Paper of the Month & Year
These awards aim to identify matrix biology research occurring with the society, to promote this research and to foster a collaborative research network beyond the society.
The award has 2 categories:
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Student/early career researcher
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Mid-career researcher
Winners of the ‘Paper of the Month’ in each category between January and December of a calendar year will automatically be entered into the ‘Paper of the Year’ in each category in December of that year.
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‘Paper of the Month’ winners in each category will receive recognition of the award on society website, emails, twitter feed and at society meetings.
‘Paper of the Year’ winners in each category will receive 1 year’s membership subscription to MBSANZ and will also be featured on society website, emails, twitter feed and at society meetings.
Eligibility requirements
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Applicants/Recipients must be current members of the MBSANZ.
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Honours and PhD students are eligible to apply for the student/ Early career researcher (ECR) category award.
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ECRs are defined as less than 5 years post the conferral of their PhD (or equivalent taking into account career disruption) at the time of submission for the scheme.
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Mid-career researchers (MCR) are defined as more than 5, but less than 15, years post the conferral of their PhD (or equivalent taking into account career disruption) at the time of submission for the scheme.
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Applicants for the Student/ECR category must be the first (alone or joint) author on the publication.
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Applicants for the MCR category must be the first (alone or joint) or last (alone or joint) author on the publication.
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In the case where joint authors (joint first or joint last) are both current members of the society and the submission is awarded either ‘Paper of the Month’ or ‘Paper of the Year’, both members will receive the award for which they are eligible.
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An individual paper may only be nominated to receive an award in one category (ECR or MCR).
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Papers can be accepted for publication in any peer-reviewed journal.
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Papers must present original research. Narrative reviews, Systematic Reviews, editorials and commentaries (or similar) are not eligible for the awards.
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A member is only eligible to receive 1 ‘Paper of the Month’ award per calendar year.
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A maximum of 1 “Paper of the Month” will be awarded in any month in each category.
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The decision of the sub-committee of the Executive is final.
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Application Requirements
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Applications for the ‘Paper of the Month’ are submitted by 28th of each month for papers accepted for publication that have become publicly available (online or in print) in the 3-months prior (eg submissions received by 28 April may have been accepted for publication at any time prior BUT have first become publicly available in either January, February or March of the same year to be eligible).
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The “Paper of the Month” award is intended to highlight novel recent research done by MBSANZ members while accounting for the variability between journals in the time from acceptance to publication. Submissions for ‘Paper of the Month’ will thus remain current for up to 3 months from the time of application depending on the date of first public availability of the publication (i.e. if a paper has already been available for 3 months at the time of submission for Paper of the Month award, it will not be eligible in subsequent months; see point 1 above).
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A sub-committee of the Executive (min 3 people) will review submissions and select a winner in each category based on both the quality of the publication and the contribution to the field of matrix biology (as outlined by the applicant).
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Applicants will be notified within 3 weeks of the deadline of the outcome of their application.
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Winners will be advertised to the membership via email, twitter, the website and society meetings following notification to the applicants.
Award review committee
The award is determined by a sub-committee of the Executive.
Paper of the Year Awardees
Mid-career researchers
2023 - Jessica Chitty Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Nature Cancer
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About the paper:
The Lysyl oxidase (LOX) family are essential to the crosslinking and stablisation of fibrillar collagens and their dysregulation in cancers has led to significant interest in targeting them. Our paper used a first in-class small molecule approach to target all LOX family members. Our inhibitor PXS-5505 targets all LOX family members and in our paper we show that this approach decreases chemotherapy-induced pancreatic tumor desmoplasia and stiffness, reduces cancer cell invasion and metastasis and increases perfusion. Most excitingly we show antifibrotic effects of PXS-5505 in the autochthonous genetically engineered KPC model and patient derived xenograft models. Overall this provides the rationale for taking this compound into clinical trials in pancreatic cancer.
2022 - Thomas Cox Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Temporal profiling of the breast tumour microenvironment reveals collagen XII as a driver of metastasis
Nature Communications
2021 - Smriti Krishna Baker Institute
Kallistatin limits abdominal aortic aneurysm by attenuating generation of reactive oxygen species and apoptosis.
Scientific Reports
2020 - Jelena Rnjak-Kovacina UNSW Sydney & Megan Lord UNSW Sydney
A biomimetic approach toward enhancing angiogenesis
Advanced Science
2019 - Thomas Cox Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Nature Communications
Student/Early career researchers
2023 - Marija Dinevska The University of Melbourne
Spatial analysis of the metastatic brain tumor immune and extracellular matrix microenvironment
Advances in cancer biology - metastasis
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About the paper:
The most exciting finding of my paper was the identification of collagen as a key component of the tumour microenvironment in brain tumours. This revelation is particularly striking given the minimal collagen expression in healthy brain tissue. Our investigation revealed surprisingly high levels of collagen in both glioblastoma and metastatic brain tumours, with metastatic brain tumours exhibiting denser and thicker collagen fibres, compared to glioblastoma. Most importantly, we discovered clustering of tumour infiltrating immune cells, including macrophages and lymphocytes in collagen/extracellular matrix (ECM)-rich regions. Notably, T-cells demonstrated a reduced ability to infiltrate into neoplastic cell-rich regions due to the presence of pathological levels of ECM deposition around blood vessels, essentially trapping cells capable of mounting an anti-tumour immune attack.
2022 - Ziyu Wang Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney
Rapid Regeneration of A Neoartery with Elastic Lamellae
Advanced Materials
2021 - Kendelle Murphy Garvan Institute of Medical Research
Intravital imaging technology guides FAK-mediated priming in pancreatic cancer precision medicine according to Merlin status
Science Advances
2020 - Sarah Boyle University of Adelaide
ROCK-mediated selective activation of PERK signalling causes fibroblast reprogramming and tumour progression through a CRELD2-dependent mechanism.
Nature Cell Biology
2019 - Jessica Chitty Garvan Institute of Medical Research
The Mini-Organo: A rapid high-throughput 3D coculture organotypic assay for oncology screening and drug development.
Cancer Reports
Paper of the Month Awardees
Mid-career researchers
2024
Brooke Pereria and Shona Ritchie, Garvan Institute of Medical Research (July)
Science Advances
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About the paper:
Pereira, Ritchie et al. conducted an in-depth assessment of the matrisome of genetically engineered mouse models of pancreatic cancer over disease progression using mass spectrometry proteomics. This study revealed increased abundance of nidogen-2 (NID2), a basement membrane glycoprotein, in highly metastatic pancreatic cancer models compared to poorly metastatic ones. NID2, primarily expressed by cancer-associated fibroblasts, plays a crucial role in matrix remodelling and biomechanics. Strikingly, NID2-depleted tumours showed improved vascular patency and enhanced response to chemotherapy using intravital (in vivo) microscopy. Furthermore, in orthotopic (intra-pancreatic) models, mice harbouring NID2-reduced tumours had significantly fewer liver metastases and increased median survival, highlighting NID2 as a potential pancreatic cancer co-target.
2023
Laura Bray, Queensland University of Technology (March)
Advanced Healthcare Materials
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Jiao Jiao Li, UTS and Chris Little, University of Sydney (June)
eCells & Materials
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Jessica Chitty, Garvan Institute of Medical Research (September)
Nature Cancer
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Alex Smith, University of Queensland (November)
Enhancing BMP-2-mediated osteogenesis with a synthetic heparan sulfate mimetic
Biomaterials Advances
2022
Thomas Cox, Garvan Institute of Medical Research (August)
Nature Communications
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Pradeep Tanwar, University of Newcastle (October)
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
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Amelia Parker, Garvan Institute of Medical Research (November)
Genome Medicine
2021
Jiao Jiao Li, UTS (January)
MicroRNA-1 modulates chondrocyte phenotype by tegulating FZD7 of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.
Cartilage
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Smriti Murali Krishna, James Cook University (September)
Kallistatin limits abdominal aortic aneurysm by attenuating generation of reactive oxygen species and apoptosis.
Scientific Reports
2020
Juliana Hamzah, University of Western Australia
Immune-mediated ECM depletion improved tumour perfusion and payload delivery.
EMBO Molecular Medicine
Yu Suk Choi, University of Western Australia
Volume Adaptation Controls Stem Cell Mechanotransduction
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Jelena Rnjak-Kovacina & Megan Lord, UNSW Sydney
A biomimetic approach toward enhancing angiogenesis
Advanced Science
Laura Bray, Queensland University of Technology
Materials Today Bio
Jiao Jiao Li, UTS
BMC Mol Cell Biol
2019
Claire Clarkin, University of Southampton
Regulation of the Bone Vascular Network is Sexually Dimorphic.
J Bone Mineral Res
Thomas Cox, Garvan Institute for Medical Research
Nature Communications
Zlatko Kopecki, University of South Australia
Scientific Reports
Student/Early career researchers
2024
Martina Gyimesi, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) (June)
Biochimie
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About the paper:
Our research sheds light on the critical role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) in extracellular matrix biology, particularly in neural niches, where they play essential roles in differentiation and cell signalling. By investigating CpG methylation changes in human mesenchymal and neural stem cells in response to heparin (a highly sulfated analogue of heparan sulfate), we uncovered novel insights into the mechanisms driving lineage specification. Our findings reveal the involvement of HSPGs (syndecans and glypicans) and related sulfation enzymes in regulating neural lineage potential. Additionally, we identify key CpG sites involved in neurogenesis, offering valuable insights into manipulating neural lineage specification in human stem cells. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the extracellular matrix's influence on stem cell behavior, advancing our knowledge in the field of extracellular matrix biology.
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Sunny Lee, The University of Sydney (August)
Advanced Science
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About the paper:
Cellular senescence leads to the functional decline of regenerative cells such as mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs), leading to chronic conditions and poor cell therapy outcomes. Whilst extracellular matrix dysregulation, including elastin loss, is evident in aging tissues, the role of the matrix in modulating cellular senescence is underexplored. In this work, we show that tropoelastin, the soluble elastin precursor, is a marker of youth and delays senescent phenotype in MSCs. Brief exposure to tropoelastin downregulates senescence pathways in MSCs, and continuous supplementation of tropoelastin as either substrate or soluble protein in media preserves the functional fitness and phenotypic youthfulness of MSCs during replicative aging. This reveals the active role of classical structural matrix proteins in driving cellular age-associated fitness, potentially leading to future interventions for aging-related pathologies, and points to the utility of exogenously-supplemented tropoelastin for manufacturing MSCs that robustly maintain regenerative potential with age.
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2023
Marija Dinevska, The University of Melbourne (March)
Spatial analysis of the metastatic brain tumor immune and extracellular matrix microenvironment
Advances in cancer biology - metastasis
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Umut Rende, UNSW Sydney (April)
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
2022
Ian Chin, The University of Western Australia (August)
Mechanosensation mediates volume adaptation of cardiac cells and spheroids in 3D
Materials Bio Today
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Ziyu Wang, Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney (October)
Rapid Regeneration of A Neoartery with Elastic Lamellae
Advanced Materials
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Hoang Son Pham, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) (December)
Biochimie
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2021
Manula Rathnayake, University of Melbourne (March)
Macromolecular interactions in cartilage extracellular matrix vary according to the cartilage type and location. Cartilage
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Zhenjun Deng, University of Western Australia (September)
Keloid fibroblasts have elevated and dysfunctional mechanotransduction signaling that is independent of TGF-β Journal of Dermatological Science
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Ian Chin, University of Western Australia (October)
Interrogating cardiac muscle cell mechanobiology on stiffness gradient hydrogels.
Biomaterials Science
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Kendell Murphy, Garvan Institute for Medical Research (November)
Science Advances
2020
Sarah Boyle, SA Pathology and the University of South Australia
Nature Cell Biology
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Sanaa Zaki, University of Sydney
Osteoarthritis and Cartilage
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Chieh Yu, Queensland University of Technology
Syndecan-1 facilitates the human mesenchymal stem cell osteo-adipogenic balance.
Int J Mol Sci
2019
Jessica Chitty, Garvan Institute of Medical Research
The Mini-Organo: A rapid high-throughput 3D coculture organotypic assay for oncology screening and drug development.
Cancer Reports