11 . 2008 16

Dialogue

The way to a healthy start

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On our cover: The way to a healthy startIn April scientists, clinicians, epidemiologists, economists and policy experts from eight countries came together to share their knowledge and resources and affirm their commitment to what has become known as the International Healthy Start to Life Project. Over two days in Auckland and two in Wellington the project team considered the impact of a poor start to life in developed and developing countries, from both a New Zealand and a global perspective, and in terms of economics, local and international policy.

Ascending the stair (bottom to top) are:Dr Poornima Prabhakaran, India, public health specialist; Dr Dewan Alam, Bangladesh, public health specialist; Professor Peter Gluckman, New Zealand, medical scientist; Dr Alexander Precioso, Brazil, neonatologist; Dr Susan Morton, New Zealand, clinical epidemiologist; Dr Harold Alderman, United States, economist; Professor Jere Behrman, United States, economist; Professor Graeme Wake, New Zealand, mathematician; Associate Professor Tim Maloney, New Zealand, economist; Professor Mark Hanson, United Kingdom, medical scientist; Professor Santosh Bhargava, India, paediatrician; Professor Alexandre Ferraro, Brazil, paediatrician; Dr Kathryn Franko, New Zealand, scientist; Professor Terrence Forrester, Jamaica, medical scientist; Professor Francisco Mardones, Chile, public health specialist; Dr Carlos Moreira-Filho, Brazil, obstetrician; Tony Pleasants, New Zealand, mathemetician.

Participants not photographed: Professor Caroline Fall, Professor Keith Godfrey, United Kingdom, clinical epidemiologists; Professor Siddiqur Osmani, United Kingdom, economist; Dr John Yeabsley, Chris Nixon, Dr. Jagadish Guria, New Zealand, economists and policy analysts.

The meeting was funded by the National Research Centre for Growth and Development.

Dialogue is published by the Liggins Institute. Previous issues of Dialogue are available from the Institute. They can also be accessed as pdfs at www.liggins.auckland.ac.nz. Stories may be reproduced with acknowledgement.

The Liggins Institute is the leading partner in the National Research Centre for Growth and Development, one of New Zealand’s Centres of Research Excellence.

Office of the Director: Liggins Institute, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand, tel 64 9 923 6691, director@liggins.auckland.ac.nz

www.liggins.auckland.ac.nz

The way to a healthy start 2

The value of life 3

Counting the cost 4

A global perspective 4

A practical feminist 5

Changing perceptions of science 6

Honoris causa 7

What causes breast cancer? 8

Milestone in cancer research 8

Fieldays and school days 9

Funding successes 10

Research showcase 10

Happy mothers, healthy children 11

Note to Friends 12

Exploring the origins of life 13

The Director comments 14

New book features Liggins science 15

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Prof Michael Meaney

10 . 2008 16

Dialogue

11 . 2008 16DialogueThe way to a healthy start

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Dr Karain Michels

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Lord Robert Winston

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Dr Kathryn Franko

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The value of lifeLinking global health and economics with policy

Every year 12 million children around the world die before their fifth birthday; three million of these do not survive their first week of life and over half a million women die in childbirth. Countless others carry deficits due to a poor start to life through to adulthood. These statistics make Liggins Institute Director Peter Gluckman frustrated. He knows that massive improvements are possible if only governments and other agencies placed greater value on the lives of women and children. “Up to 40% of all premature deaths may be indirectly linked to events in early life,” he says. Nor, he claims, are the problems limited to developing countries. Modern diets, lifestyles and changing patterns of reproduction, such as the tendency toward later first pregnancies and one child families, are having an impact on infant heath and development. “We know that improving the health and nutrition of women before and early in pregnancy would result in long term gains, such as reducing disability, obesity

and the risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes.” But Gluckman and colleague Professor Mark Hanson Director of the Institute of Developmental Sciences at the University of Southampton, UK, have found another way to make their case. Inspired by a report published for the World Bank in 2006, which calculated the economic benefit a hypothetical low income country could expect from moving children out of a high risk, low birth-weight category, they conceived the International Healthy Start to Life Project. Over the past two years work has progressed quietly and with limited funding, developing an economic model that takes into account not just birth weight but the many other factors that the medical scientists know contribute to a poor start, and seeking out data from around the world to test the model. At the meeting this year Dr Susan Morton, a clinical epidemiologist at the University of Auckland and director of a new longitudinal study of child development, stressed the need to consider how individual factors

linked across generations and contributed to the overall outcomes. “A life-course approach is intuitively simple, however the methodology is complex,” she warned. There is clear evidence that in developed and developing countries child health is correlated with mothers’ education and nutrition. A study involving more than12,500 women in Southampton, agedbetween 20 and 34, showed that amongst those with the lowest educational qualifications, more than 50% had an ‘imprudent diet’ at the time they became pregnant. In many parts of the world over-nutrition is contributing to poor health outcomes. In the Southampton study 52% of the women were overweight. Overweight mothers tend to have large babies who gain weight rapidly and excessively, potentially perpetuating the cycles of obesity and chronic adult disease. Gluckman issued a challenge to an audience that included politicians and policy makers: “A global opportunity is being lost by not speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves, our children.”

Colleagues, collaborators and co-authors: Professors Mark Hanson (left) and Peter Gluckman.

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Counting the cost

Harold Alderman is the World Bank’s Lead Human Development Economist for the Africa Region. With Jere Behrman, Professor of Economic Development, Health and Labour Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, he co-authored the paper

Reducing the incidence of low birth weight in low-income countries has substantial economic benefits describing an economic model that has formed the basis of the International Healthy Start to Life Project. The economists showed theoretically that for every child moved out of a high risk, low birth-weight category, a hypothetical low income country could expect an economic benefit of 510 dollars (US) through reduced healthcare costs and increased productivity. The model assessed the benefits by considering the impact of reduced mortality and costs of neonatal and child healthcare, increased productivity due to improved growth and learning ability, reduced costs of chronic disease and improved health of following generations. “It is well known,” says Alderman, “that well nourished children have greater cognitive ability and stay in school longer, leading to more learning and reward in the labour market.” He says that low birth weight is a proxy for a number of measures of deprivation in utero and that there is a limited window

for intervention before the effects become irreversible. “There is clear evidence that nutrition affects cognitive measures in a two year old, and cognition affects wages in the same percentage terms in rich and poor countries — it is a universal pattern.” Researchers will now refine the Alderman-Behrman model to take into account the full range of birth sizes including large babies who also have considerable health risks. It will consider direct and indirect costs that reach beyond immediate health care and productivity to include costs to families and populations over two and more generations. “We aim to combine our knowledge of how the environment affects early life development with economic rigour in a way that will make for healthier lives in the next generation,” said Peter Gluckman. However he knows it won’t be straightforward. As Alderman observed, “It’s easy to get a politician to vote on a multi-million dollar bridge that will not recover the investment for 20 or 30 years, but not so with health policy.”

Dr Harold Alderman is a senior economist at the World Bank.

Terrence Forrester, Professor of Medicine at the Tropical Metabolism Research Unit of the University of the West Indies, Jamaica, highlighted the significance of the International Healthy Start to Life Project for countries in economic transition. His own research has shown how poor fetal growth, adverse environmental effects during development and obesity can lead to hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, which currently affect more than 25% of Caribbean people. He observed that liberalised global trade has brought rapid economic change for countries like Jamaica characterised by transition from an environment of under nutrition to one of increasing over nutrition. As these countries become net importers of food, cheap oils and sugars are replacing traditional diets. The move towards

more energy rich diets and away from energy expenditure through exercise has exacerbated the underlying susceptibilities these populations have for excessive weight gain and hypertension. The problems, he says, are being accentuated by changes in global food production and an increasing emphasis on growing crops for animal feed and biofuels. The increasing burden of cardiovascular disease is one which developing countries simply cannot afford. He hopes that the Project will produce the economic evidence to convince governments that it is logical to invest in interventions that will have long-term outcomes. As an example, he suggests that programmes to improve education and nutrition of adolescent girls will promote healthier outcomes for future generations.

Professor Terrence Forrester

Modelling the economic impact of early life events

A global perspective

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A practical feminist

Fresh out of high-school, Kathryn Franko heard a statement that would set her on a high achieving career path. Kathryn was attending a seminar at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in her hometown Buffalo New York where she was working as an intern over summer. “As an idealistic teenager, I was outraged to hear that the number of women dying from gynaecological cancers, such as cancer of the cervix, had not changed substantially in 30 years,” says Kathryn. The desire to improve health and opportunities for women has sustained her through years of research and study at two of the world’s leading universities and brought her to a postdoctoral fellowship at the Liggins Institute. As Project Manager for the International Healthy Start to Life Project, Kathryn is enthusiastic about its potential to improve the lives of women in both developing and developed countries. The economic outputs of many developing

countries are related to the rights and status of their women, she observes. “In many parts of the world women have the highest work loads and poorest health.” Along with other contributing factors, these conditions result in high rates of infant and maternal mortality. Those children who do survive tend to have stunted growth and poor cognitive development, which limits their capacity to learn and contribute effectively to their country’s economic development. “This project is a means of showing politicians the economic gains that could be had from improving conditions for women, focusing healthcare initiatives on improving health during development, and breaking the cycle of poor adult health and limited intellectual and reproductive potential — problems that are not just limited to developing countries,” she adds. The project also fuels Kathryn’s love of travel. This year she will visit Bangladesh, Jamaica, Brazil, India and the United Kingdom.

“Our collaborators have a great deal of data collected over periods of five to forty years, representing countries at various stages of economic development. However they don’t have the resources to collate and analyse it all. For this project I am going and doing that myself.” Kathryn got her first taste of research in reproductive physiology during her undergraduate training as a Presidential Research Scholar at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. This led to a PhD at The University of Cambridge in United Kingdom as a prestigious Gates Scholar. Eventually Kathryn hopes to work in an international aid organisation. “This project gives me a perfect opportunity to apply my scientific knowledge outside the laboratory in a way that is relevant and beneficial for the people who need it most. It also provides an introduction into the aid and policy fields.”

Liggins research fellow aims to improve conditions for women and children

Dr Kathryn Franko was moved by the plight of children she met in Bangladesh.

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Changing perceptions of scienceLENS takes learning out of the classroom

What does a scientist look like? It seems that many students still hold a stereotypical comic book idea of scientists as elderly men in white coats with thick glasses and bushy eyebrows. Most Year 13 school biology students visiting the Sir John Logan Campbell Classroom on the Liggins Education Network for Science (LENS) day-programme admit they have never met a scientist or been in a “real lab” before. But by the end of the day they hold quite different views. The students are surprised at the diversity of jobs available to people trained in science, that scientists work collaboratively, have social lives and families and that it is not restricted to an intellectual elite. “The day has made me think a lot about the impact of science on society and the complexity of research,” is a typical comment. The programme introduces the world of practical science and its underlying concepts through the stories of scientists and their work. During the day the school students spend half an hour quizzing scientists and research students from The University of Auckland about the scientists’ work, careers and views on controversial issues. For one group the scientists happened to be Professors Peter Gluckman and Robert Winston, a once in a lifetime opportunity which their teacher says has influenced their ideas on science as a career. LENS director Jacquie Bay thinks the critical connection is the ‘stories’. “I believe that without the first session in the day where students are immersed in stories of science and what scientists are doing, the impact of meeting a scientist would be greatly reduced,” she says.

The Student-Scientist Mentor Scheme is another initiative which sees small groups of students undertaking their own research with guidance from University scientists.

This year a group of Year 11 students from Tamaki College in East Auckland (now in their second year with the programme) chose to research obesity and

diabetes in relation to health issues in their predominantly Mäori and Pasifika communities. The study was linked to the national curriculum assessment in science. The students then took their learning back to their school in a presentation to the Tamaki College Tongan Parent Community Group, families and friends. The success of the evening was confirmed by one parent’s comment that although their

community receives a lot of information about diabetes and obesity, it was refreshing to have the students talk about why type 2 diabetes develops rather than simply telling them what lifestyle changes to make. Support from the mentor programme has brought particular rewards for one student. Her essay ‘How science can change the world’ won Christine Savele a coveted scholarship to attend the 2008 Association of Women in Science conference in Christchurch. Her essay described how new horizons have opened for her through science: “Science is unlimited and does not hold back. It has changed the way people are today, it has changed how people today think and since we have no limit to thinking who knows what people will be able to do in the future. Science can change the world. It has definitely changed mine.”

Mentor Scheme students Nicholas Harker, Onehunga High School (left) and Alex Temu, Tamaki College, have their sights set on careers in science and medicine.

“The day has made me think a lot about the impact of science on society and the complexity of research”

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Universities play a unique role in society. Steeped in tradition, they are places of learning, enquiry and debate; the so-called critics and conscience of society. The custom of conferring degrees honoris causa [Latin: for the sake of honour] on distinguished citizens and visitors dates back to the fifteenth century, in ceremonies typically marked by pageant and oratory. In June, members of the University of Auckland braved wild wintry conditions to see honorary degrees conferred on two people whose contributions have added to the University’s stature and reputation; two people who have each made unique contributions to the Liggins Institute, Mrs Jenny Gibbs and Professor Lord Robert Winston. Mrs Gibbs was admitted to the degree of Doctor of Literature. Best known as a philanthropist and patron of the arts in New Zealand, she has also been an outspoken champion and advocate for women and

children as well as a long standing and very generous supporter of the Liggins Institute. While serving on the University Council, she chaired the committee that secured higher status for academic women and saw the appointment of the University’s first Equal Opportunities Officer. But her concern extends beyond the academic environment: she describes herself as a passionate New Zealander with a desire to make the country a better place for our children. Professor Winston is recognised internationally as both an advocate and critic of science and scientists. No stranger to controversy, his most recent visit saw him challenge the relative values of a society that appeared more interested in the quest for sporting honours than for knowledge. At the degree ceremony the Public Orator Professor Vivienne Grey noted that Professor Winston’s first visit to NZ

was as a key speaker at the University sponsored Knowledge Wave Conference. “His sparkling intellect and deep moral seriousness and his desire to communicate his innovative science to the public, created then a wave that keeps on cresting now, and, to the astonished delight of that same public, keeps returning to our shores.” In response Lord Winston spoke of his huge respect for the University of Auckland and his great pleasure at becoming part of its ‘family’. Recognising that the conferment of an honorary degree brought responsibilities as well as privileges, he pledged himself to do whatever he could to assist the University “inside and outside New Zealand”. At a formal dinner hosted by the Liggins Institute, Director Peter Gluckman spoke of his admiration of the example set by each of the honorary graduands and thanked them individually for the tangible and intangible ways that they each support and contribute to the Institute.

Honoris causa

Professor Robert Winston and Jenny Gibbs following the conferment of honorary degrees by The University of Auckland.

The University honours two remarkable supporters

What causes breast cancer?

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Harvard professor highlights early life origins of leading female cancer

Dr Karin Michels discussed the causes of breast cancer.

Milestone in cancer researchThe Liggins Institute cancer research programme celebrated a significant milestone in August with the announcement that a target molecule identified by the team had been licensed to an international biotechnology company for clinical development. The programme focuses on defining the complex cascades of chemical reactions within cells that signal the abnormal growth and

spread of cancer cells. The aim is to identify points where they can block the action of particular ‘target’ molecules and disrupt the pathways that lead to disease. The company will develop a fully human therapeutic antibody to the target for trial against various forms of cancer. “I would like to congratulate everyone involved in this programme,” said the team’s

leader Professor Peter Lobie. “Hopefully in a few short years, with further contributions from our lab, we will see the antibody to this target in the clinic as an effective treatment option for breast and other cancers.” Professor Lobie is an associate director of the Liggins Institute and New Zealand’s first Professor of Breast Cancer Research.

in Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. In a number of public and academic forums Dr Michels discussed what is currently known about the causes of the disease. She described evidence linking some breast cancers to environmental factors, such as nutrition, during fetal life and again prior to puberty, when breast tissue is developing rapidly. Her research showed longer, heavier babies and those born to older parents faced greater risks. Behind these observations appear to be ‘epigenetic’ mechanisms similar to the gene-environment interactions that Liggins scientists have shown to link a poor pre-birth environment with chronic life-style diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Breast cancers are also strongly linked with the ‘estrogen’ family of hormones. Dr Michels showed historical data indicating the protective effects of bearing and breast feeding many children at a young age. “However, this may not be seen as a practical or popular modern solution,” she conceded. The relationship was also borne out by data showing a correlation between the incidence of breast cancer in older women and the rise and later fall in the number of prescriptions for hormone replacement therapies. Many breast cancers, particularly in post

menopausal women are treated with drugs which block the cancer promoting effects of estrogens. Liggins Institute research fellow Dr Jo Perry has been investigating why some women develop a resistance to these therapies leading to recurrence of the disease. Her work draws on research at the Institute led by Professor Peter Lobie which has shown that human growth hormone (hGH) produced by breast cancer cells is a pivotal factor in the cancer’s progression. Dr Perry demonstrated, in culture, that cells which over produced hGH also made more of an enzyme that is involved in the synthesis of estrogens, and were more resistant to anti-estrogen drugs. “This provides an exciting starting point for us to define the pathway that makes these cells cancerous,” she says. “It suggests that it may be possible to interrupt the process by using an already approved drug that blocks the action of growth hormone, either alone or in combination with existing anti-estrogen therapies, to improve the prognoses of patients with hormone sensitive breast cancer.”

Dr Perry’s work has been supported by the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation and a Concept Award from the United States Department of Defence. It was highlighted at the recent Era of Hope meeting on breast cancer in Washington DC.

The importance of good nutrition and quality health advice for young women was underscored in research cited by an expert in population based studies of breast cancer. Dr Karin Michels visited Auckland earlier this year as a guest of The Breast Cancer Research Trust and the Liggins Institute. She holds joint Associate Professorships in Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Reproductive Biology at the Harvard Medical School and

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Liggins Director Peter Gluckman believes that the interface between human and animal science is a strength which New Zealand has yet to fully realise. His sentiments are echoed by Dr Andrew West Chief Executive Officer of New Zealand’s largest Crown Research Institute, AgResearch. Both organisations conduct research in the rapidly emerging field of developmental epigenetics, the way in which the action of genes is regulated by signals from the environment. “The field offers much to both human health and pastoral livestock researchers,” says Dr West. Between them they have unique, world-class expertise and facilities. “It makes perfect sense,” says Gluckman, “that in a country such as ours, we combine our knowledge, capability and resources to develop healthy foods and healthy lives.

The New Zealand public got a glimpse of this potential when AgResearch and the Liggins showcased their relationship in a joint display at the National Fieldays event at Mystery Creek, Hamilton in June. The theme of the AgResearch stand was ‘Caring for our country, caring for you’. The message was encapsulated in the display’s design. The outer area demonstrated how AgResearch was assisting farmers to make better use of their resources while minimising the impact on the environment. At the core of the display a flashing DNA fingerprint showed how the epigenetics research with the Liggins was generating knowledge about how genes are switched on and off by our early life environment to make us what we are. While Liggins and AgResearch celebrated their closer scientific relationship, Fieldays also heralded their combined outreach

to schools throughout the upper North Island. Building on the successful Liggins Education Network for Science (LENS) programme and AgResearch’s roving Education Service, the two hosted a professional development symposium for biology teachers and a seminar for Year 13 Biology students. The Biological Information Highway: keeping up to speed with current advances in biology gave teachers in the Waikato region an opportunity to hear from scientists whose research not only uses the core concepts taught in senior school science but demonstrates links between agriculture, the environment and human health. Introducing the symposium, LENS Director Jacquie Bay told teachers and guests that one of the greatest

Fieldays and school daysCommon theme unites two research icons

AgResearch and the Liggins Institute demonstrated their collaboration at Fieldays.

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The Foundation for Research Science and Technology will contribute nearly two million dollars over five years to two Institute-based projects that will build on scientists’ knowledge of how environmental factors affect early life development to boost production in the pastoral sector. Professor Murray Mitchell heads a multi-disciplinary research project expected to lead to increased fertility in New Zealand’s dairy cows, through the introduction of micronutrients and improved reproductive health strategies. Dr Allan Sheppard will lead a project aimed at improving lamb growth when pregnant ewes are exposed to poor nutrition during adverse environmental conditions such as drought.

The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) announced funding of close to three million dollars for new research based at the Liggins: Dr Mark Vickers’ team will be looking for critical times when it might be possible to avert the developmental processes that lead to later life disease. Liggins’ Deputy Director Professor Wayne Cutfield and his colleagues will assess the effect of brain injury on infants’ ability to make critical hormones; while Associate Professor Frank Bloomfield will lead a study using an animal model to test the long term implications of a promising new treatment for poor fetal growth. In September the HRC announced that it had invested in three international research

collaborations, two of which are based at the Liggins Institute. Lead investigators Dr Deborah Sloboda and Professor Michael Meaney, McGill University Canada, along with Professor Peter Gluckman and Dr Mark Vickers (Liggins Institute) will examine the mechanisms through which nutrition and maternal care affect children’s mental and physical health in later life. Professor Peter Gluckman and Professor Terrence Forrester (Tropical Medicine Research Institute, Jamaica) will study two groups of Jamaican survivors of childhood malnutrition to see what metabolic adaptations they have made to meet the nutritional challenges in their environment.

A high point on this year’s international research calendar was the (US) Endocrine Society’s 90th annual conference ENDO 08 held in San Francisco in June.Amongst more than 7,000 participants, a number of scientists and students from the Liggins Institute presented aspects of their current research. A presentation by Dr Deborah Sloboda was selected for inclusion in the meeting’s ‘Frontier research and groundbreaking studies’ resource for journalists.

Dr Sloboda’s research team used an animal model to investigate how prenatal and postnatal nutrition affect the timing of reproductive maturity. They found that the offspring of mothers fed a high fat diet during pregnancy and lactation reached puberty earlier than those in a control group on normal feed. The presentation attracted the attention of news media throughout the world who speculated on what these findings might mean for humans.

The meeting was also significant for Liggins PhD student Nic Bougen whose presentation on the role of locally produced human growth hormone in the development of resistance to radiotherapy in breast cancer brought her a prestigious award as winner of the ENDO 08 Trainee Poster Competition in the Growth Hormone/Prolactin Biology category.

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Funding successes

Research showcase

joys — and challenges — of teaching biology today is the constant need to keep abreast of the current research. “Biology is a science that is advancing at an accelerating pace. This new knowledge forms a core part of the school curriculum and presents compelling reasons to foster interactions between schools and scientists,” she said. Liggins researcher Dr Deborah Sloboda later joined with science teacher Jane

Campbell to present a seminar designed to challenge the students. Jane is taking time out from teaching at Avondale College, Auckland, to undertake research with Deborah at the Liggins supported by a New Zealand Science, Mathematics and Technology Teacher Fellowship. In a stimulating session, Jane reminded students of the principles of gene expression that they learned about at school while Deborah showed how the environment during

early life development was influencing gene settings and, through that, patterns of reproductive development (such as the timing of puberty) and adult health. LENS has received requests from organisations throughout the country wanting to set up programmes in their communities. Its fame is also spreading internationally with one of LENS’ greatest admirers Professor Lord Robert Winston planning to use the model at Imperial College, London.

Liggins researchers were successful in three major research funding rounds this year

Liggins presenters take centre stage

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Happy mothers, healthy childrenDistinguished scientist opens lecture series

For the second year in a row the opening lecture of the Liggins Institute’s Seasons of Life lecture series was given by a speaker with outstanding international credentials. Like Professor Winston last year, Professor Michael Meaney was also the holder of a prestigious University of Auckland Hood Fellowship, supported by the Lion Foundation. Professor Meaney is a distinguished Canadian academic whose research provides scientific evidence for the importance of early mother-child interactions in determining children’s behaviour, intellectual development and long-term mental health. He is the James McGill Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal, Director of the McGill Programme for the Study of Behaviour, Genes and the Environment and Associate Director of the Douglas Hospital Research Centre for Mental Health. With his easy, relaxed style, Meaney made ‘simple’ the complex

science that lay behind his lecture on maternal care, genes and health over the lifespan. “The development of an individual is a process of adaptation that occurs within a social and environmental context,” he said. “Social signals from parents define an individual child’s biology by modifying the DNA.” He described research showing that the way mothers interact with their babies profoundly affects the way those children react to stressful situations in later life. He explained how environmental factors bring about chemical changes in DNA. These modifications act as ‘on/off’ switches for genes which code for the hormones that modulate how we respond to stress. The quality of children’s early interactions within their families defines the quality of their learning ability and social interactions. In modern society, poverty is the single greatest stress on families. Meaney showed how this affects family life, children’s

individual reactions and their vulnerability to stress and social pressures as they grow up; and contributes to on-going cycles of social and economic deprivation. In a workshop co-hosted by the Liggins Institute and the Brainwave Trust, Professor Meaney expanded on his lecture material. His research provides evidence which is particularly relevant to the work of the Brainwave Trust.

Brainwave is a charitable trust set up to use the scientific research on brain development to enable children in New Zealand to reach their full potential and to improve their wellbeing as well as that of the families and communities they are a part of.

During his visit Professor Meaney delivered the annual Liggins Education Network for Science Schools’ Lecture to 1,000 students at Westlake Boys’ High School on Auckland’s North Shore. Students from 38 other schools across New Zealand watched the lecture via a live web-cast.

“The development of an individual is a process of adaptation that occurs within a social and environmental context”Michael Meaney

Professor Michael Meaney helped his audience to understand the complex science of epigenetics .

There is always something to celebrate at the Liggins Institute. In this Dialogue you will find news of success in government funding rounds, presentations of research at international conferences and a promising step closer to a treatment for breast cancer. In June our friends at Fertility Associates marked their 21st Birthday by announcing their support for research in reproductive medicine at the Liggins. It was a privilege to attend the ceremony to confer honorary degrees on two very special supporters, Jenny Gibbs, who is a Life Friend of the Liggins Institute and Professor Lord Robert Winston a Scientific patron. I am delighted that so many of our Liggins Friends were able to join with the University and the Institute in congratulating them and sharing in the occasion. I would like to offer warm congratulations to our long-time supporters Team McMillan BMW, whose combined sponsorship of local artists and the Liggins Institute won them a Special Merit Award at the National Business Review 2008 Awards for Sponsorship of the Arts. These awards were created 11 years ago to recognise outstanding partnerships between business and the arts in New Zealand. Team McMillan’s award for When Brush Meets Bonnet, Celebrating Creative Connections, included the Team McMillan BMW Emerging Artist Award and BMW

Bonnet Project. The Bonnet Project, for which 11 major artists were commissioned to produce works of art on customised BMW bonnets, formed the basis of our very successful fundraising dinner and auction at Auckland Museum last year. Finally, my congratulations to Professor Gluckman and his team for another year of outstanding achievements, in particular for his bold initiative in spear-heading the International Healthy Start to Life Project. I believe it is a quite unique approach for scientists to join with economists and public health advisors in this way in order to bring the implications of their research to the attention of policy makers. It is indicative of the passion that scientists at the Liggins have for tackling research they believe will make a real difference now and in the future. I invite you all to consider ways that you can support them in their quest for better health for our children and our children’s children in New Zealand and around the world.

Warm regards,

Roxane HortonChair of the Friends of the Liggins Institute Committee

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Note to Friends

FRIENDs OF ThE LIGGINs INsTITUTE ChARITABLE TRUsTA charitable trust was formed in 2004 by a group of people enthusiastic about supporting the Institute’s work.

TrusteesRoxane Horton, Professor Peter Gluckman, Professor Alastair MacCormick, Harry White

Friends of the Liggins Institute, PO Box 110085 Auckland 1148, New Zealand, Telephone 64 9 303 5972, Fax 64 9 373 7497, email friends@liggins.auckland.ac.nz, (Our supporters) at www.liggins.auckland.ac.nz

Roxane Horton

The Liggins Institute is committed to maximising the benefit of its research for New Zealand and, where appropriate, seeing its research translated into effective therapies . Accordingly, in some areas it has licensed its intellectual property to the pharmaceutical industry or to star t-up companies associated with the Institute. The terms of these arrangements provide funds which can be committed to public good (ie non-commercial and cutting-edge) research within the University. In accordance with University policy and international practice in developing start-up companies, some staff will, or could, personally benefit from interest in these start-up initiatives . The University and, therefore, the Institute have taken this approach with the aim over time of increasing the capacity of the University and the Institute to undertake novel and leading-edge fundamental research. Most of the research within the Institute is , and will always be, of this nature and can never attract commercial investment. The University and Institute are mindful of the need to ensure that donated funds are applied only to the public good research components of the Institute’s activities and cannot be applied (unless requested by the donor) to projects where commercial arrangements have been entered into. Specific procedures have been developed to ensure this , and potential donors are invited to contact the Institute’s General Manager or the University Registrar for fur ther information.

Friends of the Liggins Institute Charitable Trust Board has been registered by the Charities Commission and donations are eligible for tax deductions.

Under new rules introduced this year, individual donors may claim a 33.3% tax rebate on all donations up to their annual net income; and companies (including unlisted companies with five or fewer shareholders) and Máori authorities will be able to claim a tax deduction for donations up to their annual net income.

New Zealand’s leading provider of fertility services Fertility Associates is sponsoring a research fellowship in reproductive medicine at the Liggins Institute that will draw on the expertise of scientists and clinicians in both organisations. Dr Richard Fisher, who with Dr Freddie Graham founded Fertility Associates in 1987, announced the Fellowship at the opening of the company’s new Auckland facility in June. Guests of honour at the celebrations were the Minister of Health the Honourable David Cunliffe and Professor Lord Robert Winston a pioneer in international reproductive medicine. Over the last three years researchers at the Liggins Institute have worked closely

with the Fertility Associates team studying the growth and metabolism of children born following in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The group was the first to identify subtle differences between the IVF children and their normally conceived peers. “While the differences are slight, it appears that the IVF children are taller and slimmer with higher levels of growth promoting hormones and better blood lipid profiles,” says Professor Wayne Cutfield who leads the Liggins’ clinical research team. “This collaboration has enabled the research group to be at the international forefront of research into IVF children,” he adds. Dr Fisher said that Fertility Associates

looked forward to building on their collaboration with the Liggins. “We value our relationship enormously because without good science, no amount of clinical research will allow us to hold our heads high in the international sphere,” he said. “The best science and the best clinical medicine together provide the best outcomes for our patients.” Dr Fisher presented Lord Winston, as a Scientific Patron of the Institute, with a citation outlining Fertility Associates’ contribution of $150,000 over three years in support of the research programme at the Liggins.

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Exploring the origins of lifeCollaboration with fertility experts will bring mutual benefits

Fertility Associates celebrated their 21st birthday by announcing their support for the Liggins Institute. (Left to right) Professor Gluckman, Lord Winston, Dr Fisher.

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Over the past month, my role as Director of the Institute has included reviewing the progress and performance of each of our research staff. It is always a pleasure to discuss current research, particularly with our bright young emerging scientists. Their excitement and enthusiasm for their work is quite remarkable. Even more remarkable, and frankly very disturbing, is the amount of time they are currently committing to the job. On average our researchers, many of whom have young families, are spending upwards of 60 hours a week in the Institute and then continuing to work at home in the evenings. Even more alarming is the breakdown of those hours. It turns out that around 40% of young scientists’ time is spent writing grant applications for research funding. This is time they should be committing to the research itself and publishing their findings in order to establish their careers and reputations. No scientist objects to justifying why they should be doing their research, but in most developed countries they would spend no more than 5 to 10% of their time writing funding applications. Why are we in this situation? Quite simply, medical research in New Zealand is very poorly funded; the amounts awarded per grant are small and the chances of success are of the order of 10 to 12%. Sadly, it is very much harder to be a medical scientist in this environment than it was when I was in their position. One of the reasons the Institute exists is to help give some of our most creative young minds the opportunity to make a difference for the next generation. We are indeed fortunate to have so many fine young people prepared to sacrifice their personal lives in their attempts to make the world a better place.

Professor Peter Gluckman

PA G E 14

The Director comments

The Liggins has appointed Dr Mark Green to the Research Fellowship. Dr Green was formerly the Institute’s first Maurice Paykel Postdoctoral Research Fellow. In his new role he will work closely with staff at Fertility Associates promoting awareness of related research taking place at the Liggins and elsewhere. Dr Green’s research, supported by senior scientists at the Liggins Institute and

Fertility Associates, will investigate ways of increasing the efficiency of IVF protocols. They aim to identify markers that will assist scientists in selecting the best quality embryos. Social changes in countries such as New Zealand mean that many women are now older (than in previous generations) when they decide to start a family. “This is often associated with a reduced

chance of conception and an increased demand for technologies such as IVF,” observes Dr Green. “Currently, selecting which embryo should be transferred back to the woman is largely subjective. Developing better methods of embryo selection for a successful pregnancy is considered the ‘holy grail’ of fertility research,” he says.

Review reveals a worrying trend

continued from page 13 ...

PA G E 15

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New book features Liggins scienceThe Awa Book of New Zealand Science (Awa Press, edited by Rebecca Priestly), an anthology celebrating the discoveries of well and lesser known New Zealand scientists, was launched in September. Amongst the 50 eclectic pieces are separate reflections by Liggins Institute scientific patron Sir Graham (Mont) Liggins and Director Peter Gluckman. Liggins describes his early experiments with sheep which confirmed his theory that

it is the baby and not the mother that determines the timing of birth. His discovery that the hormone cortisol accelerates maturation of the fetal lungs paved the way for a landmark clinical trial of a treatment which dramatically improved survival rates for babies born preterm. Around the same time as Liggins’ clinical trial, Gluckman joined an expedition to the Himalayas which was to set the scene for his later research.

The book includes a section from the Introduction to his book Mismatch: why our world no longer fits our bodies written with British colleague Mark Hanson. In it he explains how the Sherpa population had adapted to the Himalayan environment. These observations led to his current thesis that many modern health problems derive from a mismatch between the environments that we were designed for and those we now inhabit.

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