Department of Immunology celebrates its first 50 years, and looks forward to the next 50

The Department of Immunology celebrated its 50^th anniversary with an entertaining and informative symposium, held in the AMREP Education Centre, Alfred Hospital on 4 October 2013.  The event was attended by 180 friends, colleagues, alumni and immunologists from far and wide. Pictured, Fabienne Mackay with one of the poster prize winners, Chindu Govindaraj. See Gallery for more.

High rates of bowel cancer in cystic fibrosis: Dr Ilana Gory, Department of Gastroenterology

Dr Ilana Gory, a PhD student in the Department of Gastroenterology, reported on her research at the Australian Gastrointestinal Week. Her topic was "Cystic Fibrosis is associated with an increased risk of colorectal malignancy and adenomas". As a practitioner, she and her team at Alfred Health had anecdotally observed high rates of cancer in patients with cystic fibrosis. Her scientifically based study found that patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) may be up to ten times more likely to develop colorectal cancer.

Fundraiser, 17 Nov: MAPrc hosting a classical guitar concert to raise funds for mental health research

Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre (MAPrc) is hosting a fundraising event, “Classical Guitar through the Ages” at 2.30pm, Sunday 17 November 2013 for mental health research, with performances by the Classical Guitar Society of Victoria. Concert venue: Wyselaskie Auditorium, Uniting Church Centre, 29 College Crescent, Parkville, Melbourne. Book tickets.

Event: "Of the students, by the students, for the students" - CCS postgraduate symposium 20 Nov 2013

"Of the students, by the students, for the students" - Central Clinical School invites you to attend the 2013 Annual Postgraduate Research Symposium. The symposium enables students to showcase their research projects on a larger scale and celebrate their achievements. PhD students from across the AMREP precinct: Baker IDI, Burnet Institutes and Monash University's Central Clinical School will be presenting. New this year is the "No-Bell Prize" competition in which students can nominate their supervisors or lab heads (Nomination form) to contest for best non-technical communication and are judged by students. See program. RSVP via http://www.med.monash.edu.au/cecs/education/hdr-symposium.html.

Successful MAPrc launch 1 Oct 2013 with the Governor-General

The Governor-General
unveiling the plaque for
the MAPrc launch

Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre had an extremely successful launch on 1 October 2013 with the Governor-General, Ms Quentin Bryce, who has been a patron of the centre for a number of years. Professor Jayashri Kulkarni (MAPrc Director), Professor David Coppolov (Monash Pro Vice-Chancellor), Mr Andrew Way (Alfred Health CEO) and the Governor-General all spoke about the need for mental health research to be further developed. MAPrc has 170 staff and students, and is running over 100 clinical trials. See launch video and more about MAPrc: www.maprc.org.au

Tall Poppy Award for Dr Kate Hoy, MAPrc

Dr Kate Hoy, Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre, is one of four Monash researchers, eight Victorians in total, to be recognised in the annual Victorian Tall Poppy Awards. Kate is working to improve the quality of life and capacity to live independently for the 80 per cent of people with schizophrenia who experience cognitive impairments. She is developing new ways to improve attention, working memory and executive function for people with the illness, which is usually characterised by psychotic symptoms. See 9/10/13 Monash Memo story.

Research: Investigating the biology of skin grafts for burns treatment

Heather Cleland's group in the Skin Culture Laboratory, Victorian Adult Burns Service and Department of Surgery, Monash University, The Alfred Hospital have found that cadaver skin which has been frozen has, on analysis, a "positive and definite role as an adjunct to conventional dressing and grafting where available, particularly in patients with large TBSA [total body surface area] burns." Tissue viability in cadaveric allograft may not be essential for its clinical function as a wound dressing or even as permanent dermal substitute.
Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24018216