Monash awarded $1.1M grant to support development of revolutionary type of insulin

L-R: Ms Shweta Jagdale (Lab manager) &
Dr Christoph Hagemeyer in the lab

Monash researcher, Dr Christoph Hagemeyer, has received AUD$1.1 million dollars in funding as part of a multi-million dollar collaborative grant to support the development of a revolutionary type of insulin.

The grant is part of a joint research initiative between the JDRF, leading global organisation funding and advocating for type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, and Sanofi US Services Inc., a subsidiary of Sanofi, one of the leading insulin manufacturers and a global pharmaceutical company. The grant will provide up to USD4.6 million to four research projects taking different approaches to developing glucose responsive insulin (GRIs) therapies for treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes.

Dr Hagemeyer, who is a research group leader in the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases, will work in collaboration with Dr Frank Caruso (University of Melbourne), Dr Jonathan Shaw, Dr Mark Copper and Dr Terri Allen (from Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute) to develop glucose-sensing nanoparticles.

Medical student mentoring at Central Clinical School/Alfred Health

by Robert Gillies, Year 5D MBBS student

The Academic Mentor Program is a student-run initiative that was established long before I started studying at Monash. It involves final year medical students volunteering an hour of their time per week to tutor and mentor an assigned group of third year students.

The tutes are unique in that they can be exam-focused, and are peer-driven; so they are less formal and can be more flexible, which facilitates a different kind of learning. Though the tutorials aren't compulsory for third year medical students, I remember them being a great networking opportunity.

 There's so much more than medicine that you can learn from older students - you can learn how to cope with difficult patient interactions, how to balance study and life commitments, about research or extracurricular activities, and everything in between. 

Call for 2017 CCS Honours and Graduate Research projects

AMREP Information Night 2015

The Central Clinical School Student Services Research office is coordinating marketing materials for the 2017 CCS Honours and Graduate Research project index booklet and webpage.  The projects will be advertised for recruitment of students for the following streams:

• Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours)
• Immunology and Human Pathology Honours
• Graduate Research (Masters and PhD)

Staff are asked to submit project information via the MNHS Faculty project database

Perspectives: Call due 26 Feb 2016 for Submissions to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Prohibition of Live Imports of Primates for Research)

We need monkeys for life saving research to be done.
The Australian capacity to undertake this research is
under threat from a proposed legislative amendment.
Today is the last day you can put in a submission.

.

Now is the time as researchers who use animals in research to make a statement about the significance of animals in research. Animal rights groups generously fill with misinformation the vacuum provided by the normally reticent research community, and are doing their best with Parliamentarians.  They've successfully influenced Senator Rhiannon to make a proposal to prohibit importing non human primates for research. If this amendment is passed, it will mean the inbreeding of Australia's existing research colonies of primates, and ultimately render them useless. It also means that the animal rights groups will use this success for them to lobby more and harder for further erosion of Australia's capacity to conduct medical research using animals.

There is a call for submissions to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Prohibition of Live Imports of Primates for Research). A senate committee will meet on 1 March to go through the submissions, so today (26 Feb) is the last day you can put your submission in.

See

• Outline of the proposed amendment and all the necessary links to further information, the current submissions and how to make your submission. (Ignore the 18 Jan due date there): www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/EPBC_Live_Primates_Bill
• A/Prof James Bourne's 5 Feb video presentation to the Senate committee 
• An excellent University of Edinburgh web page, "Animal Research" for proactive education of the community about their use of animals in research. They are on the front foot!
• 16 Feb 2016 AusSMC Briefing: Do we need to use animals in research? Speakers: Doug Hilton, James Bourne, Malcolm France. Link

Photo of the week: The InfoGuy of Melbourne

Here is featured a story of a remarkable man, Matte, who has been homeless for many years, called "The InfoGuy of Melbourne". He has put himself through VCE, has a degree and is applying for a Master's degree. He runs information tours of Melbourne. Robert Gillies, a 5th year medical student at Central Clinical School who won Australian of the Year (Victoria) 2016 for his philanthropic work with the homeless of Melbourne, told us about Matte. See:

• full story about Matte: www.facebook.com/Homelessofmelbourne/posts/1234851009863482
• More about Homeless of Melbourne at http://homelessofmelbourne.org/
• Matte's own Facebook page: www.facebook.com/InfoGuy-of-Melbourne-351917111682585/

Forthcoming CCS events: Seminars, public events, general notices

Andrew Guy (Burnet) at the 3MT
CCS heat

Central Clinical School has regular seminar series and postgraduate presentations. All event notices are maintained on the CCS Events calendar.

CCS staff & students can see details of both public and local events (including professional development courses, trade fairs and Graduate Research Student calendars) and deadlines, at the Intranet's Announcements page.

Various departments have their own calendars. See CCS seminar index: www.med.monash.edu.au/cecs/events/seminars.html

What's on for this coming week: 22-26 Feb 2016

Mon	►	22-Feb	09:00	Bioethics theory and Practice Seminar(1 week course)
Tue	►	23-Feb	18:30	Educational workshop for individuals with IBS
Thu	►	25-Feb	11:00	Immunology & Human Pathology Honours Orientation
	►	25-Feb	12:00	Cutting Edge Journal Club - Saeed Alrashdi

In the Future

• 29 Feb - BMedSc Honours (x18) orientation
• 15 Mar Graduate Research student orientation

22 Feb: Collaboration, Translation & Commercialisation​: Finding a Path to Success​

BioMedVic is holding a special event on Monday 22 Feb – Collaboration, Translation & Commercialisation​: Finding a Path to Success​

Dr Warwick Tong (pictured) will outline how the CTx CRC approaches research translation & commericalisation and the pathway that led to its recently announced multimillion dollar licensing deal.