Key Advances and Breakthroughs
| 1973 | Developed life-saving insulin infusion technique to treat a complication of diabetes (ketoacidosis) |
| 1983-6 | Discovered the potential beneficial effects of fish oil in the diet |
| 1986 | Produced Australia's first genetically engineered human therapeutic growth hormone (with UNSW & CSL) |
| 1990 | Cloned the first human galanin, a brain chemical that regulates appetite, anxiety and depression |
| 1992 | Demonstrated that the Vitamin D receptor gene is responsible for differences in bone density |
| 1993-4 | Discovered the role of cyclins in breast cancer (one of the top 20 advances in breast cancer in the decade) |
| 1998 | Identified the chromosomal region responsible for susceptibility to manic depressive illness |
| 1999-2005 | Developed methods to culture adult nerve stem cells capable of generating new brain cells. |
| 2000 | Uncovered the role of abdominal fat in determining risk of type 2 diabetes and influencing insulin resistance |
| 2002 | Discovered that the brain controls bone density through the neuropeptide Y receptor |
| 2003 | Identified the role of several genes in asthma development |
| 2005 | Identified a pathway that reveals how a stress hormone in the brain can suppress the immune system |
| 2006 | Discovered the link between the nervous and immune systems, suggesting novel treatments for stress related disorders |
| 2009 | Identified the links between diet, gut bacteria and the immune system; highlighting the importance of insoluble dietary fibre in keeping many diseases at bay |
| 2009 | Garvan takes a leading role in the Australian arm of the International Cancer Genome Consortium |
| 2006-2010 | Developed and commercialised a treatment for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis |
| 2010 | Showed for the first time that even modest weight loss of 6kgs reverses many of the damaging changes often seen in the immune cells of obese people |
| 2010 | Demonstrated for the first time that a primary tumour can be shrunk by inhibiting a class of gene known as 'microRNA' |
| 2010 | Discovered that extensive 'long-range' gene silencing is common in cancer, with up to 3% of the genome affected. |
| 2010 | Demonstrated that insulin resistance caused by Hepatitis C is in muscle and not liver. |
| 2010 | Demonstrated a signalling network in basal breast cancer cells based on tyrosine phosphorylation. |
| 2011 | Developed an iron-chelating technique with the potential to enhance the survival and function of transplanted pancreatic islet cells in people with type 1 diabetes. |
| 2011 | Showed that the main effective treatment for osteoporosis extends survival by up to five years. |
| 2011 | Identified a panel of ovarian epigenetic biomarkers for early detection of ovarian cancer. |
| 2012 | Identified how the production of autoantibodies (antibodies that attack 'self') is prevented during normal immune responses. |
| 2012 | Sequenced the pancreatic cancer genome as part of Australia's participation in the International Cancer Genome Consortium. |
| 2013 | Discovered how brain NPY controls temperature regulation in brown fat and how this affects weight loss in obese people. |
| 2013 | Discovered that remodelling of the Cancer Epigenome causes large regions of the genome to become activated and genetically unstable. |
| 2014 |
Garvan is first in Australia to acquire the Illumina HiSeq X Ten Sequencing System, allowing a massive increase in human genome sequencing capacity and placing Garvan at the forefront of the genomics revolution. |
| 2015 |
Launched a genetic sequencing technology, ‘Capture Sequencing’ (CaptureSeq), enabling researchers to explore the human genome at a much higher resolution than ever before. |
| 2015 |
Discovered a new population of ‘memory’ immune cells, shedding light on what the body does when it sees a microbe for a second time. |
| 2016 |
Garvan launched Genome.One, Australia’s first clinical whole-genome sequencing service. Genome.One could triple the diagnosis rates of Australians living with rare and genetic conditions. |
| 2016 |
Revealed that genetic profiling can help predict whether an individual will break a bone through osteoporosis. The findings are likely to contribute to clinical decision-making in the future. |
