Who we are and what we do.....

The MPG originally ran under the umbrella of the Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function from 2002 until 2009 as a highly successful one-day annual symposium. The meetings were a mechanism for the Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function to contribute more directly back to younger researchers in the local protein science community using funds raised from the annual Lorne meeting. In 2009, the MPG became a special interest group of the ASBMB, which has enabled the group to broaden its function in facilitating and organizing forums and meetings for Victorian researchers interested in protein science. This move also aligns the MPG with the other state protein groups as special interests groups of the ASBMB. The MPG activities will continue its traditional role in providing forums for early career researchers including PhD students, postdocs and other interested parties, and has a goal to be inclusive of all Victorian researchers in protein science research.

The role of the MPG will be to provide opportunities for Victorian PhD students and early career researchers working in protein science to present their work orally and as posters in a conference-style setting and at other less formal settings. A key function of the MPG is to continue the organization of the highly successful annual meeting for PhD students, which enables networking opportunities and mentorship. Mentorship at this meeting will be provided by the invitation of up to three “plenary” speakers, who will be established senior researchers from around Australia. The MPG will also organize and facilitate other forums and events designed more specifically for postdocs and other interested early career researchers to meet, network and present their research.

The aims of the MPG are to:

• Enable PhD students, postdocs and other early career researchers to present their work orally and by poster to the larger Victorian protein science audience.
• Facilitate opportunities for mentorship by promoting the involvement of senior researchers (eg supervisors and senior research fellows) and by the invitation of senior researchers as plenary speakers and poster judges to the events and meetings.
• Raise awareness of the ASBMB and the Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function.
• Facilitate networking opportunities for all protein science researchers in Victoria.
• Liaise with similar ASBMB groups in other states (eg Adelaide Protein Group, Queensland Protein Group, Sydney Protein Group) to foster interstate meetings and other functions.

MPG will achieve these aims by:

• Continuing to organize and run the highly successful annual one-day symposium for PhD students to present their work. Each year the venue of the symposium will rotate between the University of Melbourne, Monash University, and La Trobe University. - to maintain free registration of this meeting by offsetting costs with fund-raising from Trade sponsorship and sponsorship from the ASBMB.
• Devising and organizing new opportunities for post-docs and other early career researchers to present their research and to network
  - This includes a new annual meeting modelled on that already in place for PhD students.
• Promoting the ASBMB and the Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function at the MPG symposium and by advertising at the Combio conference and the Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function.
• Ensuring that the MPG organizing committee retains representation diversity from key Victorian research institutions engaged in protein science research.

The MPG Committee will have the following organisational structure:

• An “organizing committee” comprising one (postdoc-level or more senior) representative from (at least) each of: The University of Melbourne, Monash University, La Trobe University, and a Melbourne research institute.  The organising committee will be flexible to include representatives from other research institutes on a case-by-case basis.
• The organizing committee will consist of
  - President
  - Symposium chair(s) of the annual meetings (who will be the representative from the host institution)
  - ASBMB liaison officer
  - Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function liaison officer
• To ensure that the MPG continues to function effectively at a high standard, new members of the organizing committee will be communicated to the Lorne Conference on Protein Structure and Function Executive Committee and the ASBMB for approval before confirmation.
• The organizing committee will have support from a “Student representatives committee” for the organization of the annual graduate student meeting, which will consist of a graduate student from each of the institutions represented by the organizing committee members and two students from the host institution.  This committee will change on a yearly basis.