about the projects funded through the Melbourne-Calgary Collaborative Seed Funding Program here.
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