A passion for research

An early interest in science and its applications has taken Monash's new deputy vice-chancellor (research) from university research laboratories to the top position at a biotech company and back into the university sector. PENNY FANNIN reports.

In her final year of secondary school, Professor Edwina Cornish was inspired by a biology teacher who instilled in her a fascination for genetics. It was the early 1970s and learning about how cells divided, the structure of DNA and how DNA carried inheritable information prompted an interest in science that has continued to this day.

Edwina Cornish: "Monash has a breadth of research excellence that's attractive to someone in my position, and with infrastructure developments such as the synchrotron and the Monash STRIP, it's an exciting time to be here." Photo: Greg Ford

After discovering science in her teens, Professor Cornish, who has recently taken up the position of deputy vice-chancellor (research) at Monash, went on to a science degree at the University of Melbourne. She majored in biochemistry and microbiology but retained a keen interest in genetics and made it the focus of her PhD.

"I decided the genetics of bacteria was what I was interested in. It was an exciting time as genes were just starting to be cloned. My PhD was spent cloning a gene that regulates aromatic amino acid biosynthesis in the bacterium Escherichia coli," she says. "When I look back, what took me years could probably now be done in a matter of weeks.

"During my PhD, it became clearer that while I loved fundamental research I was increasingly attracted to research that could be applied."

Professor Cornish says she investigated doing postdoctoral research at a number of biotechnology companies but settled on undertaking her research with Professor Adrienne Clarke from the University of Melbourne's Botany department.

"Professor Clarke had significant funding from US biotechnology company Agrigenetics. It was a fantastic time because it was the beginning of the plant biotechnology industry, and as a young postdoctoral student I was in close contact with the people who were creating a new global industry," she says.

Professor Cornish's postdoctoral research did not come to any commercial fruition but gave her exposure to the commercial world. She subsequently moved to biotechnology company Florigene, now famed for its research into manipulating genes to create novel flower colours.

She had a number of roles at the company over 11 years, from research scientist to managing director. "In 11 years, I went from the basic science all the way through to selling the product. I learned about the challenges in starting up, challenges in finding funding and the uncertainty of the funding environment," she says. "I enjoyed working with truly excellent researchers and, where possible, finding ways to capture the commercial value of their research discoveries."

An opportunity to transfer this interest to an academic environment came when Professor Cornish was offered the position of deputy vice-chancellor (research) at the University of Adelaide.

She was there for four years before joining Monash in February. "Monash has a breadth of research excellence that's attractive to someone in my position," she says. "And with infrastructure developments such as the synchrotron and the Monash STRIP, it's an exciting time to be here.

"There is a sense of energy and a 'can do' attitude at this university. Monash has been at the frontier of doing things differently, which is increasingly important given that we now live in a world that requires universities to be more innovative in the way they do research.

"As a country, if we don't continue to invest in quality fundamental research, we won't have the knowledge base or the intellectual capital to remain internationally competitive. Monash has a proud tradition of research excellence, and I want to make sure we maintain that momentum."

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For more information, visit the Monash University research website.