The 2019 Nature Index has ranked Melbourne’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in the top 20 global not-for-profit/non-governmental organisations in biomedical sciences.

The index compares organisations by their contribution to publications in leading biomedical research journals, as a measure of scientific excellence.

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute was the top-ranked Australian medical research institute, and placed 19th amongst organisations worldwide.

At a glance

• The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute has been ranked 19th in the 2019 Nature Index for not-for-profit/non-governmental organisations in biomedical sciences.
• The Institute was the top-placed Australian medical research Institute in the index, which compares organisations’ scientific publications.
• The Institute’s ranking was influenced by publications unravelling fundamental biology as well as developing new therapies for a range of diseases.

International recognition

Walter and Eliza Hall Institute director Professor Doug Hilton said the Institute’s ranking was a reflection of the Institute’s international standing as a biomedical research Institute.

“The Institute is known in Australia and around the word for its longstanding scientific excellence and game-changing discoveries. I am proud to see this recognised in our position in the Nature Index, alongside other world-class research organisations in Europe and the United States,” he said.

The Nature Index ranks research organisations on the basis of their contributions to research publications across 82 high-quality science journals. Professor Hilton said that publications were just one measure of the Institute’s scientific excellence.

“We also place a high value on collaboration, translation, community engagement and education, and our success can also be seen in the impact of our research discoveries on health, and the calibre of our staff, students and alumni,” he said.

“Our success as a medical research Institute is not just due to the authors of research papers, but to all the research staff and students, as well as our Professional Services teams, mentors, collaborators and supporters who make great medical research achievable.”

Broad impact on medical research

The Nature Index reflects the Institute’s publications across a broad range of multidisciplinary medical research. These spanned the Institute’s research themes of Infection, Inflammation and Immunity; Cancer Research and Treatments; Healthy Development and Ageing; Computational Biology; and New Medicines and Advanced Technologies.

Among the ground-breaking research publications from the Institute in 2018 were :

• The identification and mapping of the molecules that allow the malaria parasite to invade human red blood cells, potentially providing a blueprint for new antimalarial drugs or vaccines – research led by Associate Professor Wai-Hong Tham and Dr Jakub Gruszczyk, and published in the journals Nature and Science.
• The discovery of how the immune system helps maintain ‘good’ bacteria in the gut, reducing inflammation and protecting against inflammatory bowel disease – research led by Associate Professor Seth Masters, Dr Tracy Putoczki and Dr Alan Yu, in collaboration with University of Melbourne’s Bio21 Institute and QIMR Berghofer, and published in Nature Communications.
• The development of a new class of anti-cancer drug that puts cancer cells into a permanent sleep – led by Associate Professor Tim Thomas and Associate Professor Anne Voss in collaboration with Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Cancers Therapeutics CRC, and published in Nature.
• Combining immunology and bioinformatics expertise to reveal how immune health is maintained by meticulously ordered DNA – led by Dr Rhys Allan, Dr Tim Johanson, Professor Stephen Nutt, Professor Gordon Smyth and Dr Hannah Coughlan, published in Nature Immunology.
• The revelation that while programmed cell death – or apoptosis – is essential for healthy development overall, many organs and tissues do not require apoptosis to develop normally – a collaboration between teams led by Associate Professor Anne Voss and Professor Andreas Strasser, with collaborators at Monash University and Genentech (a member of the Roche Group), and published in the journal Cell.

Research at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute is made possible by the support of the Australian Government, the Victorian Government and our many generous philanthropic donors.

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