The Institute

With talented researchers and state-of-the-art facilities, an exciting and fruitful time lies ahead for SVI.

The Beginning

SVI was established in 1958, following a generous bequest from Jack Holt, a well-known Australian racehorse trainer. A small but ambitious group of scientists working with the first director Dr. Pehr Edman soon developed the worlds first automated protein sequencer, which accelerated and simplified the determination of the amino acid sequence of proteins and laid the groundwork for our current understanding of how genes provide the blueprint for the body. The methods that Edman developed at SVI fifty years ago form the basis of modern sequencing techniques and are still used around the world today.

First protein crystallography laboratory

The Institutes credentials as Australia's foremost protein research institute were solidified under the directorship of Dr. Frank Morgan. With considerable vision, Dr. Morgan established the first protein crystallography laboratory in an Australian medical institute, where we have been determining the 3-dimensional shape of proteins for the last thirty years. Today, these structures are used to design 'smart drugs', a methodology that can shave years and millions of dollars off the traditional trial-and-error approach to drug development. Our protein crystallography lab remains highly productive and successful, confirmed by the fact that we have solved more protein structures than all other crystallography units in Australia combined.

Discoveries in cancer and bone disease

SVI's protein theme was broadened under SVI's third director, Professor Jack Martin. Professor Martin and colleagues discovered parathyroid hormone-related hormone (PTHrP) and showed that its secretion by some cancers causes a serious and common complication, resulting in skeletal damage and excessive levels of calcium in the blood, and contributing to the spread of cancer to bones. This discovery has had great implications for our understanding of bone cancer and based on this research anti-PTHrP drugs are now in advanced clinical trials for bone cancer treatment.

Discoveries in metabolism regulation

In the last decade, Professor Bruce Kemp and his team at SVI have made pivotal discoveries about the role of protein kinases, which act as cellular messengers. Bruce and his team have identified how these incredibly important proteins transmit their messages and have identified a particular protein kinase, AMPK, which acts as the bodys fuel gauge. This discovery has resounding implications for obesity, exercise and cardiovascular disease, and AMPK has subsequently been named as one of the three top targets for drug development by the pharmaceutical industry.

Our Future

A new phase for the Institute began with the appointment in 2002 of Professor Tom Kay as SVI's fourth director. With a clinician-scientist as director, we have the perfect opportunity to cement our links with the clinical research at the Hospital, while continuing with our world-class basic medical research.

The Institute has attracted a dedicated team of over 130 staff and students, who are committed to improving the health and life-expectancy of Australians. We focus on common diseases that represent major health issues for Australians today, including diabetes, bone diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity and Alzheimers disease. With an ever-increasing pool of talented researchers and state-of-the-art facilities, an exciting and fruitful time lies ahead for SVI.