Congratulations to our recent PhD graduates Joshua Laing, Mahima Kapoor and Michael Nasserallah

L-R: Dr Mahima Kapoor and Dr Joshua Laing

Congratulations to Dr Michael Nasserallah, Dr Joshua (Josh) Laing and Dr Mahima Kapoor on the recent completion of their PhD theses! Michael is a surgical registar based at Peninsula Health, and Josh and Mahima are both practising neurologists and were PhD students in the Department of Neuroscience.

Josh Laing's PhD thesis is titled, "The Development and Management of Posttraumatic Epilepsy". He was supervised by Professors Terry O'Brien, Patrick Kwan and Adjunct Associate Professor Piero Perucca in the Department of Neuroscience.

He writes in his thesis abstract, "Posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) is characterised by spontaneous recurrent seizures, sequelae of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Apart from prevention of TBI itself, there are no preventive strategies or current disease-modifying treatments of PTE. This research has contributed to key knowledge on risk factors of EPS and PTE, highlighting the importance of EPS and potential contribution to PTE, and poorer outcomes associated with both EPS and PTE. The role of cEEG in Australia is emerging and may be beneficial in selected patients. Further, the use of cEEG in evaluating those at risk of EPS represents an opportunity for possible intervention."

Hear more from Josh in a recent podcast: 

• Interview with Joshua Laing, MBBS, author of Risk Factors and Prognosis of Early Posttraumatic Seizures in Moderate-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury. Hosted by Cynthia E. Armand, MD. JAMA Neurology, 21 February, 2022, https://edhub.ama-assn.org/jn-learning/audio-player/18676565 (Listen time - 18 minutes)

Michael Nasserallah's thesis is titled "Exploring novel methods to reduce post-tonsillectomy morbidity in adults". His supervisors were Adjunct Clinical Professor David Hunter-Smith, Professor Warren Rozen, both of Peninsula Clinical School and Dr Nalaka de Silva. 

He writes, "Tonsillectomy is one of the most common Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) surgical procedures worldwide. However, despite advances in surgical techniques, post-tonsillectomy pain and bleeding remain significant health problems for patients and the health system. Additionally, unplanned hospital readmissions following tonsillectomy are also increasing globally. Therefore, new approaches to reducing acute pain and bleeding should be investigated. This thesis investigated the potential role of probiotic gargles in reducing post-tonsillectomy pain and bleeding. A pilot, triple-blind, randomised controlled trial and feasibility study was successfully conducted, which compared the effectiveness of probiotic gargles to placebo gargles in reducing post-tonsillectomy pain and bleeding."

Mahima Kapoor's PhD thesis is titled, "Clinical Challenges in Management of Inflammatory Neuropathies". She was supervised by Dr Elspeth Hutton (Department of Neuroscience) and Dr Mary Reilly.  

She writes, "This thesis aimed to identify patient or disease markers that predict “burnt out” in patients with inflammatory neuropathies (complex nerve disorders that cause limb weakness, numbness and balance issues). This impacts disease management and administration of expensive drugs (eg intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg)) with serious side effects. The research found that neurofilament light chain, a protein, can differentiate stable from unstable disease, and protein concentration correlates with an “active disease”. The protein level could guide ongoing treatment. Finally, the thesis concluded that IVIg significantly increases risk of heart attacks, strokes, and venous clots, independent of other risk factors for clots."

See a couple of Mahima's recent publications: 

• https://doi.org/10.1111/jns.12470 
• https://doi.org/10.1111/jns.12477