VMIH News
VMIH SPONSORING A-RNA 2024 Conference
October 2024
The Australasian RNA Biology and Biotechnology Association will be holding its annual conference, A-RNA24, from October 21-23, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. This meeting brings together leading RNA researchers and students to share the latest advancements and applications. With presentations from international and regional experts, the conference covers cutting-edge research, clinical applications, and industry partnerships. It offers a valuable opportunity for networking and collaboration across the RNA research community, from fundamental science to translational efforts. The VMIH is proud to sponsor the RNA/Nucleic Acid Therapeutics Session which explores innovative applications of RNA technologies in medicine. Key themes include the use of mRNA vaccination to enhance immunity, and advancements in potential mRNA therapeutics for liver diseases and cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders.
The A-RNA24 conferences will be held in Melbourne, Australia in October 2024
GRANT SUCCESS: VMIH researchers successful recipients of mRNA Victoria Research Acceleration Fund Round 3
September 2024
Recipients of the mRNA Victoria Research Acceleration Fund (Round 3) were announced in September 2024, with $2.1 million of funding shared across 15 projects, 5 of which were awarded to VMIH-associated researchers totalling $500,000. It’s pleasing to see that many of these projects have been seeded by VMIH funding or expertise, demonstrating that the VMIH is not only a Hub of knowledge and research activity, but extends to being an incubator for future research programs and potential RNA medicine success, and creating successful people.
Restoring Frataxin in Friedreich’s Ataxia by Nanoparticle-Mediated Delivery of Frataxin mRNA
Participating institutes: University of Melbourne, and The University of Wollongong.Formulating therapeutic cancer mRNA-LNP vaccines to elicit potent CD8 T cell responses
Participating institutes: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University.Development of novel LNP-mRNA formulations for the treatment of liver fibrosis
Participating institutes: University of Melbourne and Monash University.Developing potent and lifelong mRNA vaccines to combat global health threats
Participating institutes: The Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health Ltd and Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University.Combining mRNA vaccines with Flt3L-secreting CAR-T cells for the effective treatment of solid tumours
Participating institutes: Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute and Monash University.
VMIH SPONSORING RNA Technology Day at Biomolecular Horizons 2024
September 2024
VMIH is a supporter of events and conferences that brings RNA researchers and RNA medicine experts together to create networks and collaborations. We’re proud to sponsor the RNA Technology Day at Biomolecular Horizons 2024, 22-26th September, in Melbourne, Australia. Many of our VMIH-associated researchers will be leading this meeting including Prof. Colin Pouton and Prof. Traude Beilharz (RNA Technology Day stream coordinators) and Prof. Damian Purcell, Dr. Gavin Knott, Assoc. Prof. Angus Johnston, Assoc. Prof. Natalie Trevaskis and Dr. Christina Cortez-Jugo.
The RNA Technology Focus Day combines Plenary, Keynote, Workshop and Symposium sessions that:
- Showcase the best of national and international scientific developments in RNA Technology
- Bring Government decision makers, Industry leaders and Academic experts together to explore the future of RNA Technology
- Explore the future of RNA Technology
- Provide insights into the path to medical translation of basic RNA Technology science
Biomolecular Horizons 2024 will be held in Melbourne, Australia in September 2024.
JOURNAL ARTICLE: A Versatile Antibody Capture System that Drives Precise In Vivo Delivery of mRNA loaded Lipid Nanoparticles and Enhances Gene Expression
September 2024
VMIH Science Lead, Assoc. Prof. Angus Johnston and VMIH-associated PhD student Moore Chen, alongside VMIH members Dr. Victoria McLeod, Prof. Chris Porter, Prof. Colin Pouton and collaborators also from the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, have pioneered a simple method for optimally orienting anti-Fc nanobodies on the surface of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for efficiently targeting of T-cells in vivo. Published in BioRxiv, this innovation led to protein expression levels >1,000-fold higher than those achieved with non-targeted LNPs and over eight times greater than conventional antibody functionalization techniques. Advancing strategies that improve the efficiency, specificity and simplicity of LNP development for targeted delivery of RNA cargo to specific cells, has enormous potential to transform the landscape of nucleic acid therapeutics for the treatment and prevention of a range of diseases.
This research was partially funded by the Victoria State Government through funding support from mRNA Victoria for the Victorian mRNA Innovation Hub.
GRANT SUCCESS: Congratulations to VMIH researchers
National Centre for Biopharmaceutical optimisation of mRNA Therapeutics (CORTx) to be headquartered at the Monash Institute for Pharmaceutical sciences
July 2024
Congratulations to VMIH Science Leads Assoc. Prof. Angus Johnston and Assoc. Prof. Natalie Trevaskis in securing a $4 million Australian Commonwealth Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant to establish the National Centre for Biopharmaceutical Optimisation of mRNA Therapeutics (CORTx). Headquartered at the Monash Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University, CORTx partners academia and industry, including Moderna and iCamuno, along with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Australian National University, University of Melbourne, University of Queensland and the University of New South Wales. CORTx will provide accessibility to resources to explore pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles for potential RNA therapeutics.
Assoc. Prof Natalie Trevaskis and Assoc. Prof Angus Johnston. Source: MRFF funds new national centre for mRNA medicines - Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (monash.edu)
JOURNAL ARTICLE: Beyond the Endosomal Bottleneck: Understanding the Efficiency of mRNA/LNP Delivery
July 2024
The outcomes of a collaboration led by VMIH Science Lead Assoc. Prof. Angus Johnston with VMIH-associated researchers Dr. Haiyin Liu, Moore Chen, Prof. Christopher Porter, Prof. Colin Pouton and mRNA Core researcher Thomas Payne, have been published in Advanced Functional Materials. The publication improves our understanding of the mechanisms that are critical to RNA ‘endosomal escape’ - one of the major limiting factors in the efficiency of lipid nanoparticle delivery of therapeutic RNA. The team developed a novel technique to explore the relationships and mechanisms that underpin endosomal escape, thereby opening the door to improve the efficiency of RNA and nucleic acid therapeutics and developing enhanced next-generation lipid nanoparticles.
This research was partially funded by the Victoria State Government through funding support from mRNA Victoria for the Victorian mRNA Innovation Hub
GRANT SUCCESS: Congratulations to VMIH researchers
RNA Mass spectrometry facility to be established at Monash University
July 2024
VMIH Science Lead Prof. Chen Davidovich, based at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) at Monash University and collaborators have been awarded $4 million by the Australian Commonwealth Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) to establish an RNA mass spectrometry platform at the BDI. The facility will provide services to assess a range of potential therapeutic RNAs including miRNA, siRNA, antisense oligonucleotides, tRNA, CRISPR RNA, in addition to RNA vaccines. Assoc. Prof. Davidovich is a laboratory head at the BDI and EMBL Australia Group Leader and also is a Science Lead at the VMIH BDI Node.
Prof. Chen Davidovich. Source: MRFF funds new national centre for mRNA medicines - Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (monash.edu)
JOURNAL ARTICLE: Nature Genetics: Inseparable RNA binding and chromatin modification activities of a nucleosome-interacting surface in EZH2 | Nature Genetics
May 2024
VMIH Science Lead, Prof. Chen Davidovich, VMIH researcher Dr. Vita Levina, and collaborators, explored the function of EZH2, a key subunit of the Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), which is integral to chromatin modification and gene regulation. Although EZH2 commonly binds to RNA, their findings demonstrate that this interaction is not required for its chromatin-modifying activity. Instead, a specific RNA-binding region of EZH2 is crucial for engaging with nucleosomal DNA to execute its function. Even when RNA binding was disrupted, EZH2 retained its capacity for chromatin modification and gene repression, underscoring the critical role of its structural domain in mediating these processes, independent of RNA interaction. The findings were published in Nature Genetics and was featured in the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute News.
This research was partially funded by the Victoria State Government through funding support from mRNA Victoria for the Victorian mRNA Innovation Hub.
JOURNAL ARTICLE: Metal-phenolic-mediated assembly of functional small molecules into nanoparticles: Assembly and bioapplications
January 2024
Small molecules, such as drugs and diagnostic agents, are essential in treating diseases and understanding biological processes. To enhance their effectiveness, VMIH-associated researchers, Dr. Jingqu Chen, Dr. Christina Cortez-Jugo, Dr. Chan-Jin Kim, Dr. Robert De Rose, Yuang Gu and Prof. Frank Caruso at the University of Melbourne and collaborators, have developed nanotechnology-based delivery systems, published in Angewandte Chemie. In this study, a simple and effective method was created using metal-phenolic interactions to assemble small molecules into nanoparticles. These nanoparticles have potential to transport drugs and nucleic acids to target sites within the body. By engineering these nanoparticles, they can be used to specifically target cancer cells.
This research was partially funded by the Victoria State Government through mRNA Victoria.
JOURNAL ARTICLE: Delivery and Expression of mRNA in the Secondary Lymphoid Organs Drive Immune Responses to Lipid Nanoparticle-mRNA Vaccines after Intramuscular Injection | Molecular Pharmaceutics
July 2023
Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) play a critical role in delivering mRNA vaccines. This study by VMIH researchers Asuka Takanashi, Prof. Colin Pouton and Dr. Harry Al-Wassiti, published in Molecular Pharmaceutics explored whether immune responses are driven by LNP adjuvancy in muscle or by mRNA delivery to secondary lymphatic organs. Researchers formulated mRNA with LNPs and found that LNP-mRNA delivery to these organs, rather than muscle, was essential for strong adaptive immune responses. Compared to free mRNA, LNP-formulated mRNA produced significantly higher immune responses, particularly in secondary lymphoid tissues. These findings suggest that targeting secondary lymphatic organs is crucial for optimal mRNA vaccine responses, offering valuable insights for designing next-generation mRNA delivery systems for improved immunization outcomes.
This research was partially funded by the Victoria State Government through mRNA Victoria.
JOURNAL ARTICLE: Interim results from a phase I randomized, placebo-controlled trial of novel SARS-CoV-2 beta variant receptor-binding domain recombinant protein and mRNA vaccines as a 4th dose booster
July 2023
VMIH-associated researchers Prof. Colin Pouton, Prof. Damian Purcell, Dr. Harry Al-Wassiti, Dr. Samantha Grimley, Dr. Georgia Deliyannis and Asuka Takanashi, along with collaborators from across Australia, Singapore and Japan have published the latest results from a phase I randomised SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine trial. This publication addresses the possible influence of immune imprinting on the effectiveness of booster vaccines by modulating the immune response based on previous exposure to specific SARS-CoV-2 variants, potentially impacting the efficacy of these boosters in enhancing immune breadth and strength against emerging variants. The mRNA vaccine candidates used in this study showed a strong safety profile, with no significant adverse events reported and immunogenicity data revealed a substantial increase in neutralizing antibodies against the beta variant, positioning these vaccines as strong candidates for enhancing protection in previously vaccinated populations.
MEDIA RELEASE: Victoria’s first mRNA innovation hub backed by Victoria State Government
August 2022
Monash University announced a partnership between Monash University and the University of Melbourne to establish the Victorian mRNA Innovation Hub which received $5.4 million from the Victorian government. Bringing together experts from Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS), the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI), and the University of Melbourne, the Hub will focus on developing next-generation mRNA vaccines and RNA therapeutics.
This funding, part of the mRNA Victoria Activation Program, aims to boost innovation, lower production costs, and train a new generation of mRNA scientists, driving Victoria’s leadership in the mRNA sector. Read the press release here.
MEDIA RELEASE: Victoria Investing In World-First mRNA Innovation Hub
August 2022
The Andrews Labor Government is strengthening Victoria's leadership in mRNA research by launching the Victorian mRNA Innovation Hub (VMIH). Minister Jaala Pulford announced the $9.1 million initiative, supported by a $5.4 million investment from the mRNA Victoria Activation Program (mAP). A partnership between the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, the University of Melbourne and Monash University, the VMIH aims to advance mRNA vaccine and RNA therapeutic technologies, potentially expanding mRNA therapeutic applications to treat and prevent diseases. This initiative is part of the Government’s $50 million commitment to build a world-leading mRNA ecosystem in Victoria. Read the press release here.
