- Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research is one of Australia's foremost
medical research institute s. Located in Parkville,Melbourne , it is closely associated with theUniversity of Melbourne and theRoyal Melbourne Hospital .History
The institute was founded in 1915 using funds from a trust established by the family of Eliza and
Walter Russell Hall . It owed its origin to the inspiration ofHarry Brookes Allen . It was Australia’s first medical research institute and adopted a crest bearing the Latin inscription "Fiat Lux" – Let there be light.In April 1915 the new Melbourne Hospital agreed to provide a home for the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Research in Pathology and Medicine, as it was then known. Tragically, a few days later, the new Institute's director-designate, Gordon C.Mathieson, suffered fatal wounds in the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli
Dr Sydney Patterson was the first director and took up his post in 1919. Patterson resigned and returned to England in 1923, and was followed by
Charles Kellaway (1923-1944).Sir
Frank Macfarlane Burnet was the institute director between 1944 and 1965, and he brought the institute to international prominence for virological research, especiallyinfluenza , and then for immunology. Such was the nature of Burnet’s achievement that he was awarded theNobel Prize for Medicine in 1960.Sir
Gustav Nossal succeeded Burnet as director in 1965, aged 35. Under his stewardship, the Institute grew in size and scope, with its scientists making important discoveries in the control of immune system responses,cell cycle regulation andmalaria . During this time, the group led byDonald Metcalf discovered and characterised thecolony-stimulating factors (CSFs).Since 1996, it has been led by Professor
Suzanne Cory .Current research
Currently the work of the Institute is centered on
cancer , theimmune system ,autoimmune diseases – such asdiabetes ,multiple sclerosis andrheumatoid arthritis –malaria ,neural development ,genetics anddrug discovery .The institute is organised into the following eight divisions: Cancer and Haematology (headed by Professor
Nick Nicola ), Molecular Genetics of Cancer (jointly headed by ProfessorsJerry Adams and Andreas Strasser), Immunology (Dr Phil Hodgkin), Infection and Immunity (ProfessorAlan Cowman ), Autoimmunity and Transplantation (ProfessorLen Harrison ), Structural Biology (ProfessorPeter Colman ), Bioinformatics (ProfessorTerry Speed ) and Molecular Medicine (ProfessorDoug Hilton ).Education
The institute forms the department of Medical Biology at the University of Melbourne; graduate students enrolled at the University who undertable research at the institute can obtain a Bachelor of Science (Honours) or
Doctor of Philosophy degree; medical students can also study for Advanced Medical Science. Undergraduate students can also be part of theUndergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). During the 2005–2006 financial year 17 students obtained a PhD at the WEHI, while 17 obtained a Bachelor of Science (Honours). As of June 2006, the Institute hosts 60 PhD students. [Annual Report 2005–2006, 126–129.]The Institute is also part of the Gene Technology Access Centre, located next to the Institute building at University High School, which provides education programs in molecular and cell biology for secondary students in Victoria.
Future
In 2005, the Institute celebrated the 90th anniversary of its founding. At this occasion, the
State of Victoria and theCommonwealth of Australia each provided $AU50 million which will be used to construct a new wing to the west of the current building in Parkville, effectively doubling the size of laboratory space. [Annual Report 2005–2006, p. 5]Notes
References
* Max Charlesworth, Lyndsay Farrall, Terry Stokes and David Turnbull (1989). "Life among the scientists: An Anthropological Study of an Australian Scientific Community". Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-554999-6.
* Frank Fenner andSuzanne Cory . " [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/articles/wehi/index.html The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute] ".23 July 1997 , on the website of theNobel Prize Foundation. Last accessed10 April 2007 .
* [http://www.wehi.edu.au/WEHI_Groups/index_AR.html WEHI Annual reports] ; partially available on the web starting from the 1997–1998 annual report.External links
* [http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogHa-He.html#hall6/ Walter and Eliza Hall, Biography]
* [http://www.wehi.edu.au/ The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research home page]
* [http://www.wehi.edu.au/about/profile.html Profile of the Institute]
* [http://www.gtac.edu.au/ Gene Technology Access Centre]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.