06
Overview: UQ has an international presence in all 4-digit disciplines that comprise
Biological Sciences with the exception of 0699. Research capacity in Biological Science has
been expanded greatly during the reference period through the establishment of two research
institutes; the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) and the Queensland Brain Institute
(QBI). UQ secured $110M from the Queensland Government, CSIRO and Atlantic
Philanthropies for construction of IMB, and received a further $10M p.a. for its operation,
while QBI was established using $63.5M and attracted a further State operational funding
($25M total) which commenced during the census period. There were 472 RHD completions
from 2003 - 2008 for FoR06.
Note that in a number of prominent situations, the allocation of 4-digit FoR codes by the RJL
necessitated the classification of papers under FoR codes which were not representative of
the content. These included papers in papers in Nature Genetics (22 papers placed in medical
FOR11 codes) and in PloS ONE (allocated to FOR07). Further, a number of Current Biology
papers (44) in the areas of ecology, genetics, zoology and evolution were classified in 0601.
0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology: Representing the largest area of activity in Biological
Sciences, UQ has a very substantial investment in biochemistry and cell biology that
permeates many of our Research Institutes, Centres and Schools. 61% of papers are in A*/ A
journals, and 34 (3.2%) are highly cited (top 1% of the field as defined by Thompson/Reuters
ESI). Research foci include mammalian cell biology (Parton, NHMRC Australia Fellow) and
structural biology (Kobe, Federation Fellow; Craik, APF; Jenny Martin, Laureate Fellow),
with >$30M of world-class structural biology infrastructure, including UQ ROCX, an
automated, remote-access, high-brilliance crystallisation/crystallography facility; a suite of
high-end NMR machines including the only 900 MHz spectrometer in Australia; and the
Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility, the premier facility within the
country capable of performing high level biological cryo-electron microscopy. The ARC
COE in Bioinformatics (Director, Ragan) has significant critical mass in genome and
molecular informatics, computational cell biology and bioinformatics, and has research foci
in computational and informatic analysis of DNA, mRNA, small non-coding RNAs and
proteins. Editorial board memberships include A* journals PLoS Computational Biology
(Mattick), J Biological Chemistry (Muscat, Yap).
0602 Ecology: UQ is one of very few research intensive universities worldwide in a tropical
or subtropical environment and plays an internationally leading role in ecological research in
these ecosystems. UQ ecologists conduct fundamental and applied research, providing the
scientific basis for addressing the environmental issues and problems that are increasingly
threatening our society. 79% of papers are in A*/A journals. A particular strength is in
quantitative, spatial and landscape ecology, including joint appointments with external
agencies such as CSIRO and QDPI. A high-profile outcome in this area has been the
development of a systematic conservation planning tool, MARXAN, by Possingham (FAA,
Federation Fellow, 3 papers listed by ESI as highly cited). This software package is now
used by >1300 users in >80 countries worldwide. Coral reef ecology is another major focus,
with a node of the ARC COE in Innovative Science for the Sustainable Management of Coral
Reef Biodiversity, and major funding from the World Bank (Hoegh-Guldberg). Editorial
board memberships include A* journals Science (Hoegh-Guldberg) and Ecology Letters
(Possingham, Marshall, Buckley).
0603 Evolutionary Biology: Evolutionary Biology is the smallest of the 4-digit disciplines in
terms of output, but is characterised by a very high proportion of papers in A* journals
(53%), and 78% of papers in A*/A journals. A major focus in this area has been the
quantitative genetic basis of evolutionary change (Blows, Moran Medal; Chenoweth ARF)
and the development of new approaches for analysing the multivariate distribution of genetic
variance highlighted in two high-profile reviews (Blows, 2 ESI highly cited papers). A
further two ESI highly cited papers by Dr Blomberg are in the areas of phylogenetic analysis
and evolutionary ecology. Editorial board memberships include A* journals American
Naturalist, Evolution, Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences (Blows).
0604 Genetics: UQ has substantial activity in Genetics, a fundamental discipline that has
underpinned the strategic development of a number of UQ’s Research Institutes (IMB, QBI,
AIBN). 69% of papers are in A*/A journals. Fundamental research in genetics includes the
development of a new paradigm for understanding gene regulation and development in
complex eukaryotes, based on control via a network of small RNAs (Mattick FAA,
Federation and Australia Fellow, 8 ESI highly cited papers). Other areas of research strength
include developmental genetics (Koopman FAA, Federation fellow, 3 ESI highly cited
papers; Degnan APF), and human statistical genetics (Gibson APF; Martin FAA). In addition
to fundamental research, many applications of genetics in human disease are featured.
Editorial board memberships include A* journal Genetics (Chenoweth).
0605 Microbiology: UQ has a substantial research focus in microbiology, ranging from
environmental microbiology to applications in infectious disease research, including
microbial pathogenesis, microbial genomics, pathogen recognition, and structural
microbiology. 59% of papers are in A*/A journals. There is a large overlap in work done in
this area and the medical microbiology code (1108), including particular research strengths in
mechanisms of viral RNA replication, RNA structure-function relationships, RNA packaging
and virus assembly (Khromykh, NHMRC SRF), the molecular basis of bacterial infectious
disease (McEwan & Jennings, NHMRC program grant), and the role of symbiotic microbes
in protection against insect disease transmission (O’Neill FAA, NHMRC program grant).
Another area of strength is in environmental microbiology and its application in
biotechnology. Editorial board memberships include A* Journal of Virology (Khromykh).
0606 Physiology: Physiology is a smaller research area, concentrating on molecular,
cellular, biophysical, and endocrine physiology, as well as more integrative aspects of wholeorganism physiology in non-model systems.
68% of papers are in A*/A journals. Particular research foci include the regulation of cell
function by affecting membrane receptor, ion channel, and intracellular signalling systems
(Chen, NHMRC PRF), and lipid mechanosensory transduction (Martinac APF). Note that 7
papers in A* journal Endocrinology by Prof Chen could not be allocated to this code (only 07
and 11 codes available). Editorial board memberships include A* journal Endocrinology
(Chen).
0607 Plant Biology: UQ researchers in plant biology focus on fundamental and applied
aspects of limits to plant productivity, pioneering gene discoveries and applications in plant
improvement, with particular strengths in the areas of genetics and development, legume
biology, plant pathology and tropical plant improvement. 59% of papers are in A*/A
journals, with two papers by Schenk in Plant Physiology listed by ESI as highly cited. Note
that 15 papers in A* journal The Plant Cell and two further ESI highly cited papers by
Schenk could not be included under Plant Biology (allocated to 0601). Two national research
centres are directed by UQ researchers: the ARC COE in Integrative Legume Research
(CILR; Director, Gresshoff) and the CRC for Tropical Plant Protection (Director, Irwin,
Farrer Medal, 2 plant breeders rights), formerly the CRC for Tropical Plant Pathology. Major
industry funding, in addition to these centres, has focused on transgene expression and
silencing (Birch, 2 patents associated with this work).
0608 Zoology: UQ has a very large and broad range of activity in Zoology, encompassing
both fundamental research into general principals of animal physiology, behaviour, and
taxonomy, and research into local and regional biodiversity. A traditional focus has been in
the area of Entomology, with the most highly cited papers in this category arising from the
integration of model insect systems with neuroscience (Srinivasan FAA, Smart State
Premiers Fellow), and genomics (O’Neill FAA). Major funding secured to address key
problems generated by insects, including mosquito transmission of disease (Gates grant to
O’Neill), and multiple projects addressing integrated pest management in China and other
developing Asian countries (ACIAR funding to Zalucki). Other research strengths are found
in the field of ecophysiology (Franklin APF), and behaviour (Marshall APF, Fisher ARF,
Grutter ARF). Editorial board memberships include A* journal Annual Review of
Entomology (Zalucki)
0699 Other Biological Sciences: This code encompasses Global Change Biology; the vast
majority of biological research output in this area at UQ has an ecological component, and we
have therefore placed these works under the 0501 code. UQ has a modest presence in forensic
biology and the level of activity does not meet the minimum threshold.