Participants sought: How PrEPared are you? HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis

Participants sought for attitudes to PrEP use

How PrEPared are you? Overseas born gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men and their attitudes toward PrEP and PrEP use in Australia are invited to participate in a study on HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the knowledge and attitudes of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) as reported by newly arrived (have been in Australian for less than 5 years) gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). 

The long-term consequences of sport concussions

Georgia Symons (left) and Will O'Brien (right) are CCS PhD students
in the Monash Trauma Group and both are first authors on papers
investigating concussion in sport. See respectively
Symons et al. paper; O'Brien et al. paper

Australian football is the most popular collision sport in Australia – with an average of 6-7 concussions occurring every 1000 match hours across amateur and professional leagues. Despite this high incidence of mild traumatic brain injury, there has been little study of the long-term neurological damage associated with this sport.

Two recently published studies by the Monash Trauma Group in Central Clinical School's Department of Neuroscience looked at the long-term consequences of concussion on the sporting field. They found that indicators of brain injury in the blood and saliva can be persistently changed for years after the injury.

24 Feb - 1 Mar 2021 CCS recent publications

Diabetes and a high fat diet age you faster: how to slow it down?
CCS Diabetes researchers explain mechanisms in a book chapter 

Recent publications featuring research as notified by PubMed during 24 Feb - 1 Mar 2021 from Central Clinical School affiliated researchers in the following departments. The below is not a comprehensive list:

• Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
• Australian Centre for Blood Diseases
• Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• Immunology and Pathology
• Infectious Diseases
• Medicine - Alfred & Peninsula
• Melbourne Sexual Health Centre
• Psychiatry
• Surgery

9-23 Feb 2021 CCS recent publications

What are we talking about? Nomenclature in immunology lags behind

rapid progress in the field, causing confusion. Front. Immunol. editorial

Image: Pieter Breughel, 'The Tower of Babel' (public domain)

Recent publications featuring research as notified by PubMed during 9-23 Feb 2021 from Central Clinical School affiliated researchers in the following departments. The below is not a comprehensive list:

• Allergy, Immunology & Respiratory Medicine
• Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine
• Australian Centre for Blood Diseases
• Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• Immunology and Pathology
• Infectious Diseases
• Medicine - Alfred & Peninsula
• Melbourne Sexual Health Centre
• Psychiatry
• Surgery

The ketogenic diet for super refractory status epilepticus – Why and how?

L-R: Dr Joshua Laing and Ms Neha Kaul

Super refractory status epilepticus carries up to a 40% mortality rate and controlled clinical trials of any treatment are severely limited. Ms Neha Kaul is a dietitian and Dr Joshua Laing is a PhD student in Central Clinical School's Department of Neuroscience explain how the ketogenic diet is emerging as a potential treatment option for SRSE, and their recent article provides practical considerations on using the diet in these cases. 

• Read more details 
• Listen to the podcast (13:06 mins)

Your participation invited for International Women's Day IWD2021 coming up on 8 March!

Dr Vilija Jokubaitis by Thorey Jonsdottir, a Burnet PhD student, published on 
@ThoreyJonsdott1's Twitter feed. Thorey says "Next Woman in the 
#STEMsketchathon series for #IWD2021 is @vjokubaitis
Vilija is a Clinical and Translational Neuroscientist at @CCSMonash
where she focuses on Neuroinflammatory disease outcomes, with
special focus on MS @WomenSciAUST"

In the lead up to International Women's Day 2021, we invite you to:

• Highlight what's unique and special about women in STEMM, or
• Share why you love being a woman in STEMM, or
• Celebrate a Monash STEMM alumna or community member (staff or student) or
• Show your support and post a photo and the campaign hashtags to our board.

Record investment in epilepsy research made from the Medical Research Future Fund

L-R: A/Prof Zanfina Ademi and Prof Patrick Kwan

are stream leaders in the new epilepsy consortium

Fewer seizures, fewer deaths and better quality of life for people living with epilepsy are planned to become a reality through the Australian Epilepsy Project (AEP) which has received $30 million from the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund, announced Friday 26 Feb.

The AEP will provide a national network of community epilepsy hubs which will provide access to world-leading testing to guide the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. The project has received the largest single government investment made to epilepsy research in Australia.