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Uni ken
Fix this textTHE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Fix this textfd
Fix this textfd
Fix this text21 June 1996
Fix this text• Special Visiting Professor
Fix this textKeating and his magnificent
Fix this textobsession PAGE 3
Fix this text• Research Humour -
Fix this textit’s more than a joke!
Fix this textPAGE 4
Fix this text• Research Scientists
Fix this textinvade the kitchen
Fix this textPAGE 6
Fix this textA fat cheque for
Fix this texta fat check
Fix this textAs 4 million medical research
Fix this textagreement between the Garvan
Fix this textInstitute of Medical Research
Fix this textand an international pharmaceutical
Fix this textcompany, Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia
Fix this text(BMS), will aim to identify and develop
Fix this text“fat-busting” drugs to prevent obesity.
Fix this textThe Garvan Institute is formally affiliated
Fix this textwith UNSW, with which it conducts col-
Fix this textlaborative research. Its prime aim is to
Fix this textrelieve human pain and suffering through
Fix this textresearch into the molecular basis of health
Fix this textand disease.
Fix this textWhen construction of the Institute’s new
Fix this text$5O million building is complete at the end
Fix this textof the year, it will be the largest medical
Fix this textresearch centre in the southern hemi-
Fix this textsphere.
Fix this textWith over 50 per cent of Australian men
Fix this textand 30 per cent of women being obese or
Fix this textoverweight, over $BOO million is spent each
Fix this textyear treating obesity in Australia.
Fix this textMr Anthony Hooper, the Managing Direc-
Fix this texttor of BMS Australia, said the identification
Fix this textof novel anti-obesity drugs could dramati-
Fix this textcally reduce the huge costs placed on
Fix this textAustralia’s health care system by obesity
Fix this textand its consequences.
Fix this text“As a pharmaceutical company, our major
Fix this textthrust is to look at the primary prevention
Fix this textof obesity,” Mr Hooper said. “This would
Fix this textstop the development of the more serious
Fix this textdiseases such as heart disease.”
Fix this textProfessor John Shine, Executive Director of
Fix this textthe Garvan Institute, said obesity was a dis-
Fix this textease caused by environmental and genetic
Fix this textfactors. “This four-year research agreement
Fix this textis focused on understanding the genetic
Fix this textfactors and so to find a new treatment for
Fix this textobesity,” he said.
Fix this text“Obesity is a growing problem for the Aus-
Fix this texttralian community because it also increases
Fix this textthe risk of diabetes, hypertension and heart
Fix this textdisease.
Fix this text“Several different chemical signals in the
Fix this textbrain, neurotransmitters and neuropeptides,
Fix this texthave been known for some time to have
Fix this texteffects on appetite. In particular, two of
Fix this textthese, neuropeptide Y and galanin, are very
Fix this textabundant in the area of the brain that con-
Fix this texttrols eating behaviour.
Fix this text“The catalyst for this agreement was the
Fix this textrecent discovery of a novel brain receptor,
Fix this textneuropeptide Y five (NPYS), and its gene
Fix this textwhich, we believe, controls our appetite.
Fix this textThis appears to be the particular receptor
Fix this textin nerve cells through which neuropeptide
Fix this textY works.”
Fix this textProfessor Shine said researchers at the
Fix this textGarvan Institute and other overseas re-
Fix this textsearch centres have been racing to identify
Fix this textthis appetite receptor for several years.
Fix this text“This new finding by Dr Herbert Herzog, a
Fix this textsenior researcher at the Garvan, should
Fix this texthelp unravel the complex mechanism in
Fix this textthe brain which regulates our appetite,”
Fix this texthe said.
Fix this text“The agreement with BMS will lift the
Fix this textGarvan’s obesity research to a higher plane.
Fix this textThis agreement is not just about money. By
Fix this textworking with BMS we will have access to
Fix this textthat company’s vast library of pharmaceu-
Fix this texttical resources, and our research will
Fix this textremain internationally competitive.
Fix this text“As can be imagined, there is great interest
Fix this textin finding out why people eat more than
Fix this textthey need to. Research indicates that
Fix this textneuropeptide Y stimulates appetite gener-
Fix this textally, while galanin appears to stimulate our
Fix this textdesire for specific types of food, but we
Fix this textneed to know a lot more yet.
Fix this text“If we can find a drug that can prevent
Fix this textobesity directly by reducing our appetite,
Fix this textrather than by treating the many effects of
Fix this textovereating, we believe we will have made
Fix this texta major contribution to reducing the cost of
Fix this texthealth care.”
Fix this textBMS will be the first pharmaceutical com-
Fix this textpany to do studies on the newly discovered
Fix this textNPY receptor. The company will screen a
Fix this textwhole range of different compounds to
Fix this textidentify those that work specifically on the
Fix this textNPY appetite receptor as well as the
Fix this textgalanin receptor and the way in which it
Fix this textstimulates our preference for certain foods,
Fix this textincluding fats and carbohydrates.
Fix this textHuman galanin was discovered at the
Fix this textGarvan in 1992 and was first tested in hu-
Fix this textmans by a research team including Dr
Fix this textTiina lismaa, who will be one of the five
Fix this textleading researchers from the Garvan to
Fix this textwork on this collaboration. As well as Pro-
Fix this textfessor Shine and Drs Herzog and lismaa,
Fix this textthe other researchers are Professor Don
Fix this textChisholm and Associate Professor Ted
Fix this textKraegen.
Fix this textArie Jacoby and Katie Pine, UNSW PhD
Fix this textstudents working at the Garvan, will also
Fix this textbe involved in studying the galanin receptor.
Fix this textProfessor Shine said that over the next few
Fix this textyears collaborators hoped to have identi-
Fix this textfied compounds that could be used in
Fix this textclinical trials as drugs to combat obesity.
Fix this textMr Hooper said that identifying the com-
Fix this textpound could be a relatively easy task. “The
Fix this textbig costs will be in trialing and developing
Fix this textthe drug, and that will take at least 10
Fix this textyears,” he said.
Fix this textDr Daniella Goldberg.
Fix this text[Dr Goldberg did her PhD in genetics at the
Fix this textGarvan Institute.)
Fix this textHonours for three academics
Fix this textThree prominent UNSW academics
Fix this texthave had their services recognised
Fix this textwith awards in the Queen’s Birthday hon-
Fix this textours list for 1996.
Fix this textProfessor John Shine, Executive Director
Fix this textand Head of the Neurobiology Division of
Fix this textthe Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Fix this textbased at St Vincent’s Hospital, and Profes-
Fix this textsor lan McCloskey, Director of the Prince of
Fix this textWales Medical Research Institute, have be-
Fix this textcome Officers in the General Division of
Fix this textthe Order of Australia (AO).
Fix this textAssociate Professor Veronica James, of
Fix this textUNSW’s School of Physics, has been
Fix this textawarded the Medal in the General Division
Fix this textof the Order of Australia (OAM).
Fix this textProfessor Shine was awarded his AO for
Fix this textservice to medical research, particularly his
Fix this textwork in molecular biology which is inter-
Fix this textnationally recognised.
Fix this textAs Executive Director of the Garvan, he
Fix this textpresides over one of the university’s pre-
Fix this textmier research institutes with over 120 staff
Fix this textincluding 37 specialised post-doctoral re-
Fix this textsearchers.
Fix this textContinued Page 2
Fix this textI nside
Fix this textVice-Chancellors speak out 3
Fix this textProfile 5
Fix this textDiary 8
Fix this textSport 1
Fix this textProfessor Shine AO
Fix this textObesity is all in the brain ... Professor Shine (left) and Mr Hooper sign the
Fix this textagreement at the Garvan Institute on 30 May. Photo courtesy of Sharon Kelly.
Fix this textGarvan Institute of Medical Research.
Fix this textAssociate Professor James OAM
Fix this textProfessor McCloskey AO
Fix this textIt's easy and takes two shakes of a lamb's tail!
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http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-253990551
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
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>
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
{{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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