Uniken

Creator
University of New South Wales. Public Affairs Unit
Call Number
Nf 378.944 UNI
Created/Published
Kensington, N.S.W. : University of New South Wales, [1975]-2015
Issue
1996, no. 10 (21 June, 1996)
Images
12
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Contents

Uniken THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES 1
A fat cheque for a fat check 1
Honours for three academics 1 , 2
I nside 1
Snippets 2
First birthday at Tigger’s 2
Letters Facilities Department blamed for loss of light rail corridor 2
Asian role a must for Australia, says new Visiting Professor 3
PM called in on funding crisis 3
Macintosh archive established at UNSW 4
Space school students to meet US astronaut 4
Humour-it’s more than a joke! 4
Profile Studying in the right environment 5
Korean official new professor 5
Early parkers get the spots 5
Solar cars right on track for Open Day challenge 5
Science stories on ‘kitchen’ TV 6
New Patron for the Friends 6
Anxiety and depression study finds they’re a matter of degree 7
UK hospital executive a visiting fellow 7
Local experience for debaters 7
Diary 22 June-29 July 8
First study tour to Vanuatu 8
New evidence on unemployment and mental health 8
Psychology student to join leading researcher in Finland 9
East Timor’s future under discussion 9
US academics at AGSM ‘camp’ 9
Asthma linked to brain mechanism 9
Downward spiral in science education a cause for alarm 10
Housing Office expansion 10
Ingenious use of paper: exhibition 10
Bell tolls for sufferers 11
The Merchant and the Mill 11
Soccer club celebrates 40th anniversary 11
Institute of Languages to cater for increasing demand 11
Sydney’s transportblessing or curse? 11
Indonesian students win AISA trophy 12
Sport Unbeaten record stays intact 12
Baxter and Warrane crews dominate 12
Sports briefs 12

Text

Uni ken  

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES  

fd  

fd  

21 June 1996  

• Special Visiting Professor  

Keating and his magnificent  

obsession PAGE  

• Research Humour  

it’s more than joke!  

PAGE  

• Research Scientists  

invade the kitchen  

PAGE  

fat cheque for  

fat check  

As million medical research  

agreement between the Garvan  

Institute of Medical Research  

and an international pharmaceutical  

company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia  

(BMS), will aim to identify and develop  

“fat-busting” drugs to prevent obesity.  

The Garvan Institute is formally affiliated  

with UNSW, with which it conducts col-  

laborative research. Its prime aim is to  

relieve human pain and suffering through  

research into the molecular basis of health  

and disease.  

When construction of the Institute’s new  

$5O million building is complete at the end  

of the year, it will be the largest medical  

research centre in the southern hemi-  

sphere.  

With over 50 per cent of Australian men  

and 30 per cent of women being obese or  

overweight, over $BOO million is spent each  

year treating obesity in Australia.  

Mr Anthony Hooper, the Managing Direc-  

tor of BMS Australia, said the identification  

of novel anti-obesity drugs could dramati-  

cally reduce the huge costs placed on  

Australia’s health care system by obesity  

and its consequences.  

“As pharmaceutical company, our major  

thrust is to look at the primary prevention  

of obesity,” Mr Hooper said. “This would  

stop the development of the more serious  

diseases such as heart disease.”  

Professor John Shine, Executive Director of  

the Garvan Institute, said obesity was dis-  

ease caused by environmental and genetic  

factors. “This four-year research agreement  

is focused on understanding the genetic  

factors and so to find new treatment for  

obesity,” he said.  

“Obesity is growing problem for the Aus-  

tralian community because it also increases  

the risk of diabetes, hypertension and heart  

disease.  

“Several different chemical signals in the  

brain, neurotransmitters and neuropeptides,  

have been known for some time to have  

effects on appetite. In particular, two of  

these, neuropeptide and galanin, are very  

abundant in the area of the brain that con-  

trols eating behaviour.  

“The catalyst for this agreement was the  

recent discovery of novel brain receptor,  

neuropeptide five (NPYS), and its gene  

which, we believe, controls our appetite.  

This appears to be the particular receptor  

in nerve cells through which neuropeptide  

works.”  

Professor Shine said researchers at the  

Garvan Institute and other overseas re-  

search centres have been racing to identify  

this appetite receptor for several years.  

“This new finding by Dr Herbert Herzog,  

senior researcher at the Garvan, should  

help unravel the complex mechanism in  

the brain which regulates our appetite,”  

he said.  

“The agreement with BMS will lift the  

Garvan’s obesity research to higher plane.  

This agreement is not just about money. By  

working with BMS we will have access to  

that company’s vast library of pharmaceu-  

tical resources, and our research will  

remain internationally competitive.  

“As can be imagined, there is great interest  

in finding out why people eat more than  

they need to. Research indicates that  

neuropeptide stimulates appetite gener-  

ally, while galanin appears to stimulate our  

desire for specific types of food, but we  

need to know lot more yet.  

“If we can find drug that can prevent  

obesity directly by reducing our appetite,  

rather than by treating the many effects of  

overeating, we believe we will have made  

major contribution to reducing the cost of  

health care.”  

BMS will be the first pharmaceutical com-  

pany to do studies on the newly discovered  

NPY receptor. The company will screen  

whole range of different compounds to  

identify those that work specifically on the  

NPY appetite receptor as well as the  

galanin receptor and the way in which it  

stimulates our preference for certain foods,  

including fats and carbohydrates.  

Human galanin was discovered at the  

Garvan in 1992 and was first tested in hu-  

mans by research team including Dr  

Tiina lismaa, who will be one of the five  

leading researchers from the Garvan to  

work on this collaboration. As well as Pro-  

fessor Shine and Drs Herzog and lismaa,  

the other researchers are Professor Don  

Chisholm and Associate Professor Ted  

Kraegen.  

Arie Jacoby and Katie Pine, UNSW PhD  

students working at the Garvan, will also  

be involved in studying the galanin receptor.  

Professor Shine said that over the next few  

years collaborators hoped to have identi-  

fied compounds that could be used in  

clinical trials as drugs to combat obesity.  

Mr Hooper said that identifying the com-  

pound could be relatively easy task. “The  

big costs will be in trialing and developing  

the drug, and that will take at least 10  

years,” he said.  

Dr Daniella Goldberg.  

[Dr Goldberg did her PhD in genetics at the  

Garvan Institute.)  

Honours for three academics  

Three prominent UNSW academics  

have had their services recognised  

with awards in the Queen’s Birthday hon-  

ours list for 1996.  

Professor John Shine, Executive Director  

and Head of the Neurobiology Division of  

the Garvan Institute of Medical Research  

based at St Vincent’s Hospital, and Profes-  

sor lan McCloskey, Director of the Prince of  

Wales Medical Research Institute, have be-  

come Officers in the General Division of  

the Order of Australia (AO).  

Associate Professor Veronica James, of  

UNSW’s School of Physics, has been  

awarded the Medal in the General Division  

of the Order of Australia (OAM).  

Professor Shine was awarded his AO for  

service to medical research, particularly his  

work in molecular biology which is inter-  

nationally recognised.  

As Executive Director of the Garvan, he  

presides over one of the university’s pre-  

mier research institutes with over 120 staff  

including 37 specialised post-doctoral re-  

searchers.  

Continued Page  

nside  

Vice-Chancellors speak out  

Profile  

Diary  

Sport  

Professor Shine AO  

Obesity is all in the brain ... Professor Shine (left) and Mr Hooper sign the  

agreement at the Garvan Institute on 30 May. Photo courtesy of Sharon Kelly.  

Garvan Institute of Medical Research.  

Associate Professor James OAM  

Professor McCloskey AO  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-253990551

APA citation

University of New South Wales. Public Affairs Unit & University of New South Wales, issuing body. (1975). Uniken Retrieved July 31, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-253990551

MLA citation

University of New South Wales. Public Affairs Unit and University of New South Wales, issuing body. Uniken Kensington, N.S.W: University of New South Wales, 1975. Web. 31 July 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-253990551>

Harvard/Australian citation

University of New South Wales. Public Affairs Unit & University of New South Wales, issuing body. 1975, Uniken University of New South Wales, Kensington, N.S.W viewed 31 July 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-253990551

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  | author1=University of New South Wales. Public Affairs Unit.
  | author2=University of New South Wales, issuing body.
  | title=Uniken.
  | year=1975
  | section=volumes : illustrations ; 30-43 cm.
  | issn=0312-7877
  | issue=1996, no. 10 (21 June, 1996)
  | location=Kensington, N.S.W
  | publisher=University of New South Wales
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-253990551
  | id=nla.obj-253990551
  | access-date=31 July 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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